January 27th 2016. A day of carnage and mayhem.......

The weather forecast had said today wouldn't be as windy but with rain. How wrong can they be.
We left our mooring just up from Aynho wharf and already the wind was up and we sailed sideways down the canal. Stopped at the wharf and filled up with diesel and got some more coal.
As we went to head off it started to piss down. I lined up for the bridge but then misjudged the width of the path and the front of the boat hit the bank under the bridge sending the boat veering off left into the low side of the bridge being helped by the now strong wind. Then it started the boat wouldn't straighten up and I took out the chimney then totally destroyed the rear top box at is crashed into the bridge.....
Oh shit, we were then going down a line of moored boats and being blown onto them eventually we stopped. Jo managed to push of the front off  and we were able to get under way again.

The destroyed top box....

 

 

We didn't get far before we came across an abandoned boat that had been blown off it's moorings and was across the canal. By now it was blowing a gale and still pissing down.

I managed to get to the back of the boat and retrieve their rear line and Jo pulled the boat in. We managed to re-moor it for them. You can see how heavy the rain is on the canal.

You can see how windy it was from our boat which we tied up to move the other boat, and the wind is trying to blow our boat sideways.

Having dealt with the boat we carried on to Somerton where we managed to find a mooring just before the bridge where we were going to meet Ryan for him to take Jo back for a few days. The spot we found couldn't have been any muddier.

I am hoping for a quieter day tomorrow and certainly less mayhem and carnage........




Tuesday 26th January a potter down to Aynho Wharf......So we thought.

We awoke to a rather windy and blustery day. We looked at the weather and decided it looks even worse for tomorrow so we decided to head off for our rendezvous with Ryan on Wednesday for Jo to pop back for a few days. The only concern we had was the River Cherwell where it crosses the canal at Aynho weir lock. There are river level indicators that show whether it is safe to proceed or not using a traffic light system green for go, yellow for proceed with caution and red for stay where you are.

The indicator was half way through the yellow so it was just about okay to go....

The canal is on the left and the river flows in from the right.

The weir where the river leaves the canal

 

 

Here we are safely in the lock, having made it past the weir, phew....

 

The flow was a lot stronger than you think and as I was lining up for the lock the boat was taken sideways but the strong crosswind helped to compensate for it and we made it safely into the lock.

We Pottered on a bit further and moored up just before Aynho Wharf.

25th January Leaving Banbury and heading south.

We left our town centre mooring to head South for our trip to Morrison for supplies. We went through the swing bridge and lock, then emptied the Elsan cassette at the Elsan point. We moored up and went to Morrison which was just over the road. We took the boat trolley to stock up with dog food and bottled water (the heavy items). Having finished shopping and stowed it all away we set off south leaving Banbury behind us.

 The scenery soon returned and this lovely Ash tree stood proud in the middle of the field.

The Oxford has lots of swing bridges and this shows that they are a bit of a tight squeeze and the steerer needs to concentrate to get through without hitting them. Also you can see the M40 in the background we go back under it again.

This is Grants lock one of the deeper ones on the Oxford with a 9foot 6 inch drop.

The view as we left the lock.

 

 

 

This is the view from our mooring with a view over to the church spire at Kings Sutton. We had travelled 3 miles and went through 2 locks.

 

January 23rd and 24th. To Banbury via Cropredy.

As promised Saturday was a dry day, although a bit grey. Just 2 miles and 4 locks to moor in Cropredy. As we entered the village, gardens backed onto the canal, including this one with a mass of fallen apples and a clump of snowdrops just opening.

 

 

We met a few other boats and saw a posse of off-road cyclists and a jogger. Positively bustling compared with recent days. We stopped in Cropredy to fill upon with water and to visit the shop. The Bridge Stores were advertised as we approached the village and we expected much. Unfortunately what we found was a rather sad and understocked Nisa type store in which we bought an onion and a postcard rather than the extensive list of supplies we actually needed.

