Newbury to Reading
I hadn’t expected to manage the 21 miles in one trip but did have the advantage of coming back to Newbury by train. With a bit of judicious parking I was able easily to access Victoria Park and thence the canal exactly where I had left off last time. The landscape was very different in parts, through towns and industrial estates, although mostly you would never know it. Plenty of locks of course and swing bridges too, foot and road, and pillboxes:
Various other bridges, some bearing pipes for what purpose I do not know:
I love it when lock gates support their own ecosystems:
Some urban intrusions:
I am sure I read somewhere that the towpath is surfaced all the way from Thatcham to Reading, but it very much isn’t. It switches often between the sides of the canal too. At one point the path was barely visible and no wider than my handlebars and I had to gingerly make my way through five-foot high nettles, taking on a fair few stings. At least I only fell off once, thankfully I was stationary at the time, so incurred just a few minor cuts and scrapes.
The canal becomes the River Kennet for a stretch and the non-linear banks made a pleasant change, the ill-defined path sometimes running along the edge of a field.
I think this is where the River Lambourn feeds into the canal.
There were other obstacles:
This one really annoyed me. What was the point of it? It would have been a struggle to say the least to haul my bike over and through the “V” but I dropped the handlebars and did it that way under the horizontal bar.
Both this car and Fobney pumping station have seen better days:
This system of sluices impressed:
Two of the locks are unusual. Monkey Marsh Lock is one of twenty which were built between Reading and Newbury with timber sides and turf banks, but they fell out of favour (too wide, needing too much water and rather difficult to climb aboard boats) and all but two were replaced with standard designs with brick walls capped with stone or brick copings. This is actually a 1990 replica.
Two other turf-sided locks were replaced in the 1830s with a pleasing scalloped design and this, Aldermaston Lock, is one of them.
Aldermaston sends shudders through me otherwise, being home of the profoundly sinister Atomic Weapons Establishment. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s marches tend to end there. It has a long history of safety and compliance ‘concerns’:
Atomic Weapons Establishment – Wikipedia
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly coming across this group of Greylag Geese at the edge of a cow field. A pair of Grey Herons in flight were inspiring too.
As I watched the heron, I found myself wondering whether, on top of all the weird psychosexual stuff and personal inadequacies exhibited by the hunting and shooting brigade, there might also be an element of envy. Envy of birds’ ability to fly, of any wild creature’s independence, that makes them want to take those things away by the most brutal means possible.
As I approached and reached Reading, things changed again. The joy of these travels so far has been a sense of freedom – apart from the ubiquitous “Private Fishing” signs, there’s been little to worry about in terms of rules and regulations. But now I began to see wildlife proof fencing and at one point razor wire. I was way beyond the AWE, so what secret horrors could this be protecting? Ah, of course, Thames Water.
I had hoped to be able to follow the canal through Reading to its end, but it was not to be. I felt a bit like Michael Palin at the end of his travels in homage to Phineas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days, when the Reform Club, his final destination, refused to admit him.
So this was the end of my eastward journey:
Beyond that is the privately owned Oracle shopping centre with its Draconian set of prohibitions:
So dogs must be on static leads, no fishing, no bikes, skateboards or roller skates, but plenty of CCTV. Strangest of all is the ban on photography (which I may, by posting the above, have broken and be subject to a £100 fine). I found the full set of restrictions here:
“Our visitor guide Whether you’re shopping with us, having a bite to eat or enjoying our leisure facilities, we want you to always feel welcome at The Oracle. To make sure everyone enjoys their time with us, we have a few simple ground rules: o Please keep an eye on any children or adults in your care.
We will not allow intimidating, aggressive or derogatory behaviour of any kind towards other visitors, our staff or our retailers.
We welcome all fashion choices but, if you’re wearing something with a hood, please make sure it is down when inside the centre
No one likes a ‘litter bug’. Please dispose of your rubbish responsibly using the bins provided.
Please don’t run in the centre – even if you’re in a hurry to snap up a bargain.
We do not allow leafleting, canvassing or the conducting of third party interviews or surveys anywhere in the centre or associated areas, unless written permission has been granted from the centre management team.
It’s against our rules to sell goods anywhere in the centre or associated areas, unless our centre team have given you permission.
Electrical items should not be plugged into centre owned power sockets unless permission has been granted from the centre management team.
You can only busk in the centre if you have permission from the centre management team.
For the comfort of all visitors, staff and retailers, we do not allow the use of portable speakers, loudhailers, and other such devices unless permission has been granted from the centre management team.
For your safety and the safety of others, please don’t climb, stand or sit on balustrades, walls, barriers, fencing or railing in and around the centre and associated areas. You should also remain out of staff only areas including plant cages, gantries and other external structures of the centre.
Whatever team you support, we don’t allow ball games of any kind in the centre– kicking, throwing or otherwise.
Bikes, roller-blades, scooters, micro-scooters, skateboards and Heelys (or similar) are not allowed in the centre.
Electric powered scooters, bikes, skateboards or similar motorised items other than approved Shopmobility equipment are not allowed in the centre.
For your safety and the safety of others, please do not climb on, or surf on, the lifts and escalators.
Selfies are welcomed, but remember that The Oracle is private property, professional photography and filming is only allowed if permission has been granted in advance by the centre team. Filming, photography or sketching of the building’s infrastructure, or any members of staff, is not permitted under any circumstances. We retain the right to refuse photography, filming and sketching at any time.
Tops and footwear must be worn at all times, unless you’re in a changing room.
Motorcyclist crash helmets must be removed when visiting the centre.
We welcome all well-behaved dogs in the centre, however the following additional rules should be followed:
Please keep your dog on a non-extendable, static lead at all times.
Do not leave your dog unattended.
Please do not take your dog on escalators, instead please use the lifts and stairs.
Please clean up after your dog.
Please keep your dog under control at all times.
Please respect the dog policies of our individual retailers.
Look out for the dog-friendly sticker in the windows of our retailers that allow dogs within their stores.
Smoking, including electronic cigarettes, is strictly forbidden in the centre, unless in our designated smoking areas.
For your safety and the safety of others, please do not loiter or sleep within our car parks
Alcohol must only be consumed within licensed leisure and food establishments and we encourage visitors to drink responsibly.
Criminal damage or vandalism against centre property, or retailers, is illegal and we will inform the police.
Anyone who doesn’t pay attention to these rules will be asked to leave the centre.
We also reserve the right to deny entry to anyone whose actions we feel are unsuitable and may have a negative impact on other customers, our colleagues and retailers.
Thank you to all our shoppers who make our destinations a lively and great place to visit. We appreciate your support.“
Some of these are of course perfectly reasonable but the property includes not just the shops and cafés but a wide open-air path beside the canal, so many come from the heart of a paranoid killjoy, although Reading is rather a notorious crime hot-spot. But “Filming, photography or sketching of the building’s infrastructure, or any members of staff, is not permitted under any circumstances.” What are they scared of? What will a photograph of infrastructure reveal that they don’t want me to know? You can come and spend your money but not enjoy yourself, relax or feel unwatched. Good of them to welcome “all fashion choices” – with exceptions. Who writes this crap, who dreams it up?
I threaded through the town centre to the station, my first busy road experience on the bike, but it’s a bike-friendly place and there were only buses to contend with for the most part, and they were considerate of the many other cyclists.
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