Oldies On Tour

Having had a lazy morning, done some washing, now was the time to explore Hungerford.  The pleasant 18th and 19th century buildings are set back from the road, giving the spacious feeling of a traditional market town.  None of the buildings are remarkable, but many are individually pretty.  We found a coffee shop for Geoff, this was a strange mixture of healthy food and sumptuous cakes, you can guess which ones we had.  After coffee we walked up to end of village, and down the other side, so many antique shops, we had a laugh, so many things we had chucked away, you could get a fortune for now.  A wooden high chair was going for £160, we sent a picture to Dave but he said a big NO!  We wandered into many of the shops, so many things, a Ransom lawn mower which my Dad used to have, many familiar items, think we should dig out our crystal and start selling it!

After a reality check by going to Tesco, we went back to the boat.

Despite going to bed early we didn’t wake until 8am, twelve hours almost, must have needed it. Today we are heading for Hungerford, we have lots of locks to do, so it’s going to be a busy day. Geoff’s ribs still hurt so it’s down to me, well at least I should not be putting on weight with all the exercise I am doing. We decided to stop at the Crofton Pumping station, apparently it houses two 19th century steam engines, one built in 1812 by Boulton and Watt, the oldest original working beam engine in the world, still performing its original duties, the other in 1845 by Harvey’s of Hayle, Cornwall. Both have been restored and are steamed on several weekends in the year. Sadly it is Wednesday and they are shut, as well as the cafe next door. Before we arrived at the Crofton Lock we went through the Bruce Tunnel, 502 yards, with the remains of the chains on the walls which was used to pull boats through.

When we emerged, we were greeted  a lovely cheerful man, asking if we wanted help with the locks, well with my dodgy hand and Geoff’s ribs, we said yes please. It turned out that the waterways have lots of volunteers, and we had three of them, they worked us through eight locks, we stopped to watch an old steam train go through with its Pullman coaches, doesn’t happen very often apparently we just got it right. So at least Geoff got to see a steam engine at work. We donated to the waterways, and waved goodbye, actually I think if I lived here, that would be my kind of thing, you meet loads of nice people as well.
We continued on with a few more locks before arriving in Hungerford.

We didn’t wake very early again, well done Mia, we were all awake before you. This morning was bright and sunny, we studied the white horse in the hills, and decided it needed a clean up, as it was looking decidedly grey. We had breakfast, but Jane and Dave are taking the car onto the next stop, so we will meet them at Wooton Rivers, if not somewhere on route.

We all left together, fortunately not many locks on route, and we are hoping Jane and Dave will be back before we get to the first one, as it happened, they were with us quite quickly, they had a puncture and had to go to the first garage, costing them a new tyre.
We slowly meandered along the Kennet and Avon Canal, it is lovely to see all the green fields, and trees, until we arrived at the village. The charming predominantly thatched village of Wooton Rivers is beautiful, and the thatched 16th century pub The Royal Oak, in the Main Street, served a selection of real ales, so we decided to stay here, have some lunch and enjoy the ambience. Dave went and collected the car, whilst we enjoyed some drinks first. The food we were disappointed in, especially as the bill came to £160 for the four of us, poor Geoff he has not adjusted to the English prices. We wondered around the village, before returning to the boat.
Jane Dave and Mia left at 7ish, and we went to bed early we are not used to all this fresh air and exercise.

Up quite early, quick breakfast and we were off, we had moored next to Phil and Dorothy, so with Dave, Jane, Dorothy and me we opened the locks, I have to admit that Jane and Dave did the most, 16 locks completed in 2 hours 10 minutes, apparently we missed the record by 10 minutes, but we were just glad to complete it. Amazing site, and the best news was at the top we had a cafe, that did fantastic bacon and egg rolls, worth the trip.

We then continued on, not realising that we had a few more locks before we got to the top, five more locks and we arrived at Devizes for a quick wander around the town, I bought a steamer to make cooking easier, and a magnet that shows all the locks. At one point the dogs were so excited to get off the boat they both fell in, both Dave and Geoff struggled to get them out, as it was a high bank.

When we got moving again, it was decided that Jane, Dave and dogs would run back for the car, and meet us at The Barge Inn Honeystreet, they would leave the car there and then join up with us, somewhere on the canal. We were left with Mia, which was lovely, until I had to open a swing bridge, couldn’t leave her on board, as we were frightened she would do something silly, so I jumped with her, scary but I did it, I opened the bridge, and then some kind lady closed it for me, whilst I got on board again, glad that only happened once. Mia was great, we watched the swans, ducks, birds, and she was so excited when she saw Mum and Dad again.

We moored up at the canal side pub, which was once a slaughterhouse , a bake house, a brewery and a grocers. Real ale and food served, which I had fish and chips, they were lovely, Geoff and Dave tried the local beer, which they seemed to enjoy. Another good night sleep, even Mia didn’t wake until 8am, must be all the fresh air and exercise.

Up bright and early, we have a lot of ground or should I say water to cover, Dave, Jane and Mia are joining us and we want to get to the bottom of Cean Hill flight ( 15 locks very close together) so that they can help us. We have travelled from Semington to the bottom of the flight, we have been through thirteen locks and two swing bridges, and I am knackered, Geoff has hurt his chest so hardly able to breath let alone work the locks, so all down to me, thought we were on holiday not a fitness regime. Our problem is we set a task to reach Newbury so that Geoff could catch the flight back, and easy access for trains, plus somewhere of interest for me to stay. Well we made it by night fall, moored up ready for the task the next day.
Jane, Dave and Mia arrived about 10pm, we managed to put the cot up, and carry Mia in, but as it was raining she woke, mind you I was pleased, she was so funny, by midnight we decided it was time for bed, and with a little persuading Mia went too, she is such a happy baby.

Having spent many weeks clearing the house out, ready for our swap, it was good excuse to clear the wardrobes out, and clean cupboards and shelves, Nicky was brilliant, she cleaned parts that had not been cleaned for a long time. Geoff did a lot of DIY, then we were finally ready to leave.

We left just after breakfast, and travelled to Santander, we had found an old Manor House to stay in, it was a bit tired but in its day it would have been very special, after a comfortable night we walked along the beach and looked at the marina before travelling onto Bilbao. Our boat to UK was the Brittany Economic, so we were surprised when we boarded that our room was very palatial, with tv, and coffee making facilities, table and comfortable chairs, very nice, almost making the cost worth while!

The trip was uneventful, and we quickly headed for Bradford on Avon, where Dave was waiting for us, we unpacked the car, made the bed, and then had a lovely meal in the pub next door, Geoff enjoyed a couple of beers.

Geoff left early and travelled to Essex to leave the car, whilst Dave and I took Foggy out of the Marina, ready for the off, when Geoff got back, but guess what it is raining. We need to try a couple of locks to make sure we are ok with them. We travelled east towards Semington bridge, where we moored for our first night. Having been through several locks and swing bridges, I now feel more confident that we have cracked it. We also managed a good night sleep in the bed, which we didn’t expect, due to the size.