 

Harold at the water point with the overhyped and under-delivered Bridges Stores in the background.

We moored on the towpath amongst the many WP boats. Robin did some fishing (but not catching)...

Jo went for a walk around the village which had some very pretty cottages and a nice church.

Cropredy Church.

A row of cottages with the Red Lion pub in the middle.

On Sunday we set off again. Three and half miles and three locks to Banbury. Lots of canoeists about. They do whiz past and manage to set even big solid Harold arocking. We went under the M40, which seemed very noisy after the quietness of the last couple of weeks.

After that it all went down hill a bit. The canal's entrance into Banbury is definitely by the back door; industrial and rather grim. We had identified a big Tesco's close to the canal. We stopped to moor but realised that the bridge across the canal was not accessible from the towpath and there was no way to actually reach the shop, even though it was just a couple of hundred yards away. We carried on rather despondently into the town centre. The canal has been tarted up but goes between a rather ugly shopping centre and car park. Robin was a bit stunned by the number and loudness of the people around, but then he has been on the boat in rural Warwickshire for nearly 4 weeks now! 

Jo went an explored the town which is a bit of a mish-mash and no supermarket except M&S. This evening Robin took Scooby for a walk further down the canal and found a Morrisons which we should be able to moor near tomorrow, which is a relief because we do need supplies.  We'll stay here tonight and move on tomorrow. Banbury is, quite frankly, not what we hoped for.


January 22nd. On the move again.

After several days being frozen in at Fenny Compton (with pub, facilities, shop and other boaters for company) at last the canal was thawed enough for us to proceed south.



The frozen canal on Thursday morning


The day started with rain, so inevitably it was a laundry day. Mostly Robin's trousers where he's slipped (or been pulled by Scooby) over in the mud. The rain gradually cleared and we had some glimpses of blue sky. We travelled 4 miles and descended the 5 Clayton locks. Its a lovely stretch of canal and we didn't see a soul. There were still some ice, although not thick, it still crunched quite dramatically as Harold made his way though.

This swing bridge was fixed open but it was still a tight fit. 

We moored about 2.30pm in a sunny spot and did some odd jobs before setting off for a walk about quarter to four. Unfortunately we got lost and ended up getting back to the boat at quarter to six in almost total darkness. Luckily, a well deserved piece of chocolate and coconut cake (made during our enforced stay at FC) was available to revive us.

 

Tomorrow is forecast to be fine and it is but a short hop to the delights of Cropredy. No stopping us now!

 

 



Monday 18th January-Tuesday 19th January Pottering back to Fenny Compton.

On Sunday we had pottered along to moor in the middle of nowhere.

Passed this bridge..... Got your Number 118. Haven't seen this bridge in a BT advert have we

A couple of shots of the snowy landscape looking really beautiful.
On Monday we left our mooring in the middle of nowhere to head back to Fenny Compton. Before we left we saw NB Yarwood going past us in the opposite direction I did wave from inside the boat but I'm not sure they recognised us. We had met Joe and Leslie on Yarwood last year on the Leicester arm heading to Foxton.

We arrived in Fenny Compton and there were some serious discussions to be had with Scooby.......

'Look Scooby it's like this, there's no easy way to say this but you're not the Captain.'

We woke up Tuesday morning to a frozen canal so we weren't going anywhere today. Time for some boat maintenance. I fitted the new deck matting to the rear deck. Hopefully it will help to keep it all a bit cleaner and protect the paintwork. Then after that it was time for a wash, Harold not me. I managed to get the right side, half the roof and the front and back done before the temperature started to plummet again.

Jo had been off for a walk along the towpath and came back with this lovely view down the canal.

A few chilly days..... Then a potter up to Marston Doles to collect the crew and back 13th to 17th January.

Having found a lovely spot to moor I tried out the crayfish trap but no luck at all....

