Photos

Dog at the bar in The Boat, Thrupp



MI5's new secret surveillance station?!



Oh yes!



Strange set up near Enslow Wharf; seems to be a tea room of sorts although it has no sign and always surprises me because of all the soft furnishings which are out in the elements. It has a charming atmosphere though and there is always the odd vintage car somewhere to be seen.

Back on our mooring

Monday 19th May
Back to Fenny, from Slat Mill Lock, where we had been moored for the warmest of evenings opposite a cow field. Windows were out on the boat and side hatch open until dark - this is the best weather for boating.

There seemed to be a lot more traffic today - a bit of chaos at Broadmoor Lock just past Cropredy, when 4 boats were coming down and we had to re-open the lock and hold in, then as we were we off again another boat appeared around the bend. A little madness especially as the canal was narrowed by 2 boats abreast on the far bank. Hey ho, you never know what might happen, but it's all at slow-mo speed, so no panic.

Boat swept and mopped. Joints greased, diesel filled, outdoor seats stored away - all this takes a while. Shower drainage mended; more silicone than a breast implant and a larger screw (luckily not 4' long!) seem to do the trick. It's yet to be put to the major test of showers every evening for a month or two though.

So back to the real world again, an empty fridge at home because Dan has been holding the fort there and back to my poorly Mum, who has been bravely soldiering on despite ill health and a new complex drug regime which requires a great deal of concentration to know which size, colour and strength of pill to take and at which time of the day.

Water on boats

Saturday, 17th May
Moored just past Kings Sutton lock, only 2 other boats nearby. A lovely gentle day cruising and the weather has been glorious, hot and sunny.

Our shower drain has been leaking gently, creating puddles under the floor, and we thought we had cleverly fixed it with a rather Heath Robinson approach using what we had on board; silicone and PTFE tape. It seemed to work for one evening, but tonight after showering, we realised it had broken its seal again and most of the soapy water had leaked under the shower floor! Another couple of hours of scrabbling about in the tiniest of spaces with your hands in the bathroom cupboard and contorted to reach under the floor, trying to line up the drain pipe fitting with the plug hole trap and screw and we have admitted defeat. We cannot understand why the screw now no longer appears long enough to hold the 2 components together above and below the floor, when we have not altered the thickness of the sealants. What is it about these sorts of jobs that they become so difficult? All we need is a rubber seal and a suitable screw. Pete says we will go to a hardware shop and they will say, oh yes we have just the right fitting but the only screw that fits is 4foot long, will that be OK? !
Anyway, I suppose we can continue to shower provided we are prepared to mop up all the water afterwards, not a great idea.

Hot day

Friday 16th May
After an evening at Thrupp once again, in the pub chatting to our neighbours; Keith and Sara on Harriet Rose, we woke up to the hottest day, clear blue sky and sunshine. We set off early for us at half 9 and got to Heyford Common by 3.15, stopping to fill up with water - this has been the longest day we have done this trip!

Uneventful cruising with very few other boats, until we got to Heyford and it's narrow bridge, where on the other side, Oxfordshire Narrowboats hire boats were 4 abreast across canal, leaving a mean one-boat width to get through. We belatedly gave way to another boat which we hadn't seen coming towards us before we were through the bridge and they hit a moored boat and us trying to get through. A seriously dumb set-up by the hire company, especially as there was plenty of room to moor the 4th boat behind the others. The mind boggles.


Moored all by ourselves again between railway and River Cherwell. Nothing but the merry dance of May flies and the sound of sheep bleating and birds singing.
The real world retreats once more.




Oxfordshire Narrowboats taking up canal width



Bit of TLC for Ani on our secluded mooring



Cheerful sheep, probably because they had broken through to the lock's untouched grass! The one on the right surely requires a speech bubble.

Oxford

Tuesday 13th May
Oxford again. I love this city. Moored at the end of the canal where there are surprisingly few boats at the moment. Suppose it's not quite the season yet. Apart from the trains which seem to rumble constantly, it is very peaceful here.

We attempted to wind the boat in the allotted hole which is meant for boats up to 52foot. Ours is 50, so it was a nuisance when we got widthways across the canal and could get no further - the bow wedging into thick bushes and tapping on the bank wall. We gave up, went through Isis Lock and turned around there, a thing you are not supposed to do. Rules are that you should carry on to the Thames to turn, which is pretty silly. Perhaps they should do something to widen the winding hole?

On sunny Wednesday, we visited the Cezanne exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, bought some lovely cheeses from the market and bread from another, sat in the bow in the sunshine watching people cycle and walk past, then went into Jericho for our evening drink and dinner. What could be better? Dinner at Brasserie Blanc, a favourite, and we marvelled at the value once again; the bill (because we'd been able to take advantage of fixed prices before 7pm) was almost exactly the same as our Pizza Express bill; the food a million times better.

Jericho was apparently the ironworks area and then home of the Oxford University Press. Hence the lovely Old Bookbinders pub where we had a drink. Streets are really pretty, rows of Victorian terraced houses, which are now gentrified.

A lovely day.

