Off the Thames on to the canal

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.

Dorchester

28.09.15
Today we left Wallingford and a slightly different mooring just downstream of the bridge on an open field, where Pete rescued Polly the dog, who had eagerly hurtled down the steep bank into the water, then realised she couldn't get back and was whining sadly. Pete then struggled to find her owner - a young boy with his rugby ball. Later we found out that Polly was being looked after temporarily by a family and they thanked Pete for rescuing her, saying they believed she had ADHD as she had boundless energy and little fear. That we know. We sat on this bank until dusk, when our neighbours commented on us all getting 'the last rays' before taking our chairs back on board. The weather has definitely turned for the best.

Our next stop was Dorchester on The Thame, a new one for us. We walked the mile into this quiet, pretty village and looked around it's 7th century abbey. Away from the river it was positively hot in the sun and again we positioned our chairs on the bank looking back downstream towards Days Lock and Wittenham Clumps on top of the hill. Another perfect mooring that we will remember for next time.

Night sky in Dorchester

Leaving our last neighbour in the morning around 11am.

More friends

26.09.15
Friends Jacky and Simon joined us in Pangbourne. We met them at the station on this warm sunny day, got back on board and travelled to Beale Park. We moored and had a leisurely BBQ - every small table we possessed passed on to the bank to set the food on. Pangbourne's butchers came up trumps once again with their Cumberland sausages and we'd successfully marinated some chicken with a tandoori style mix Pete had brought from home from his 'kit' of chillies his son had gifted him for his birthday. Yummy.
On to Goring in the fading afternoon sunlight, finishing our wine, we managed to get the last mooring going on the wall before the lock. Jack and Simon kindly agreed to get their train from Goring and Streatley station so that we didn't have to turn around and take them back to Pangbourne. This could have meant us trying to moor up in the dark, which wouldn't have been very clever. This is a lovely stretch of the Thames once again; grand houses with bowling green lawns sweeping down to the water, high banks of trees, kingfishers flashing, kites wheeling and swallows swooping the water. We rounded off our day in the pub before J and S caught their train at 8. Great seeing them and catching up and they are always flatteringly enthusiastic about the boat and our trips together.

Pete and I walked back to the boat in the dark, past George Michael's house (or at least we think we know which is his!), lit the fire and started washing up(lots of it). Pete couldn't get a TV signal for the rugby, so he returned to the pub to watch the England/Wales game. Meanwhile I discovered our fridge had been quietly defrosting itself, so had a fun time mopping puddles on the floor - this has happened before and is because our bank of main switches is on the wall as you come in from the stern- it is all too easy to lean on them without noticing. Obviously the defrosting this time a result of our inebriated swayings as we came in and out throughout the day, oops!

Fading summer

25.09.15
Not only are the leaves drifting down slowly and the first conkers on the ground and the daddy-long-legs inhabiting the boat but the weather clearly tells you we are into autumn - the river and it's banks mist at dusk and the air becomes chilly and damp. Time to batten down the canopies and snuggle in after a warm blue-skied cruise. The well kept lock keepers gardens are fading now too, more seed heads than flower heads. This is a wonderful time of the year to be out on the river.

Boat names - groan

Frayed Knot
P45
Peter-A-Cocup (if anyone can explain this to me, I'd appreciate it!)
Nat and Mrs Woman
Baseplate Oohdalalie (Miss Scarlett and the Rooster)
Rick O'Shea
Corrie D'or
Smile and Wave (which of course we all do!)
Rush no Moor
Rioja Bye Baby
Stougham Hall
Obsession Pays
Inheritance
Firkham Hall
Meand'er
Offerocker
L'eau Life
Costa Fortune
Maid of Ply
Wayfromit Owl
Staines Remover
#wtf
Knot Arf
Not now Kato
Gin and Bare It
Minced Moorhen
Piece of Ship (a tender)
Hair of the Petit Bassett
Aquaholics

And our next boat will be called Scotch Mist - that way we won't have to licence it!!!!

Family and friends

21.09.15
Pete dropped me off by Ravens Ait in Kingston so that I could visit Mum and pick up my car to drive to London to look after my grandson for the day on Friday. Pete turned back to Hampton Court to moor for the night.

After dumping a load of washing on mum (so kind of me) I set off at 4.30pm around the north circular to Haringay, a journey that on a good run takes 1hour 20mins, but took 2hrs 15 at this time of day. So good to see Olly Fran and Rowan at the end of it though.

I returned to the boat the next day, Saturday. Pete had pootled down to Kingston once again and moored by the bridge. We took mum for a trip up to the palace, had lunch onboard and sat in the sun in the bow with a glass or two of wine. Lovely weather for a change, but the river was extremely busy with huge paddle steamers, barges, narrowboats, river cruisers, rowing boats (in a race) and canoes! Ani was rocking merrily on her mooring. Charlie the spaniel from the boat ahead of us was so desperate to get a ball from the water that his owner let him jump in from this sheer sided concrete edged bank and swim for it. A little nerve-wracking as he swam around the outside of our boat to get to the lower pathway to be able to climb out. He did it though, only to let the ball slip back in when he was back standing on the bank. Pete fished it out for him twice, to his owners gratitude. I think the shivering Charlie would not have gone in again.

On Monday, we travelled up to Chertsey lock and picked up our friend Sally in pouring rain. We travelled the great distance to Laleham and had lunch in the Three Horseshoes, meeting Stuart there. A bonus to have Stuart with us - he managed to get away from his work commitments for a couple of hours so the four of us had a mirthful get together with some very nice food and a pint. Great to see them both and they are a mine of information about this stretch of the river and it's inhabitants including the signal crayfish which they catch and eat from time to time, these non-native creatures being a pest in our waters, but apparently very tasty. They have to have a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries licence to do so though, which sounds a little over the top!

We moored for the night in Runnymede, the rain still upon us for most of the night and into next morning which decided us to have a second cup of tea in the warm and dry and a slow breakfast before the next leg. It's so nice to not be on a tight schedule.

Gordon the cat

14.09.15
We moored behind Church Island on Llamas recreation ground in Staines - a new one for us and away from the town but near enough to pick up shopping. There was only one other boat with us for this windy wet night and we met their ginger cat, Gordon, who was extremely friendly and rolled over obligingly to be stroked as you said hello, as we did. He was very sensibly wearing his life jacket with his name and phone number on it, but this didn't deter him from attempting a leap at the litter bin which he didn't quite make as it had a sloping roof to it. We left him happily dangling by his front paws, just about able to see if there was anything edible within - an amusing sight in his dayglow jacket. Some animals just have it don't they?