Day 8 Old Woolhampton or Midgham?
Another short hop today, heading for Midgham.
There was a challenge for Martin in the shape of a swing bridge and a lock in close succession! The instructions tell you to prepare the lock before you open the road bridge because of the strong flow on this section of canalised River Kennet, I’m meant to be working but manage to snap a photo of Martin returning to the boat after closing the bridge. At least the road swing bridges are all motorised and operated from a control panel, but getting the right time to do it in order not to make the motorists wait too long is a hit and miss affair although this particular swing bridge is marked with a plea to avoid opening it between 8:00 and 9:00 am!
We manage to squeeze onto the 48 hour moorings, it is nice and open so we manage to get some last rays of sun on the solar panels!
As Martin ties us up the boat in front causes me amusement, it appears to have a floating pod behind it with a domed roof but an open front - not sure if this was a floating dog house!
For my evening walk I go to explore Woolhampton, most confusingly the rail station is known as Midgham which is some 2 miles away. Apparently, the station was called Woolhampton when it opened in 1847 but the name was changed in 1873 to avoid confusion with Wolverhampton station!
I find a little footpath and set out to explore the metropolis which is Woolhampton!
Along the main street there is a splendid brick building with a clock tower that looks as though it has been a community hall and a library in its time, but I couldn’t find anything more about it. The lamp outside was a very interesting time and I wondered if as the village was an important coaching stop towards the West Country this had been used to light the road.
Many of the buildings were made up of this red brick with decorative yellow bricks and stone, in particular the fountain which was constructed to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
The village is somewhat marred by the A4 ploughing through the centre, the main road between Bath and Reading and there are many modern houses sandwiched between Victorian villas and even older buildings. There were lots of “Ghost Signs” painted advertisements on the sides of buildings which in former lives had been shops, pubs and even a hotel!
Making my way back to the boat I had to wait at the level crossing for the two car Great Western train as it arrived at Midgham station on its way to Newbury or beyond, hopefully I will be able to catch a train on this line to get me into London later this week!
