Reading

I've been to Reading today for another boat test. Just after we turned onto the Thames from the marina, the fire brigade came past.

Moored just downstream from the entrance to the Kennet and Avon was a large Dutch barge where there was filming going on. The giveaway wasn't the light shining onto a hatch, but the large catering facility on the towpath! Just beyond the first bridge was a long line of trucks, including one which seemed to be a huge generator.

We went up through Blakes Lock, which is still in Environment Agency waters, before winding just before the traffic lights and the Oracle shopping centre.

When we came back a little later, a hotel boat pair from Bywater Cruises came up behind us, breasted up. The lock keeper decided to get all three boats in the lock, so we went in first and positioned ourselves diagonally, leaving just enough room for the pair. Among the holiday makers were several Americans, enjoying a week's trip from Newbury to Oxford.