02.10.15 - 05.10.15
After 2 pleasant nights in Oxford again, on the narrow strip of Thames before the very low Osney Bridge, we carried on upstream past Port Meadow on a hazy morning and turned back onto the Oxford Canal via Dukes Cut, our first lock having a dead sheep floating in it! Certainly didn't want that tangled in the prop!
Back to narrows and manning locks ourselves. The weather is lovely : warm, mostly sunny with a cool breeze. We know this canal well now after 4 years of travelling on it. Our first stop Thrupp and a beer in the Boatman, a warm enough late afternoon to sit on the bank on this well-kept stretch. People on the boat behind us who moor here permanently (they of the 'quote of the day' on a chalk board on the roof) were washing/carding (?) woollen fleeces on the path; strange past-time. Next day, we travelled on to a nowhere mooring past Dashwood Lock for our second night, where Pete just about managed to get an ITV signal for the England v Australia game, but then probably wished he hadn't bothered!
This was the 3rd, a Saturday, so lots of party hire boats: hens and stags? Plenty of good times and lots of weird boatmanship as a result! We smile and wave. The Dashwood mooring was another reminder of those ' why we do this' moments: going outside in the cold darkness and seeing a clear sky full of stars - stillness and silence all around you.
Port Meadow
Dashwood
Heyford
Somerton
On the 4th we decided to press on to Banbury as it was their Canal Day. We toyed with Pete's wise idea of mooring in Heyford and taking the train one stop so as to be there in time for some of the jollity, but there were no trains. We ended up doing the longest day of this trip: 7 hours cruising and on leaving Kings Sutton lock the gear lever alarmingly came off in my hand, just as I was reversing to stop and pick up Pete!! We just about pushed it back on its cog in time to change direction and keep from ramming the lock gate. On inspection the screw that holds it in place had worn, we were able to fix it. Nasty moment though. Nothing like feeling helplessly unable to stop the boat although I suppose we could have switched off the engine and drifted.
Around 5pm we arrived at a miserable mooring outside of Banbury and walked in just in time to see the stalls packing up and the boats' bunting being taken down! Never mind, we had had a lovely day in the still autumn sunshine (positively balmy today) and the boat once again became our solace after a pint in one of the not-so-good pubs in Banbury. Music on ( because we have no TV signal!) a roaring fire, hot shower and a tasty dinner; it doesn't get much better than this.
I will catch the train back from here on 6th, Pete will continue on his own (in the rain as he always seem to end up doing) to Fenny Compton and our mooring. I will return with the car to pick up him and all our clobber on Friday.
Ani will rest until next year, she has given us another fantastic trip.
After 2 pleasant nights in Oxford again, on the narrow strip of Thames before the very low Osney Bridge, we carried on upstream past Port Meadow on a hazy morning and turned back onto the Oxford Canal via Dukes Cut, our first lock having a dead sheep floating in it! Certainly didn't want that tangled in the prop!
Back to narrows and manning locks ourselves. The weather is lovely : warm, mostly sunny with a cool breeze. We know this canal well now after 4 years of travelling on it. Our first stop Thrupp and a beer in the Boatman, a warm enough late afternoon to sit on the bank on this well-kept stretch. People on the boat behind us who moor here permanently (they of the 'quote of the day' on a chalk board on the roof) were washing/carding (?) woollen fleeces on the path; strange past-time. Next day, we travelled on to a nowhere mooring past Dashwood Lock for our second night, where Pete just about managed to get an ITV signal for the England v Australia game, but then probably wished he hadn't bothered!
This was the 3rd, a Saturday, so lots of party hire boats: hens and stags? Plenty of good times and lots of weird boatmanship as a result! We smile and wave. The Dashwood mooring was another reminder of those ' why we do this' moments: going outside in the cold darkness and seeing a clear sky full of stars - stillness and silence all around you.
On the 4th we decided to press on to Banbury as it was their Canal Day. We toyed with Pete's wise idea of mooring in Heyford and taking the train one stop so as to be there in time for some of the jollity, but there were no trains. We ended up doing the longest day of this trip: 7 hours cruising and on leaving Kings Sutton lock the gear lever alarmingly came off in my hand, just as I was reversing to stop and pick up Pete!! We just about pushed it back on its cog in time to change direction and keep from ramming the lock gate. On inspection the screw that holds it in place had worn, we were able to fix it. Nasty moment though. Nothing like feeling helplessly unable to stop the boat although I suppose we could have switched off the engine and drifted.
Around 5pm we arrived at a miserable mooring outside of Banbury and walked in just in time to see the stalls packing up and the boats' bunting being taken down! Never mind, we had had a lovely day in the still autumn sunshine (positively balmy today) and the boat once again became our solace after a pint in one of the not-so-good pubs in Banbury. Music on ( because we have no TV signal!) a roaring fire, hot shower and a tasty dinner; it doesn't get much better than this.
I will catch the train back from here on 6th, Pete will continue on his own (in the rain as he always seem to end up doing) to Fenny Compton and our mooring. I will return with the car to pick up him and all our clobber on Friday.
Ani will rest until next year, she has given us another fantastic trip.
