Another sani-station closed - keep your legs crossed!

Saturday, 30 April 2011 09:44

We had planned to get to Whitchurch Lock for a purpose. We had a question for the Lock Keeper. When we left the lock, we had our answer.

View ahead as we left the lock with the Pangbourne to Whitchurch Toll Bridge in distance

Sadly it was the wrong answer .....

The question was - where is the sani-station? We needed to empty our loo! Actually we carry three cassettes so we are usually OK, but all the long stops over the last couple of weeks meant we were at our limit.

The sani-station at Whitchurch has been "decommissioned". The EA can do it as well as BW can! However there is now one at Mapledurham, the next lock down, phew! So we had a bit more cruising to do.

We hoped to moor at Pangbourne Meadow, just below the bridge and lock. As we passed, there were a few spaces and we hoped there would be if we returned. One of the moorings was taken up by Nb Minty, a Bath Narrowboats boat with Glyn and Lyn on board. We last saw them in Liverpool in 2009.

Nb Minty - not a very good photo as taken into the sun!

On our way downstream we saw some interesting boats.

Barge Morgenster

In a small collection of cruisers this narrowboat was moored by a boat house - I couldn't see the name, but noticed the "elum" and the unusual lines.

Narrowboat and boat house

This beautiful sailing boat was moored by Hardwick House - possibly the inspiration for E.H. Shepard's illustration of Toad Hall in Wind in the Willows.

Sailing boat and Hardwick House

There is a wide expanse of the River Thames on this stretch between Pangbourne and Mapledurham, but very few places to moor. One or two boats managed to moor on the off side, but it is shallow on the Thames Path side. Arriving at Mapledurham it is obvious that the off side is rather "exclusive". It is part of the Mapledurham Estate.

We were not going through the lock but moored on the services pontoon to do our "business".

Epiphany above Mapledurham Lock

Opposite was the African Queen, a cruising Hotel and Restaurant and Barge Louisa, a charter hotel and restaurant boat. Both are based at the Mapledurham Estate.

African Queen

Barge Louisa

So we returned up stream and we were in luck - there was room for us at Pangbourne Meadow. As yet they are not charging to moor here, but it is "in the pipe-line". The Lock Keeper told us that it has been agreed, but no warden has been employed yet. It is a very pleasant, popular mooring and by the evening it was full of boats.

Moored at Pangbourne Meadow

We shall stay to shop, meet up with some friends and then move on further down river. Reading is not far off now and it will be decision time! To go onto the K and A or not?

River Thames, Goring to Mapledurham and back to Pangbourne
3 hours 11 minutes, 8.44 miles, 2 locks