Moored in Culham again on Tuesday night. As we had envisaged, it's not easy throwing ropes from deep locks to go upstream. Culham is the deepest, but it was lunchtime for the lock keeper when we arrived so self service. I operated the lock whilst Pete manned the ropes. Obviously easier to catch a rope on the lockside and secure it. The simple push button operation for the gates and sluices is so easy to use, wish the canal locks were the same!
On Wednesday we pressed on to Oxford as our Thames licence runs out on this day. This meant the longest cruise we have done this trip, all of 5 hours! The sort of length of day we used to do. The weather was kind to us until we had gone through Osney lock and then the heavens opened. We got back onto the canal dripping wet but fire was alight and water hot for showers.
Locked through Osney lock with a beautiful Bates Starcraft boat, Asterisk, crewed by the most charming foursome, who were very courteous and brave to let us follow them into the lock when we are 50' of steel and they are delicate wood. It was a tight squeeze. (They did get a bit twitched however when Pete started wielding his log splitter! ) They had come from Limehouse and were going to see how far they could get up the Thames but this was their limit as Osney bridge is so low. The quietly spoken captain told us he had had an exciting ride from Wapping to Greenwich, opening up the 'over powerful engines'. You could tell he loved his boat.
We moored further up the canal than last time, taking our lead from the owner of Daisy NB, who told me although it was not a pretty mooring sandwiched as it is between high not very attractive modern flats, you could easily walk into Jericho and Oxford centre from here. We explored Jericho, which we really liked. Lots of stylish pubs and cafes and pretty streets of old mixed style houses, a young, vibrant suburb.
On Wednesday we pressed on to Oxford as our Thames licence runs out on this day. This meant the longest cruise we have done this trip, all of 5 hours! The sort of length of day we used to do. The weather was kind to us until we had gone through Osney lock and then the heavens opened. We got back onto the canal dripping wet but fire was alight and water hot for showers.
Locked through Osney lock with a beautiful Bates Starcraft boat, Asterisk, crewed by the most charming foursome, who were very courteous and brave to let us follow them into the lock when we are 50' of steel and they are delicate wood. It was a tight squeeze. (They did get a bit twitched however when Pete started wielding his log splitter! ) They had come from Limehouse and were going to see how far they could get up the Thames but this was their limit as Osney bridge is so low. The quietly spoken captain told us he had had an exciting ride from Wapping to Greenwich, opening up the 'over powerful engines'. You could tell he loved his boat.
We moored further up the canal than last time, taking our lead from the owner of Daisy NB, who told me although it was not a pretty mooring sandwiched as it is between high not very attractive modern flats, you could easily walk into Jericho and Oxford centre from here. We explored Jericho, which we really liked. Lots of stylish pubs and cafes and pretty streets of old mixed style houses, a young, vibrant suburb.
Not sure what a Bates Starcraft is, but Bates boatyard is in our neck of the woods,next to Chertsey bridge.So it was probably made there....
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