Owl and towpath facilities etiquette

Monday 12th May
After a horribly windy day and then a very quiet night in the woods with just an owl for company (and Pete), we travelled on to Thrupp. Wooded along the Cherwell River, this stretch is particularly sheltered and the wind had dropped, sun was out and it was warm! We moored in Thrupp, a well kept spot looked after by a proud boaters' club. This makes for a beautiful mooring and The Boat Inn is a very pleasant pub.
We had a pint and dinner while a thunderstorm passed overhead and went back onboard as the sun reappeared and set.

We needed to fill up with water at Heyford. It's an awkward position to have to stop in especially if there is someone already using the tap (which there was), being just after a bridge, with boats moored both sides. I went on foot to assess the situation and discovered another boat which appeared to be waiting. When I asked the owner who was just holding in with his mid line, he said we could go first as he was happy to moor for the night here as their boat was going into the boatyard next morning, so he would wait. A very kind gesture by a very kind Frenchman (the boat advertised Monsieur Jardin design business and had a beautiful roof garden). This is what boating is all about. People helpful, thoughtful and generous and in no hurry.

The other friendly young man who was already filling his tank was chatty and helpfully pulled his boat forward so that we could wait behind him away from the narrow bridge.

Jolly boatmen!





Mad hare guarding property at Heyford



Ruined abbey at Hampton Gay, near Thrupp

Location:Tackley

The shipping forecast

General synopsis at 16.00 gmt
Hebrides , Irish Sea, Cromarty , all calm, suitable for small boats, lilos and plastic ducks
South Oxford canal:
Wind 4 to 5 , gale force in Banbury area, pressure falling
Pubs, 2 to 3 occasionally 4 ,moderate or good
Beer state 6 or 7, becoming wine later, visibility poor or hazy.




Outlook to 11 May 23.59
Food
German bight, Dover, Sole ,fisher and chips, jammy dogger ,chocolate biscays
Curry possible in Oxford area, wind predicted to continue.

Next forecast soon,thanks
Portland Bill

Banbury and Aynho

Saturday 10th May

Stopped for the night by Rolt's bridge, almost exactly the same mooring as we have had twice before. Ideal here for shopping but Banbury seems sadly short of good restaurants. The one we had looked up online which had good reviews for its pies, was closed down due to the owner being unwell. So we ended up in The Church House for a beer - a vast noisy, chasm of a place, obviously once a church which is a beautiful building, but totally lacks atmosphere as a bar. We ate in Pizza Express - it seemed a safe option.

On to Aynho in the raging wind. Anni skittering about like the little water boatman she is. She sits very lightly and delicately on the surface which is helpful in lots of ways, but not when the wind gusts. We passed glorious countryside as usual, scurrying cloud shadows across acid green rape fields. It's warm and sheltered in the bow with one crache cover firmly zipped up against the wind. I let Pete drive because he can steer in the wind and managed most locks on my own; so good for stretching out those tired old back muscles.

Little Bourton lock is very sad. In our admittedly old Nicholson's guide it describes it as "the beautifully kept Little Bourton Lock and cottage. " The 'garden' on one side of the lock is completely wild and tangled and the cottage on the other is boarded against vandals with a sign saying 'owned by boaters, please report any suspicious activity'. It appears some work is being done to restore it - a trench around the front for drainage (you can see how damp the brickwork is) and some new corrugated roofing to outbuildings which was clattering in the wind and may not stay put! Let's hope those boaters are able to get it back into a loved condition. One feature I like is a pair of cat's eyes someone has painted on a boarded window. Probably not sufficiently scary to ward off the vandals though.

Further on our route is Kings Sutton Lock where there is a beautiful house that has been for sale since we came by last year. Opposite it on the other side of the lock is an old barn which looks as though it needs work but could be nice. We seem to remember looking up the price and thinking it was rather high though. Not that we are thinking of moving!

Had to stop at the Pig Place of course. And just next door by the next lift bridge is another beautiful property for sale : think this would be way beyond our means though!




Rolt's bridge Banbury

On board again

Thursday 8th May 2014
Back on the boat for a short trip to Oxford. Seems we have chosen our dates badly as we woke up to our first morning's travelling to hear rain hammering on the roof and the forecast is not good for the next few days.

As we left our mooring on Wednesday afternoon, we decided it would be nice to have the fire lit for the evening, so Pete eagerly positioned our new chimney which our dear friend Sid had carefully made to fit and minutes later it was whisked off by the feeblest of hawthorn branches (a twig really) and I watched appalled as it dropped into the canal and sank. A frustrating hour an a half later after fishing with a boat hook, finding it once bringing it to the surface then dropping it again, Pete lying on his stomach across the back deck, me trying to keep the boat steady in one place, we gave up. Bridge 139 on the Oxford canal has claimed our pristine chimney. We had a funeral for it.

Still, we did light the fire and apart from a little blow back, it was fine. Don't quite know what made Pete decide to take our old chimney back to our house where it can serve no purpose whatsoever, sitting in the shed as it is. It would be useful to have it here even if it doesn't look as smart as the new one did. Hey ho. :-/

Location:Cropredy