For all sorts of reasons we haven't been able to grab a week's holiday this year, until now. So we've taken a slightly unusual Wednesday to Wednesday break and are hoping to reach Lechlade if the weather and conditions allow.
We arrived at Thames and Kennet marina at 11:00 and by the time we'd transferred two trolley's worth of stuff from the car to the boat, and completed all the checks from Uncle Bryn's guide it was midday and we were on our way.
Turning right out of the marina we headed West through Caversham and Mapledurham locks with the assistance of the lock-keepers, then through Whitchurch, Goring and Cleeve all of which were on self-service.
Apart from a sudden downpour it was a pretty uneventful trip, we just enjoyed unwinding and enjoying the boat properly at last. By 17:00 we were at Wallingford looking for a mooring and this was a little more challenging than we expected considering the time of year. It appears that from October 1st the authorities consider the season to be over and therefore the moorings on both sides of the river upstream of the bridge are let on a long-term basis for winter moorings and all spaces have reserved notices on them! We managed to find a spot between 2 narrowboats and just crossed our fingers that nobody else would turn up to kick us off.
After a good value but average dinner in the Boathouse pub opposite we were soon tucked up in bed trying to keep warm.
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| Mapledurham Lock |
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| Goring Lock |
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| Wallingford before sunset |
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| View from Wallingford Bridge, ours is on the right in the distance! |
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