Congerstone to Stoke Golding via Snarestone

Well, what a day. After the lovely weather yesterday, it rained. And rained. And rained.

We'd planned to go to Shackerstone and get the Heritage Steam Train down to the "Battle of Bosworth Country Park". Unfortunately, there is a boat festival at Shackerstone this weekend, and every available mooring spot on the canal was stacked with "Historic Boats", sometimes 3 deep across the cut.

Manoeuvring through the boats in the wind and the rain was a challenge, but we managed without hitting anything (though in the process, we did lose an umbrella).

Eventually we reached the current end of the Ashby Canal at Snarestone:

Thankfully there was a pause in the rain while we looked around.

After turning the boat around (always an interesting exercise), we headed south again. Predictably, the rain started again, and we had a repeat of manoeuvring through all the boats at Shackerstone.

But eventually, we've arrived near Stoke Golding. The sun is now shining, and it looks to be a good evening.

That's the end of this voyage for us - it's been an interesting and enjoyable trip.

16.5 miles and one tunnel (twice) today.

Burton Hastings to Congerstone

Another lovely day for boating - not constant sunshine, but enough of it not to feel cold. Why isn't the British Summer always like this?

We've gently pootled up the Ashby Canal - it really is a lovely rural canal - nothing dramatic, just pleasant scenery and the occasional small village. Unlike the dire warnings from a few years ago, navigation hasn't been a problem, nor have moorings - there are now many more places to moor than the 'official' ones marked on the map, though like everywhere else, so many moorings seem to be occupied by boats there for the duration...

The various wharves and marinas on the canal all look very well looked after - quite a change from some of the other canals - all giving the impression of a canal that people really care about.

We are now moored near Congerstone, which is a one pub village vaguely near Market Bosworth.Barney and I have been for a 3.5 mile walk through the local fields and towpath, so he's a bit happier than when we've only been able to walk up and back the towpath for a while.

14 miles and no locks today.

Newbold to Burton Hastings (Ashby Canal)

Another day of reasonable progress along the bits of the Oxford and Coventry canals that we have done in the past.

Newbold Tunnel has now been "decorated" with coloured lights - I'm not convinced that this was the best use of scarce money to be spent on the canals, but judge for yourself:

We stopped for a "pie and a pint" at the Greyhound in Hawksbury:

Then following the usual wait for the stop lock, we travelled briefly on the Coventry Canal to Marston Junction, where we had an "interesting" turn into the Ashby Canal, at which point, the pace slowed and the countryside changed to a much more rural feel.

We're currently moored in the middle of nowhere just before the village of Burton Hastings (a bit south of Hinkley). And the forecast rain has just arrived, which is nice timing.

16.5 miles and half a lock (1') today.

Napton to Newbold

From our moorings at Napton, Barney and I walked around the canal and up Napton hill past the windmill:

Having rather slowly worked our way along the (southern) Oxford canal, we decided we had better get moving if we were going to reach our destination before we had to hand the boat back, so today has been a bit of a marathon.

From just past Napton, we joined the Grand Union Canal to Braunston, then headed north again back on the Oxford Canal again. Braunston was busy (even though we avoided most of it), being a sunny bank holiday Sunday.

One of the subplots of mooring early yesterday was to give the hire boats a chance to settle down before we returned to the water. Unfortunately, today was a BAD day for hire boats. Mostly near misses (and amusing amount of engine use - one of them looked like it was trying to be a jet-ski from the amount of spray from the back), but one managed to hit Vagabond quite hard. Only a bit of paint missing thankfully...

Apart from the hire boats, the morning went very well, and we managed to get 12 miles to just before the Hillmorton locks:

However the locks were SLOW; lots of day boats and people not knowing what they were doing (and the middle lock had only one lock functional, and that was slow because the top gate leaked so much), so we spent the best part of 2 hours getting through the three locks.

Then we got stuck behind the slowest boat we've ever seen on the canals - going past other boats, it went so slowly that I had to take the engine out of gear most of the time, which made maneuvering rather difficult. But eventually, we reached Newbold, and are now moored up in the sunshine trying to decide if we should go to the pub or just relax on the boat.

17.5 miles and 3 locks today.

