There was a little light drizzle when we tackled our first lock this morning as we left Crofton just after 8 am.  We went through 6 locks before finding one set in our favour and only saw 3 boats travelling in the opposite direction all day.

As we looked back we could see the pumping station billowing large volumes of smoke as it prepared for another day of steaming.

We noticed quite a few of the locks leaking through the top or bottom gates and sometimes both.  Perhaps that was contributing to  yesterday’s low water at Crofton?  Some of the gates were also pretty heavy on this section.  Between locks 70 and 71 we crossed from Wiltshire to Berkshire.

Hungerford Marsh Lock was particularly interesting as there is a swing bridge across the middle of the lock.  The bridge had to be moved before we could enter the lock but could be closed as the water went down before we had actually left the lock.  A rather unusual arrangement that made for a fun picture.

There were a few short showers as we made our way towards Hungerford but the weather was generally very good with a fairly strong breeze particularly in the afternoon.

We saw several Red Kites circling overhead but none that came close enough for a decent picture.

Just after arriving in Hungerford we met Jan and Steve who had been advised by their friends Jane and Richard from Casual Water to look out for Oliver on their way to Bristol.  Purely by chance we moored just in front of them before lock 74.

In the evening we had a short walk around the town to see if we could find laundry facilities and a suitable establishment for two deserving pensioners for a Monday evening dinner.  We found one of the most interesting antique emporiums we have ever seen.  The copper jelly moulds were amazing but at £250 a trifle expensive.