Aldermaston re-visited on the Kennet and Avon Canal

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 17:31

Yesterday we visited some of John's old haunts, sadly one of them is no more!

Our thanks to our taxi driver (no longer "just" a blog reader, Simon!)

Today we moved ever westward ....

Everywhere we have been on the Inland Waterway system we meet boaters who become friends, bloggers who become friends and blog readers become friends too. The Kennet and Avon Canal is no exception. Simon and his son Henry also became our baggage carriers after we shopped in Sainsburys in Tadley.

Wonderful helpers

Why were we in Tadley? Many moons ago John worked at AWRE, near Aldermaston (as it was then) and he lived in Tadley in Boundary Hall. Sadly it was flattened in 1995. so all we saw was this:

Boundary Hall no longer

We also visited the church John attended at that time - Southcote Christian Mission. We were fortunuate enough to arrive just as the Mums & Tots group were leaving, and "retired" pastor Dave Long let John go in and have a look at the baptistry where he was baptised and the pulipt where he preached back in the 1970s. Then we went to see the Reading house that John was living in when I first met him. If you are interested have a look here.

Leaving our lovely mooring with regret we headed for Ufton Lift Bridge. Beyond the bridge is Ufton Lock - now un-gated. The lock had a drop of 1 foot and during the restoration in the 1970s the gates were removed and the pound above was deepened.

Ufton Lock and electric swing bridge

At the railway crossing just up the road is a memorial garden and plaque in memory of the seven people who lost their lives in a when a train collided with a car at the crossing in November 2004.

Memorial Garden

The canal feels very "sylvan" in places and the trees tower above the cut. Sometimes it opens out, as it does towards Towney Bridge and Lock. The lock was once a turf lock and in 1976 the new lock was constructed above and deepened to compensate for the loss of Ufton Lock. It is now an iron sided lock and has a fall of 9 foot 8 inches.

I let John off to do the lock and hung around as the fast weir beyond the bridge made pulling in onto the landing a trifle difficult; probably it would have been hard to get off it too! I had to practice my reversing to keep away from the flow and wait for John to begin to open the gates. It was then full throttle into the lock! It felt really deep, dank and dark.

Towney Bridge and Lock

Yet another electric swing bridge was ahead, Padworth. It was my turn to get off. Beside it is some "works" and I waited for a lorry and a cement mixer lorry to turn out and cross the bridge. Then I could turn the key and press the button!

Padworth Swing Bridge

On the south side of the bridge Padworth House is up the hill, overlooking the canal. Once an old manor house, the Georgian facade hides the later C15th building and earlier traces of other buildings. It is now a co-ed boarding school.

Padworth House on the hill

Now we were approaching Aldermaston, via the canal this time .....