Newbury

Today I've been for lunch in Newbury. The reasons are quite complicated: my parents have been to Bath for the weekend, to celebrate their ruby wedding anniversary, and as today is my birthday they suggested we meet somewhere not far from their route back home. Newbury is about an hour's drive from my home, so that seemed like a reasonable spot.


I parked by the wharf, right in front of the crane, and phoned to tell my parents where I was. They were also in Newbury, but weren't sure where. When they finally arrived, they had a man in the back set. They'd stopped to ask him where the wharf was, and as he not only knew but also wanted to go there, he asked for a lift!

We walked over the bridge and along the towpath to Town Bridge, where a party of school children were looking through all the gaps.

At the lock, a BW dredger was coming through. They used the bucket to hold the boat in place while they went back to shut the gates. The river coming in from the side proved very strong once they were on the move again, and the protection round the base of the bridge proved to be well placed.

After lunch, we went for a cup of tea in the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust shop, right on the wharf. It's a funny little place, staffed by volunteers.

It was only once I was in Newbury that I realised I'd been there on my birthday weekend last year too. We'd had a free night in a hotel just to the south, and while we were there decided to have a look at the canal at Newbury, Kintbury, and Hungerford.
I'll try to go somewhere different next year.