Marsh Meadows - Henley (River Thames) – Saturday 14th September
It was a misty morning, however Steve got the photo and not me!
This is my photo of all the geese on the opposite bank.
We moved up to Henley as we were completely out of
milk. Last time we were in Henley there
was so much mooring but today there wasn’t any!
However a wide beam was leaving so we had his spot. We decided to stay put for the day as it was
such a lovely day.
Steve, Richard and I walked into town. Tracey stayed to dogsit. Henley is a very pretty town with lots of hanging baskets, but guess who forgot to take any photos ☹️
The men decided that there were two pints with their names on in the Angel! We sat down by the river which was very busy. Dating back to 1728, The Angel on the Bridge is a grade II listed pub and is one of the most photographed and painted pubs in England. I, for one, always take a photo from the river.
Back at the boats we sat out on deck and watched the world go by. Firstly there was a very large yellow duck floating down the river. The yellow duck, known as Lily, is owned by Timothy Dodd-Wilson, from Woking, and is a regular sight on the River Thames at Henley.
Next was paddle steamer, The New Orleans, with a wedding party onboard, they even had a jazz band playing. We had seen the wedding coming out of the church and wondered where they were going.
There was an illuminated boat parade - so I discovered via
Facebook after the event! We had walked
into town and hadn’t seen any advertising for it. I was very disappointed that we missed
it.
2 miles
0 locks
Pangbourne Meadow (River Thames) – Sunday 15th September
We wanted an early start and we got one with a hot air balloon being inflated only a few yards from the boat! Apparently it is a local balloon and can frequently be seen going up. Steve took these photos as he was outside, I was watching through the window from my bed!
We left our mooring at 8.45am and were through Marsh lock by 9.05am! The Lockie at Marsh has a great sense of humour and there is usually a joke written on his chalkboard.
The sky was full of zips! One of my children once said this and it has always stuck.
There are two archimedes screws at Caversham lock. With a drop of about 4 ft 7 insand an average water flow of 37 cubic metres per second, it can generate 46 kilowatts of electricity.
The other side of Reading there is a house which I covet! Every time we go passed I look at it longingly! I probably wouldn’t want to live there, I just love the turret.
After Mapledurham lock we started to look for somewhere to
moor. It appeared that the free spots
were too shallow and the better ones were taken by long term moorers. These people are becoming a nuisance. All the places we used to wild moor are gone
and even places like Pangbourne Meadow, where you have to pay, are being taken
over by long term moorers. £3,500 a year
is cheaper than putting your boat into a marina and, to be honest, I’m pretty
sure a marina wouldn’t take some of these boats. Could this be the end of our visits to the
Thames - I really hope not.
We found one space at Pangbourne, which we grabbed. We sat out as usual on the decks but with the
rain pouring down. We couldn’t find a
weather forecast that said there would be rain in our area!
15 miles
5 locks
Wallingford (River Thames) – Monday 16th September
A lovely sunny and warmish morning. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain today. (It didn't!)
Our mooring last night was just below Whitchurch Bridge which is one of two remaining private toll bridges across the Thames, the other being Swinford Toll Bridge and is Grade II listed. A bridge has stood here since 1792 when it replaced a ferry. The structure was renewed in 1852–3, 1902 and most recently in 2014. The original charges ranged from a halfpenny per pedestrian, sheep, lamb, boar, sow or pig to twopence for each wheel of a vehicle and twopence for the drawing animal (though one and a half if an ass).
Through the pretty locks of Goring and Cleeve, then a
decision had to be made. Do we stop
where we did on the way down or risk going on to Wallingford. We decided to go on to Wallingford which was
just as well as there was already a boat in our spot.
We got up to Wallingford and couldn’t believe our eyes, there were only 3 boats moored there. We have passed this way on many occasions and never seen it as empty as this. We moored up on the town side, I sat out on the bank while the others sat out on the boats. I needed to go on board for a wee, only to discover that the bank was so high that I couldn’t get on!! I had managed to get off the boat as Steve gave me a pull but the jump down was a step too far (pun intended!). As there were only two boats on the other side of the River, the others moved the boats over and I walked over the bridge to join them!
My watch had stopped at 11.45am for some reason so I walked
into town to see if I could find a jeweller.
Google had said that there was one in an antiques market, but that had
gone two years ago, however I was told that a cobbler changed watch
batteries. I walked and walked, checked
Google and there was still a way to go.
I found the shop, pushed the door and it was locked. The shop closed at 4pm - the time was, in
fact, only 3.58pm! So it was a walk back
to the boat but not before stopping for an ice cream and sitting in the Square.
From the town side of the River I could see a lovely church spire. St. Peter’s Church is a Georgian church marked by a distinctive spire and an octagonal belfry. The church was designed in 1763 after the medieval building on this site had been destroyed during the Civil War. The original St Peter's was one of 14 medieval churches in the town. It was badly damaged during the 1646 siege of Wallingford. The town was a Royalist stronghold, and King Charles had a major base at Wallingford Castle. The body of the church was completed by 1769, while the slender spire and belfry were added by Sir Robert Taylor, Architect of the King's Works, in 1777. The last service at St Peter's took place on 29th June 1969, exactly 200 years after its first service. The church was then declared redundant and passed into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
After moving across the River I had to cross the lovely old
bridge. The first reference to a bridge
across the Thames between Wallingford and Crowmarsh Gifford is from 1141, when
King Stephen besieged Wallingford Castle. The first stone bridge is credited to
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, and four remaining arches are believed to
contain 13th century elements. The
bridge is 900 feet long and has 19 arches.
We went to the Boat House for dinner. The food was OK but nothing special. There was a quiz going on which we didn’t
take part in which was just as well as we couldn’t answer many of the
questions!
This photo is of the Boat House from Mary H last night.
10 miles
3 locks
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