After 4 days I came to the conclusion there are no crayfish in the canal or they don't like Sprats....

My other Job was to sort out the mushrooms (brass Vents on the roof not the things you fry for breakfast) This involved unscrewing them from the roof the polishing them to get them all nice and shiny again then I gave them 2 coats of varnish to seal them. Hopefully this will stop me having to polish them every week to keep them shiny. The one on the left is the one I've cleaned up.

I went for several long walks with Scooby managing to get lost once ending up miles from the boat and walking just over 5 miles on that occasion. That will teach me to take the map with me....

Scooby warming himself beside the fire after a long walk.

I woke up on Saturday morning to find the canal frozen with a layer of ice about 3-4 mm thick. I waited for a while then another boat went through about 12 o'clock so I decided to head off for my rendezvous with Jo and Ryan at Marston Doles.

 

It's a bit hard to see but the canal is covered in ice.

 

I got to Marston Doles and there was no where to moor above the locks so I went through the 2 locks single handed. It took a while longer but with a bit of care it was quite an easy operation then found a nice spot just below the locks. manage to get moored up and cook dinner awaiting the arrival of Ryan and Jo. We had fresh pasta and meatballs with a freshly baked focaccia loaf. (I try to spoil the guest Ryan you never know he might come again)

We woke up to a covering of snow on Sunday morning and then we set off back through the locks and back to our spot in the middle of nowhere. It was very cold with an icy wind and after three hours of boating we were glad to get in to the lovely warm boat for a cup of tea and a warm up.

Pottering about on The Oxford heading north from Fenny Compton. 13/1/16

 Jo has popped back home for a few days and has left me in charge of not only the boat and the dog but also the BLOG..... I left Fenny Compton this morning having filled up with water and headed north. The wind was quite cold but the sun was out and it was really pleasant just Pottering along. Didn't see any other boats at all.

 I moored up in the middle of nowhere and had to put up with these awful views from my mooring. In the shot above you can just make out the sails on the windmill at the top of Napton on the Hill. (it's the little white blob on the left of the hill.)

 It's a beautiful spot and I feel lucky to be able to just park my boat and enjoy the wonderful countryside.

 I tried out the Panoramic feature on the camera to get the one above.....

I took Scooby for a lovely long walk up a nearby hill and had to put up with more beautiful views all around. We went for about four miles and it was just getting dark as we arrived back at Harold.
I have also set my crayfish trap having adjusted it to make it OTTER FRIENDLY. (Not quite sure how that works it probably talks to the otters asking them if their having a nice day......) I will update you with the results tomorrow.

Saturday January 10th. Fenny Compton.

No locks today, just 5 miles of winding canal through lovely countryside. At one point we found ourselves in the middle of a pheasant shoot, with the guns in a field on our left and the beaters in the wood on our right and the gamekeeper on the towpath shopping all the action while we passed by. A little later we passed this boat marooned in its own puddle a sheep field.

 

 

There were lots of grand farms and country houses. Clearly this is where the well heeled of middle England have their country pads. Very nice too.

 

We made our way to Fenny Compton boatyard where we purchased diesel, coal and gas and turned around. Jo needs to go home for a few days this week and Robin and Scooby are going to potter back along this nice stretch to the top of the Napton locks (fishing and boat washing are both on his list). After the weekend we'll retrace our steps and head towards Banbury. This is as near to our final destination of Oxford as we can get until the level of the river Cherwell goes down enough to make it safe to go on the bits of the canal close to or fed by the river.  

Friday 8th January 2016. The Napton locks.

We did the nine Napton locks today and travelled about 2.5 miles.  It was a beautiful day, chilly but dry and with some blue skies. The countryside around us was glorious and as we gradually went up the locks the hill and village of Napton gradually emerged behind us.



Harold reaches the top of a lock with Napton Hill in the distance.

The locks were single and easy for scaredy-cats, adding even more joy to Jo's day. 

