Another short cruise today, to take us into Newbury.
As I am slaving over my laptop I only managed to stick my head out the front of the boat to take a picture of the rather pretty entrance to Newbury Marina but as you can see the lock landing is quite some way from the lock, so Martin had a bit of a walk!
We were fortunate enough to find a mooring right in the middle of Newbury next to Victoria Park, opposite the Cafe on the Canal and the departure point for the trip boat. It was also bird central, from what looked like hundreds of pigeons roosting on the roof of the Library and perched on the crane to the tens of geese, ducks and swans which were loitering around optimistically trying to cadge food from any human unwise enough to put their head out of their boat 😳
After a rather grey afternoon the weather perked up and while busy talking to my colleague Katherine on Teams, Martin stuck his head round the partition to say he was off to the pub! While this was unusual mid afternoon I thought nothing of it because I was deep in conversation. A little while later I got a text message from him saying, “Can’t you get away from work?”, to my astonishment it was nearly 6 o’clock! I broke off my meeting (sorry Katherine) and headed out along the towpath, to see if I could track Martin down!
The towpath was delightful, on the opposite side there was an eclectic mix of buildings, several of them hostelries with outside drinking areas overlooking the canal. I managed to find Martin sitting on the veranda of the Lock, Stock & Barrel overlooking Newbury Lock. It was very pleasant as the sun went down but we retreated inside and had the place to ourselves while we enjoyed and evening meal!
The next day was very, very wet! I managed to get out for a walk after work and wandered across Victoria Park and up Northbrook Street, enjoying the mixture of new and old buildings.
I was rather taken with the metal tree sculpture in the park which has acquired a variety of padlocks which is often a tradition on bridges! Victoria Park used to be called The Marsh but acquired its royal name when a statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled there.
Another interesting building was The Clock Tower, while looking as though it was a meeting point with great historical interest, it was actually designed and built in 1929. It is shaped like a little house with six sides and used to house a telephone although that is long gone! While we think of this as being Newbury, it is actually Speenhamland an area that was of great importance to the coaching trade between London and Bath.
The rain was coming down quite heavily now, but Newbury Town Hall still managed to look imposing. Built in 1881 the mixture of red and grey brick is very decorative. They still have a market twice a week in the market place in front of the clock tower.
The Granary Stores dating from the 17th Century look fascinating and they form part of the West Berkshire Museum, if only it had been open I would have loved to look round. They are on the Wharf, so boats would have come up from Bristol and Bath with their wares and been unloaded into the stores.
By now I am very damp so I take the opportunity to take a picture of Penelope from the Wharf before heading back over the bridge.
When I get back Martin says that he is concerned about the amount of rain we are experiencing, the problem with being on the river is the very real risk of finding yourself unable to move if they make it Red Boards, particularly the upper bit at Reading and of course the Thames. Mindful that I need to get into London we decide to turn around the next morning and head back to find somewhere to moor for my first trip into the office.
