AND BACK WE GO.

 

We were stuck at Wotton Rivers for a couple of days. On the first day I suggested the Captain may like to fit the new back boiler for our stoves whilst I went out of the way, sat on the bed catching up with the blog.

As expected the back boiler didn’t got to plan at all, and the Captain discovered that the stove itself had a big crack in the back plate, and a couple of other issues that needed attention. The crack was a major set back, and we are not yet sure if it will mean a new stove, or fingers crossed, a gentleman on Facebook who specialises in repairing stoves and the like, will be able to work a miracle. The Captain has contacted him and we are waiting for a reply. But the blog went well and I stayed put out of the way.

The second day, and we decided to take a walk up the towpath (for a bit of exercise), and we managed to pick a good quantity of blackberries and sloes. We also had a chat with a very nice lady from NB Pirin Perch. The Captain went all the way up to the summit pound and found some volunteers painting the lock beams. He came back with the good news that we would be moving next day, although this still needed to be confirmed by CRT next morning.

Conformation came at 9.34am and we were off. After 11 locks and numerous kingfishers spotted we managed to moor at Great Bedwyn.

After such a long day we had a walk to the 3 Tuns for tea, the food was wonderful and the staff friendly.

https://tunsfreehouse.com/

9 locks next day, (there are lots of locks on the K&A) and we reached Hungerford, of course we had to call in at the John O’Gaunt, one of the best real ale pubs we have found on this canal.

https://www.john-o-gaunt-hungerford.co.uk/ 

11 locks and a day later we were back in Newbury outside the wharf once again. We walked up to Lidl to do our shopping only to find it shut, and a new one open about 10mins further away, so we went to Aldi. There is good news though, the new Lidl is on the same site as Tesco, and you can moor right outside here to do your shopping.

We spent the next day in Newbury and found the artisan market in full swing, and also a great real ale pub The Spare Wheel, so the Captain was a happy bunny.

https://www.thesparewheel.com/

As we had been unable to moor in Reading at the start of our journey on the K&A (there are no moorings in the town), we decided to stop at Thatcham and catch the train. At £13.40 return for both of us it was a bargain.

After we had moored up a hire boat turned up and needed to moor (they were off to the pub) but there was no room, so the Captain invited them to brest up against us for the night. Our good deed for the day.

We really enjoyed Reading, the Abbey is very interesting with plenty of information boards, unfortunately we didn’t get to look round the Minister as it is only open 11am -2pm, and it was well past this when we got there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Abbey

We tried a couple of pubs, The Ale house and the Castle Tap were great finds. However The Boundary, we walked out of as there were no prices displayed, not even for their food, and when we enquired about a stout that was on their website, the barmaid knew nothing about it. When we asked about the lack of information she said she could check the till for the prices. I really think this is illegal and told her so.

https://untappd.com/v/the-alehouse/63230

https://thecastletap.co.uk/

But to the best bit, Cosmo’s the all you can eat world buffet. After the one in Coventry closed down suddenly about 5yrs ago we have not been to one of these since. The price had increased significantly to £18.99, but it was well worth it, the food was amazing, plenty of choice and very tasty. The décor was up market and the staff friendly. And they do sushi mmmmmmmmmmm.

https://www.cosmo-restaurants.co.uk/restaurants/reading

We chatted to the manager as we paid, and he told us they are reopening the one in Coventry at some point in the near future.

6 locks next day to work off the previous nights meal, and a quiet night moored at Aldermaston.

6 Locks and 5 swing bridges next day, and we were joined in them by a small boat called Topsy and her Slovenian Captain, crew and ginger cat. We stopped near the Cunning Man once again and headed for the pub, before going we had a long chat with Steve and Chris on a widebeam, but I cant remember the boats name. They were lovely to chat too. I would like to say my impression of the pub had improved but unfortunately not. It tells you to wait to be seated, so wait we did but no one approached so we seated ourselves. After 1 pint we headed home.

The final 4 locks and the one way system through Reading and we were back on the Thames, we stopped and did some shopping at Tesco and moored the night at Sonning, we were met up with Topsy once again.

I must say, after our initial miss givings about the Kennet and Avon Canal we have loved it. Yes some of the locks are hard work, but no harder than others on the system, mooring can be a challenge but we never really had a problem. It is a pretty canal with stunning views. Reading Newbury and Bath are all well worth a visit, as are many of the little villages along the way. Plenty of good pubs doing good food close to the canal. The downside for the Captain, very little in the way of dark ales, but hey ho its not the end of the world.

Turf Sided Lock

Would we do it again, definitely, would we encourage others to do it, definitely. Don’t believe the nay sayers try it for yourself.