Newbury, Kennet and Avon Canal

There are lots of rubbish bins around the park and also at the moorings at the top of Newbury Lock.  But they have this sign on them.  Now I know that there are boaters facilities, but the one suggested we use in Newbury was full and they would not let us use it.  The other question is:  If I get off my boat and walk across the park, am I now a pedestrian?  Anyway thank you Newbury for being helpful and taking some of my rubbish.  Not!

A rest day!!!  Almost, spent the morning at the Launderette.  It would have been a lot less if I had not taken the wrong turning into the street and walked way out of the way.   Then I went shopping and bought a new hoover.  Hopefully this one will be better than the last one I bought which was too small and made my back ache when I used it.

An anniversary card?  Who knows?  I started with a pink card blank.  The decoupaged panel was matted onto pink card (with the corners rounded), light pink card and sliver card.  The sentiment was fixed with sticky fixers underneath with two small pink gems.

Newbury, Kennet and Avon Canal

 "Moored Like a Twat" - it's not just the 5 lines, it is also a lock landing!


Another early morning start, and another cuckoo to serenade us on our way.


Three bags of coal were bought at Newbury Island and then we moored up by Victoria Park for the rest of the day.

A card for a sweet girl?  The girl is a pre-coloured stamped topper and I cut it out using a die-cut and matted it onto a lilac die-cut card.  Then I matted a piece of lilac flowery paper onto lilac card and fixed it to a white card blank.  Four lilac gems were fixed to each corner, the topper was fixed to the centre of the card and an old hair decoration was fixed to the top left hand corner.

Thatcham, Kennet and Avon Canal

 Sunset at Thatcham on this almost empty visitor mooring.

We had a day of rest today and did nothing much at all.

Oh!  I did manage to finish off the last blind for the spare bedroom.  That was 4 sets of curtains and 2 blinds.   I had to adapt the old ones by using the central panels and remaking the borders.  One of the set of curtains was too damaged by wear and tear so I used the 2 panels from the last window to make soft Roman blinds.  It was amazing who much darker the bedroom became with the blinds in place of the curtains.

 Another special card for a lady who loves butterflies.

I made a white easel card.  Using purple flowered ribbon and wrapped it around the panel with white lace and stuck it onto the front of the easel card.  I added a "feather" butterfly and 3 roses and three pearls.

For the inside I matted white card onto lilac card and added a punched butterfly and another pink rose.

The bottom piece (which can be seen when the card is standing) was also white card matted onto lilac card with a peel-off sentiment and three more pink rose.

For the box I covered the lid with embossed lilac card and two strips of the floral ribbon.

Thatcham, Kennet and Avon Canal

 Network Rail are electrifying the line, not exactly a pretty sight.

We left early again, this time to the accompaniment of a woodpecker.  There were free  moorings at Thatcham too (now that IS a first!) so we moored up (it was only 0745) and by 1055 I was on the train to Reading and then on to London for a day's shopping.

Yonks ago I bought a roll of  stickers and made a few cards, with this one I made the sentiment on the computer and matted it onto gold card and stuck it behind the sticker.  This was then stuck onto a green card blank.

Woolhampton, Kennet and Avon Canal

 First boat moored on a lock landing, well, I know it is on the "off" side, but it is a wide canal and there could be two boats using the lock.


We were on our way by 0545 to the accompaniment of a cuckoo.  We had a pump-out and took on water at Tyle Mill and then met up with a group of Girl Guides on a youth community boat at Aldermaston so shared the locks and swing bridge to Woolhampton.

Lunch at the Rowbarge at Woolhampton after visiting the shop in the village for a paper and produce and then another nap.

We were last down here 5 years ago and  found climbing onto these locks was relatively easy (not with a windlass in one hand though).  Now I found I had to put one food in the stirrup, the other knee on the lock beam, then the other one, then sort of crouch and try and pull myself up before walking across to the other side.  Then I had to get back onto my knees and feel around for the stirrup before I could get off the beam.  From now on I'll only do it in an emergency, I'll just walk around the lock to cross the other gates.

This card, made for a lady that loves cats.  It is a pink square card with some brown ribbon fixed across the bottom.  The pink cat was a bought topper which was matted onto white, pink and brown card and then onto a larger panel of white, pink and brown card.  A swirl was stamped down the right hand side of the large panel and a sentiment (matted in pink and brown) was fixed to the bottom right and the cat on the top left.  Tow pink organdie bows were then added for decoration.

The box was made out of brown card with a pink organdie bow fixed across the top.

Theal, Kennet and Avon Canal

OK, explain this one.  How do I half fill the lock if  I can't open the gate paddles?

Left Reading at 0645, had no trouble at Fobney Lock.

Met this at near the Running Man and Burgfield, not "Moored Like a Twat", just stopping off to pick up locks from the towpath.

The first test was would there be room on the visitor moorings at Theal?  There was!  So we were moored up by 1015.

Six big locks and 1 swing bridge and I was in bed for a snooze soon after lunch.

The boat horse that pulls the trip boat from Kintbury to Hungerford.  I have used the picture several times, this time I printed out a small glossy photo and a washed out larger one.

I matted the larger one onto red and silver card and wrapped black and white checked ribbon around it and tied it in a knot.  I added photo corners to the panel which was then stuck onto a red card blank.  The smaller picture was also matted onto red and silver card and added to the bottom right hand corner.

Reading, Outside the Gaol, Kennet and Avon Canal

 The last leg of the Thames, we were off early and mooring up in Reading by 1145.

This boat is moored just before the junction with the K&A.  Don't know how it floats, there were great holes in the bottom.

And this one seems to have a legitimate reason for not moving, a moorhen nest in the fender.

There was only room for 2 boats to moor, so we took the first and went off to have lunch in The Forbury.

A stamped and hand coloured lion, matted onto black and gold card and then onto some torn camouflage paper and the fixed to the white card blank.