Thursday 11th July to Saturday 27th July- Newbury
Thatcham was the first place we considered buying a house. Not too far from Newbury and good access all around. We looked at several houses there and found two we really liked. The second one was in a much better location with good access to the train station and closer to the town of Thatcham. That meant we had to explore Thatcham itself and see what we thought of the town. It turned out to be quite small, although it had numerous pubs and some basic shops including a Waitrose supermarket. Neither of us felt like it had enough going on to want to live there. We did do a mini pub crawl (pubs 8,9,10 and 11) but we only really liked one of them. Time to move on to Newbury.
We use a Waterways guide to see what facilities are ahead, and had quickly found that Newbury (for some reason) doesn't have many facilities for boaters except for some good mooring. Facilities means places to dispose of both toilet waste (Elsan) or rubbish, as well as fuel or water if you need it. Rubbish you can hold on to, but the toilet cassettes do have to be emptied every 2-3 days at the most. We had also decided to stay in Newbury for at least a week to do some house hunting there too.
We found a small marina online and called ahead to see if they had space for us for at least a week. They did and we moved in there on Friday. This turned out to be a great move. Greenham Lock Marina is only small but is run by a very nice couple called Peter and Steph, with their friend Peter. It was the perfect base to go house hunting from, and the car was safely parked there too.
At first we were moored right near the tree in the second photo above, and not in the main marina part under the bridge in the first photo.
On Friday night, we went out to dinner in Newbury to a very nice restaurant called 'Goat on the Roof'- English sourced tapas style plates. The food was amazing but not inexpensive.
That first Saturday we explored the town itself. The market was on, and the whole main street closes and becomes pedestrianized from 10 AM until 5 PM. It had a really nice vibe and every shop you could think of. It's definitely a large town but feels compact, and the canal runs right through the middle. We really liked it.
Knowing there were other small towns close by from our online house search, we went for a drive that afternoon and looked around both Hungerford and Kintbury. Hungerford was nice but we were still bitten by the Newbury bug.
On Sunday, Dick planned one of four long walks we did around the outskirts of Newbury to explore what we could walk to from Newbury itself without having to get into the car. We walked out to Greenham Common- the old airbase that is now public land to walk and bike on. A volunteer group has worked to open the old control tower into both a museum and cafe.
That evening, Peter and Steve helped us move the boat into the marina itself as they had a crane coming in the next day to lift some boats out of the water and they needed us out of the way. It turned out to be a better spot too as we had more sunshine for the solar panels and more sky for the Starlink to see for the internet.
The crane lifting out the CRT work boats
My job the next day (while Dick was working) was to book more appointments to see houses in Newbury during that week. We found out which areas were considered most sought after (where the best schools were) and the areas not to live. Our original aim had been to find a house with a double garage for the motorbike, bicycles and the car if possible. We quickly found that the closer you wanted to be to Newbury (i.e. walking distance) the less likely that was. We decided that one garage to fit the motorbike(s) and bicycles in would have to be enough. We were still hoping for a detached house.
Mike and Cathy came to visit overnight on Tuesday 18th and came house hunting too. We also walked to look at the outside of some other prospective houses. Ironically, we saw the one we made an offer on that day but I still don't like the outside of it!
Exploring three more pubs together- this was the Lock, Stock and Barrel on the canal side
The following day, I took the opportunity to drive up to see my mum and step dad. Living in a marina for a bit does not require a second pair of hands, therefore it was the ideal time for a visit. I came home on Friday morning, ready to see some more houses on Friday afternoon. The first one needed too much work and the second one was way too dark and cold inside the house on a very hot day.
On Saturday, our luck changed. The first house we saw was so small we felt claustrophobic in (which is saying something when you live on a narrowboat!), the second one the complete opposite. It was huge- a bit more house than we needed, although it was in good condition and had a great garden. We liked it but neither of us loved it, and it wasn't really where we wanted to live. The third one was on the north east side of Newbury in a village called Speen. This was the one we had walked to with Mike and Cathy. It had a village feel, with two pubs but still rural and yet we knew it was a short distance into the center of Newbury. I still didn't like the outside of it because they had upgraded the windows and gone for a dark grey instead of white like the rest of the Court it sat in. Despite being built in the 1970's and over 50 years old, the houses are also a little closer together than I would have liked but inside was a different matter. It had been extended and had bi-fold doors out to the small garden. There was a large and very open plan kitchen and dining room with an office extending into the garden. We both loved it. The living room is not too small and has a fire. It was cosy - ideal for the colder evenings. We could see ourselves in this house. It isn't very big- just three bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor but as Dick said- exactly what we needed and no more, and perfect for this time in our lives. It needs just a couple of small updates. The entrance hall floors need sanding and re-finishing. There are two downstairs toilets- one is right by the front door and in need of repair. It would make a great walk in closet for coats and shoes. The other one has a shower and toilet and was new as part of the extension. The closets are 70's style with old doors which can be opened up a bit and replaced but the rest is fine the way it is. The garden is small and overlooked but we have a plan for that too. We liked it enough to go back for a second look the following Tuesday and make an offer on it!
It has one decent sized garage...
This left us with Sunday to go exploring again- this time to the north east, and a 5 mile walk which turned into a Dick Wall special- 9 miles instead :-) We found Donnington Castle and explored Snelsmore Common, coming back by 'our' house and walking into town to an already favourite pub for a fantastic Sunday lunch.
Donnington Castle ruins
Sunday lunch inside one enormous Yorkshire pudding at the Cross Keys.
Our offer was accepted on the house on Wednesay 24th July, and suddenly we were free to go off exploring the canals again.
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