Belloc's day.

After quite a few bridges and locks we are back where we were 2 months ago, at Pinkhill.  We will take a slow meander to Lechlade for the third time this year. It is simply gorgeous along this river and we never tire of it.

Culham Lock

At Sandford lock we had a two-hour wait as the hydraulics had failed, trapping a trip boat full of customers in the lock chamber until an engineer arrived. The locks on the Thames use vegetable oil in the hydraulics in case of leaks.

Port Meadow

"A man from the fifteenth century could walk along the river here and would hardly know that he had passed into a time other than his own" Hilaire Belloc (1907)

Apart from a few pillboxes, not a great deal has changed since Belloc's day.

Shifford Lock

"The floral tastes of the lock keeper........

......generally make Sonning Lock very bright and gay" - Charles Dickens (1882)

Sonning Lock 1900

Sonning lock 2019

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Mink.

Caversham bridge - Reading

Boardwalk Henley.

Temple Island

Broad boat - narrow crew!

After spending a couple of nights in Henley we decided that for this year this would be our turn around point. We really want to spend a couple more weeks on the upper Thames before heading back to the canals.

Marsh Lock 1908

Marsh Lock 2019

Black Sabbath

Went through one of my favourite locks on the Thames today, although called Mapledurham lock it is actually in the village of Purley which is on the south bank of the river, in Berkshire, not Oxfordshire. 

In 1956 it was the first lock to be mechanised using an electromechanical system, it was converted to hydraulic power in the early 1970s.

1908

Mapledurham Lock today.

The original lock cottage has been demolished, a new one has been built on the opposite side of the lock, the lock chamber appears to have been extended and raised by a step or two.
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Heres a useless snippet of information
The still functioning Mapledurham mill  was pictured on the sleeve of Black Sabbath's first album in 1970

Black Sabbath's first album sleeve.

Whitchurch Lock

Another short hop of two miles through Whitchurch lock, with the help of the lockkeeper I was trying to get the correct position to replicate the scene.

Whitchurch Lock 1949

Today

From the lock, we can see our mooring spot on  Pangbourne meadow under the toll bridge.

Beale Park

A short cruise from Goring to Beale Park.

Goring Gap boat club's new boathouse.

Beale Park mooring.

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WW2 Wrens.

A lot cooler for today's cruise, a short stop at Wallingford before continuing to Goring.
11miles, 3 locks, 3hours.

The village and river are in the Goring gap which separates the Berkshire Downs and the Chiltern hills.

The river here forms the county border between Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Wallingford bridge.

Lockkeeper is getting Goring lock ready for FL.

St. Thomas' church.bell tower.

The revamped Swan at Streatley

While at Goring we had an enjoyable evening at a performance of 'All Hands on Deck' by the Mikron Theatre company. A versatile cast of four told the story of two WW2 wrens.

The performance was adjacent to the lock.

Bring a chair,

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Days Lock 1908 

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Goring Lock 1905  (Postcard)

Today at Goring Lock. 

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