Well good evening everyone and welcome to the 2018 Herbie Awards. (loud cheers). I trust you are by now all well oiled, well fed and have got the tufts of red carpet out of your shoes, so just relax and enjoy. Unfortunately our proposed host this year, Theresa May has had to cancel due to some pressing business or other (Hmmph! Really! What could be more important than the Herbie Awards?), so we’ll just soldier on without her. We have some great categories this year and some surprise nominees too, so without further ado, let’s have the nominations for Best Town Mooring.
Remember, Herbie Awards only relate to Herbie’s experiences during the year, so if you’re rooting for your favourite mooring in Carcassonne, forget it. This year though, our town mooring shortlist are all places where we have never moored before. Here they are in alphabetical order
1. Abingdon
Full marks to Abingdon for providing free moorings (not the norm on the Thames). It’s a lovely waterfront with more nice old buildings than you can shake a stick at, and just a short walk from the town centre. Oh I just remembered we have moored here once before, some years ago. It’s a beaut.
2.Lechlade
Hardly urban is it? It’s only a short stroll to the town centre. I had to check if Lechade was actually a town rather than a village, but apparently it is. There is another mooring on the far bank just before the bridge in the garden of the New Inn Hotel. That’s a good ‘un, and there’s another just through the bridge too. The spot you see here cost us, I think, a fiver for a night.
3. Oxford canal, Oxford
We’ve been eyeing up this mooring for some years but I was always a bit scared to give it a go because you have to back up a couple of hundred yards to get it. It’s right down the dead end of the canal past Isis lock. Egged on by Bones and Maffi we decided to give it a go, and it’s perfect. Despite the way it looks here it’s about two minutes walk from the city centre. We’ll certainly use it again.
4. East Street Oxford
On the Thames this time, just down from Osney Bridge, and adjacent to the Punter pub/restaurant. It’s a tad further to the city centre, but quite doable on foot. It’s a popular mooring and seems to fill up by early afternoon.
3.Reading jail (Chestnut Walk)
There aren’t too many safe places to stop in Reading, but this one is fine. Overlooked by the (now defunct) prison and adjacent to the lovely old Abbey ruins, this is a great spot and only a couple of minutes walk from the town centre. In case you hadn’t guessed, it’s on the Kennet rather than the Thames. Easily the best mooring in town, but at a cost, £9.50 a night if I remember rightly.
Well that’s our short list, we liked ‘em all. I’ll have to consult my co-pilot to choose a winner. Come back tomorrow for that, and for nominations for Best Rural Mooring.
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