The Caen Flight

The Caen Hill Flight. 28 locks. One after the other. Well, they SAY 28 , but ,in fact, there are 5 before you get there and ANOTHER 5 before you can moor anywhere sensible.

Oh Joy.

Hurray.

Beware the nesting swans! These were quite friendly, which was just as well as they were nesting near the lock gate.

There they all are! Three hours from the top! 

All done . All 38! NOT 28!

So, on to Bath on a very wet morning.

John loves the rain..See you in Bath!

Brewery/ Brasserie

So, it's pouring with rain on a Monday morning in Devizes, what do you do? Answer, go to the launderette, and on the way there you see a pub taking delivery of the local brew by dray cart. And they do tours round the brewery. Leave the washing and off we go! I'll let the photos do the talking.

Bien, c'est lundi matin et il pleut, qu'est ce qu'on faire? Allez au laundrette et fait le linge. MAIS, en route on voir un livraison au "pub" de la biere fabriquer en ville et livre par les grands chevaux. Et les gens font un tour de la brasserie pour la publique.Eh bien, laissez la linge et on y va au tour! Je laisse vous les photos a regarder.

                                                                                         

Yes, we did drink that many, but they were only small. No, really, they were!
Oui, c'est vrai, nous avons bu tous les verres,mais ils etaient petits. Non, vraiment, petits!!

Avebury . Pour Jean -Charles, region sud-ouest, departement Wiltshire!

Fourteen times the size of Stonehenge, older by some 5000years, the Avebury Stone Circles are absolutely amazing!
Quatorze fois plus grand et 5000ans plus age que Stonehenge the Avebury Stone Circles sont vraiment magnifique!!!

 This is the 'female' diamond and the 'male pillar in West Kennet Avenue.Stones weigh between 10 and 100 tonnes.
Diamant female et le male situe a Kennet Avenue Ouest. Les roches pesent entre 10 et 100 tonnes.

 The ditches they were put into were dug out with antler picks and ox shoulder blades. 100 thousand cubic metres of chalk were moved!

Les gens ont utilise les outils fabrique des os d'animaux. Ils ont deplace 100 mille metres cubes de chaux.
It is a truly awe inspiring place to visit....

And this is Avebury Manor, star of the BBC TV programme 'To The Manor Reborn'. It is also where Alexander Keiller lived in the 1930s, and it is largely thanks to him that the Avebury Stones are so well documented and excavated.

Since 1955 the house has been owned by the National Trust and, since the refurbishment programme by the BBC, is a new concept museum i.e. when visiting, you are encouraged to behave like a guest, sit down, read the newspapers etc. As you can see, John did!!

Cettte maison est Avebury Manor, construit c.1600 . Alexander Keiller habitais la pendant les annees 30. C'etait lui qui a fait des travaux pour sauver les roches.
Depuis une emission par le BBC, qui a fait des renovations dans la maison, le Manoir est devenue une musee extraordinaire ou on est encourage de "faites comme chez vous". Comme vous pouvez voir, John est a l'aise!!!!


And finally, after all that
 history, off to The Red
 Lion pub for fish and chips!!                                                                                

      Et enfin, apres nos lecons en histoire, on y va au 'pub' Lion Rouge, pour les Fish and Chips!!!

Life on the Kennet and Avon Canal!

Yes, John fell in! Actually, slid in would be more accurate as we moored for the night!
Oui, c'est le tour de John de nage dans le canal! En fait, il a glisse apres le bateau etait gare!!!

"Eye bombing" on the Kennet and Avon!
"Eye bombing" c'est la manie partout en europe, mais jen'ai jamais vue en France

Bedwyn Church Lock, one of 25 on the way to Devizes. Village of Bedwyn in the background.

The Bruce Tunnel at the end of all the locks ! 500m, named in honour of Thomas Bruce,Earl of Ailesbury, who supported its building in 1806. It took 3 years and 2 million bricks to complete in 1809.
Le tunnel Bruce a la fin de tous les ecluses!!! Thomas Bruce etait le plus impotant adherent de la construction du tunnel en 1806. Apres 3ans et 2million briques, voila, c'etait finis et rest en bon etat aujourdhui.

 The White Horse of Alton Barnes instigated by Robert Pile of Manor Farm , Alton Barnes , in 1812.
Le Cheval Blanc commande par Robert Pile, manor farm Alton Barnes, 1812.

And a white swan to be wary of as it protected its nesting mate by attacking the boat!
Et un cygne blanche. Il faut qu'on fasse attention car  il etait en train de  proteger sa "femme" en attaquant la peniche!!

Newbury!!

Finally arrived at Newbury after all those locks and bridges! Good fun really....
This is where we moored , just a short walk from the town center, with the swing bridge waiting for us!

Farmer's market was delightful and we spent a fortune on cheese, sausages , quiche and veg. Very friendly stall holder gave us lots of advice on places to visit, mostly pubs!!  No bad thing that though, given the effort it takes to get to these places!

 This fascinating granite sculpture is a work by Paul Randall-Page and is near the lock. It's fascination lies in the way it works; lock empties, so does the bowl, lock fills, so does the bowl.  It's constantly moving with the flow of traffic through the canal. Well, I was impressed!








Weaver's cottages on the canal side.
On to Hungerford!

We're Back!

 John gets busy with the mop and bucket to clean up 5 weeks of leaf and bird droppings! And then, we're off!

 Going through the center of Reading was interesting, had to negotiate traffic lights! I also should report here that I can personally vouch for the fact that the Thames is very cold at this time of year and not suitable for swimming. Fortunately John did not have time to get the camera as I fell in, ho ho.
Ici, centre ville de Reading Je doit dire a cet moment que je puisse confirme que la Thames est tres froid en Avril! Heureusement, John n'avais pas le temps de prendre un photo de moi au moment je suis tombee dedans...il etait en train de rire, sympa n'est ce pas?!!!!.

 Blake's Lock on the Kennet and Avon, first of many en route to Bath. Unmanned and heavy, guess who's job it is to open them?
Maintenant nous avons quitte la Thames et nous voyageons le Kennet and Avon. Les ecluses on fait nous-memes.Il y a une centaine en route de Bath. Devinez qui doit les ouvrir....

A slap up meal here tonight methinks!

Nous allons diner ici ce soir, je pense que c'est meriter!