A bit late on this update.. We moved the boat away from the centre of Reading on the 29th. There were warnings of rain, and they proved to be correct 🙂 Didn’t worry too much though as this was the last stretch of river for a while, so rain and floods should not be a worry once were past Fobney lock and the pumping station – as from that point were off the river Kennet and onto the canal section.
The first time I have seen traffic lights on a section of river/canal before.. it gets a bit tight through the centre of Reading, and weaving a narrow boat down and through tight corners, with low bridges is difficult enough, without the risk of on-coming boats – so you have to press the button to get a green light before proceeding..
The lock landing stage at Fobney Lock is not the friendliest with the weir flowing directly against where you moor up – happily pushing you away from the pilings.. it can be difficult to get tied up to deal with the lock even if the best of conditions.. the photo here is from April, and shows how bad this “lock landing” can be when the river is in flood.. and if you are trying to use it when its like this.. you should not be as the rest of the river is not in a condition for safe navigation!
But – we got though the lock, and there was a stretch of mooring free that I hoped would be there. So were settled here for a while. Nice location, good for the cats and dogs, car park nearby for the few hire-car days we need to do until next week, and if needed – still within sensible reach of a cab to the DC. ( If it wasn’t for the pile driver from the near-by building site running all day – it would be a really quiet spot here 🙂 )
We should be moving on again Tuesday with luck – but we will see – as its nice to not have to worry about moving every day, as we can stay put for 14 days here if we wish – but I’m sure that water and tank requirements will demand we move sooner than that!