Jo enjoying locking and modelling her new Christmas Musto hat.

We moored in the latish afternoon in the middle of nowhere. While we walked Scooby we watched the sun go down among pink and orange skies. A little bit of proper canal boating and a lovely day!

Harold on his rural mooring.

  

6th and 7th of January 2016. To Napton on the Hill.

The weather has continued to be wet and rather miserable for boating so we have been making short hops only. On Wednesday we went three miles to moor just past the Wigrams turn, where the Grand Union heads off to the north and the Oxford (and us) continues to the south west. We went past Lower Shuckburgh, whose church was neatly camouflaged among the brown hedges and trees.

Lower Shuckborough church lurking in the undergrowth.

 After we moored we walked Scooby. The towpath is very muddy and slippery almost everywhere; in between the puddles anyway.



Robin negotiating the muddy towpath.

We had a look at Napton on the Hill, which is a really pretty village built, as the name implies, into Napton Hill and overlooking miles of farmland and lots of (rather dirty looking) sheep. There is a windmill on the hill too, with sails, which looked very smart in the sunshine on Thursday afternoon.

The Windmill at Napton on the Hill

On Thursday it poured with rain all morning and we stayed inside reading until it eventually let up and we saw blue sky for the first time in days. We walked Scooby and then took Harold round the curve of the hill to near the bottom of the Napton lock flight where we moored for the night and dinner at the Folly pub. The locks are single boat width, as we are on the Oxford canal now - much easier than the big doubles on the GU. Tomorrow we'll use the facilities - water, loo emptying and rubbish dumping - before the lock and then head up the flight. We need diesel, gas and coal and so, whatever the weather, will get to the boatyard at Fenny Compton before 4pm on Saturday. 


January 5th 2016. Round the corner to bridge 102.

After a cooked breakfast and a few boat jobs, we set off under grey skies, turning left at the Braunston turn. We motored passed all the moored boats at the Braunston Puddle Banks and into open country. There were lovely rural views of Warwickshire through the hedgerows to the north west.



A long view across Warwickshire.

And to the south east low hills appeared. The canal was very winding here, even though its the Grand Union; getting us in the mood for the Oxford canal which we will join shortly and which is known for its meanderings. There were a lot of birds flitting about in the hedgerows and on the telephone wires.

A canal bridge round a corner and Bush Hill in the distance.  

We stopped near Bridge 102, where there is a small collection of boats on decent moorings. Its a pretty and quiet place to stop and we went for a walk in the afternoon. 

January 1st and 2nd 2016

Late morning New Years Day we set off up the 7 Buckby locks. We moored at the top, just past Norton junction (where the Leicester arm branches off). Robin walked Scooby and the rain stayed away until the very moment they got back, when it hammered down. The canal is surprisingly busy, it's a holiday weekend after all, if a chilly one. We met several boats, always at bridges!
On January 2nd we went through the Braunston tunnel. Again we met several boats coming the other way, always in the wiggly bits of this not very straight tunnel. We were followed by a lovely old working boat with which we ended up going through the 6 Branson locks. The tunnel is the summit of this bit of canal, so these locks took us downhill again.

Working boat Laurel as it goes to join Harold in a lock number 3, next to a gorgeous canal cottage.  

It drizzled all day so that our various new coats, hats, boots and gaiters were properly tested. At the bottom (last) lock, the little canal shop was open and we bought milk, butter and tinned peas - the three items on our current shopping list.

The canal shop at Braunston bottom lock.

We moored at the far end of Braunston, where we will stay for a couple of days. Robin finished wiring up the voltage metre he has been installing so we can monitor how much power there is in our batteries. Before it got completely dark we walked Scooby in the now serious rain. However, with the fire lit and everything hanging up drying nicely, we are now cosy and warm until it all begins again. A damp, muddy but satisfying start to 2016 :)

The old pumping station at Braunston. It is a proper canal village.