Friday 25th May
Another 6.5 hour journey incorporating 9 miles, 9 locks, 1 lift bridge and 8 swing bridges (the first one we had to do twice to turn round) and a sanitary station stop has brought us from Woolhampton to Burghfield. It has been hot and sunny again but with a welcome breeze. We set off about 9-15 am with B and B and went through the first swing bridge to turn round at the next lock where we parted company. Barbara gave us a bag of rubbish to get rid of and one of her lovely fruit cakes! We arrived here at The Cunning Man at 15-45 pm.
Having already done this journey the other way we knew there was little chance of being able to moor up very soon. We were offered a glimmer of hope of getting in at Theale when we met a couple of boats (we met only 4 all day) at Towney lock and they said they had both left the 48 hour moorings there this morning. But by the time we got to Theale the spaces had both gone!
We continued on our way and remembered we had spotted a couple of moorings at The Cunning Man at Burghfield which may be free and if not we would have to carry on to Fobney Lock, where we moored on Monday. The warm weather had brought the sun bathers and courting couples out. When we arrived at Sheffield Lock there was a couple canoodling on a rug at the top and they only knew I was there when I started winding the paddle to fill the lock! At the bottom of the lock there were a pair of scantily clad young ladies plastering each other with sun tan lotion!
While we were doing Garston Lock a young chap in a boat arrived and we thought he was going to come up the lock but he turned round and moored up on the lock approach. He came up and said he was having a cup of tea and a sandwich and he would shut the lock gates for me when we had gone. That was ok but as he was on the lock approach and there was only room for one boat, there was nowhere for Ken to pick me up. This was also the turf sided lock with the dodgy walkway and ladder so I couldn’t even get on to the roof of the boat while it was still in the lock.
Ken said he would pick me up under the motorway bridge round the corner. I walked round there and discovered there were a load of submerged rocks under there and it was very shallow further on. I stood there shouting and gesticulating to Ken not to try to get in but with the noise of the motorway he thought I was waving to be picked up and beached the boat about 3 feet from the bank! He had to get the pole and lever the back out to reverse off!
I went off in search of another likely pick up point and eventually managed to get back on the boat under Hissey’s Footbridge. We had to do one more lock and then arrived here at The Cunning Man and just managed to get in to a space, hurrah! Obviously it was not long before we went to the pub and sat in the shade with George, who was glad to be out of the hot boat for a while.
There is a bus stop right outside the pub so we are going in to Reading tomorrow.
