On to Reading

 The view first thing in the morning.  We kept going last night till rather late.  Passed several mooring points but no room to get in so ended up at a lock.  I hate doing it but apart from dropping anchor in the middle had no option.  There was plenty of room on the other side.

 

Delightful views.

At the lock there is a heron sat on one of the posts and only flies away at the last moment.

There are plenty of rich burgers living here too.  Bet I couldn't afford the council tax on their boathouse.

Great Western railway line ahead with HST going over the bridge.

This bit isn't like Doncaster :-)

How about that!  I almost got a pic of a Kingfisher.  That blue is astonishing.

The geese make themselves very much at home on the moored boats.

Its in the wrong place being very much over half way from Oxford but Beale Park has what must be a quarter of a mile of moorings for free.

Meanwhile back in Doncaster :-)

There are rich burgers here too but

This dilapidated boat is ready to sink and the house behind it is in no better condition. 

They can't even have ordinary sheep down south.  They seem to have crossed a giraffe with a goat or it could at the last resort be a llama.

Coming out of a lock its bit of a worry seeing this coming round the corner at high speed.  Luckily the lights weren't  flashing and its the fire brigade not the police.

Kept coming across the rowers from Reading Rowing Club. 

They became bit of a menace as they seems to be intent on forever stopping or moving in the my way and when I moved over they would end up again in front.

Outside Tescos - just before the turn off - been over buying on the tins stuff I should think.

Across the canal another boat that looks as though it is sat on the bottom with holes all round.

Gasometers so the entrance to the canal can't be far off.

Into the canal and the only lock not on the Thames run by EA

Someone tell the Black Swan its mate is still at Burton Waters.

The first views of Reading are not favourable but they are doing something about the canal edge.

There are two entrances to the moorings in Reading.  Its very quiet and only a few minutes from the centre.  Found out today that the large wall at the b ack of the mooring belongs to Reading Goal and it didn't have a plaque on the wall to Oscar Wilde after him living there for a while.

I found a new friend that came to visit.

Next door to the goal is the remains of Reading Abbey.

It looks as though Cassey found a new friend too

Iwan found the bell and couldn't quite get a tune out of it.