Thatcham to Tyle Mill

We decided to make an early start and set off at 9am. OK not that early but it is when you're retired! 😉
The scenery started off quite industrial and then we found ourselves in the countryside once more.

We soon came across our first swing bridge of the day. This one was quite tame but they were to get more interesting further along!

At Woolhampton it gets a bit tricky as there is a lock followed by some fast flowing river and then a road swing bridge. You need to open the swing bridge before leaving the lock. As we shared the lock with another boat, there were enough hands to deal with the lock so I went ahead and opened the swing bridge. You have to stop the traffic, its all automated but feels great being in control! John was dreading this stretch of river as when we brought the boat home 3 years ago in the opposite direction the river was in flood and it was really hard to control the boat. It's amazing how different it has been now the river is flowing normally.

There is a nice looking pub by the bridge and a really pretty house.

 Further on we passed some really amazing houses backing onto the canal.

Dex takes boating in his stride and is happy to relax on the roof. He prefers to be walking the towpath and helping with the locks though. He's had lots of admirers already on this trip!

We have seen some lovely Willow trees along this stretch of canal.

As we approached Aldermaston the river splits and we had to turn sharp left to avoid the route to the weir!

Soon we came across another road swing bridge. We had to do 4 in total today, 3 swing bridges and 1 lift bridge. I operated them all so have had my power rush of the day!

We managed to share some of the locks which makes life easier. Some locks fill really quickly whilst others take ages. Each one has it's own quirks, sticking or leaking gates, broken paddles, awkward bridges. Guess that's what makes it fun though, you never know what lies ahead!

So far most of the people we have met on the way have been lovely, really chatty and friendly. You do get the odd misery though - wouldn't be real life otherwise I guess..
Back out in the open countryside there were lots of turns swooping down near the boat, hunting for fish.

Six hours after leaving Thatcham we arrived at Tyle Mill Lock. One more road bridge and there was our mooring! We were lucky as there were no mooring signs on the towpath but a friendly permanent moorer showed us a good spot and told us we could moor there for up to 2 weeks! We only need overnight as off to Reading tomorrow!