Wormleighton to Napton

After a very pleasant evening at Wormleighton, we set off just after four other boats, fearing long delays at the locks. The weather forecast was also decidedly horrible (showers), so we had few expectations of a good day.

In travelling to Napton, the boat must have faced all points of the compass at some time - the canal is really wiggly. But very pleasant watching the scenery change. Once we got to the top lock (and with only a couple of minor showers), the expected wait didn't really materialise, and we proceeded down the 10 locks at a reasonable pace - OK, it could have been faster with an infinite crew and less hire boats on their first day out, but...

We're now moored at Folly Bridge, just below Napton Lower lock. Though busy with people and boats, it's a really nice mooring, with shops and pubs nearby. We had an impressive thunderstorm this afternoon, but now the sun has come out, it is really warm - I'd forgotten how hot a steel boat hull can get. We've decided to stay here and chill out this afternoon, and visit the pub for a meal later on.

Napton Lower Lock (note the volunteer help!):

 Our mooring tonight:

6.5 miles and 10 locks tod

Cropredy to Wormleighton

Another busy day today, though again, a lot of waiting for locks. We seem to get stuck behind a queue of single or minimally crewed boats (though I suppose we're a minimally crewed boat now).

But it's a good opportunity to chat with other boaters, and a couple of young girls from the boat behind us did sterling service helping us through the Claydon lock flight.


Cropredy is a lovely place, with a very good general stores right by the canal.

This is one of the Claydon locks - very scenic:

This is Vagabond at Fenny Compton (just a water stop, though the pub was tempting):

 

This part of the Oxford canal is really interesting - gentle without being boring, though with some of the loops, you do wonder if you're making any real progress.

We're now moored just above Knotts Bridge near Wormleighton - a good spot, and as a bonus, there are enough footpaths for Barney and I to do a 3 mile circular walk passing a few Geocaches on the way.

Luckily, most of the forecast rain held off until we were safely moored and the dog walked.

10 miles and 9 locks today.

 

 

Somerton to just south of Cropredy

A busier day today - we wanted to get to Banbury to do some shopping, so actually managed to set of (just) before 9am...

Like the previous days, the canal itself has been really quiet, but often 2 or 3 boats waiting for a lock. I wonder if we've met up with a lot of boats desperately heading back to Napton to hand them in on Saturday.

Again the weather has been very pleasant, not too hot, and not too cold - ideal for boating.

The canal through Banbury was interesting - very neat and tidy compared to the "real" canal

For the first time this trip, we've found a mooring spot with a nice circular walk for Barney - and as a bonus, a couple of (easy) Geocaches on route. Very quiet as well, though you can hear the occasional train in the distance - but this is far better than the drone of the M40.

12.5 miles, 7 locks and 1 (easy) lift bridge today.

Kidlington to Somerton

Another gentle day meandering up the Oxford Canal.

Apart from a couple of stiff lock gates, and a heavy swing bridge, managing with a minimal crew has not been a problem.

The weather has been really nice all day, not too hot, not too cold, though occasionally a slightly troublesome breeze has appeared - timed, of course, to convince the world that Vagabond is being crewed by novices!

This is Heywood Wharf - unlike many wharves, a really nice place:

We stopped for a nice lunch at the Barley Mow in Upper Heyford - so nice, that I forgot to take a photo of it...

We are currently moored in the middle of nowhere, enjoying the evening sunshine.

7.5 miles, 5 locks and 1 lift bridge today.

Thrupp to Kidlington

The Wheelers have taken over Vagabond again. Just the two of us (and Barney) this time, so don't expect such rapid progress as before.

We swapped the boat for our car at Thrupp, a lovely canalside village just north of Oxford. Following a pub lunch in the garden,

we sorted out the boat

and headed off north along the South Oxford Canal.
Four and a half miles of cruising, one lift bridge and three locks later, we are now moored at a peaceful spot near to Kirtlington.
Let's hope the sun keeps shining!

Sunday 19 August 2012 - Lechlade, River Thames to Thrupp, Oxford Canal

After a very pleasant time on the Thames going upstream and reaching Lechlade for urgent provisions, we turned around at the limit of navigation, and headed back downstream. To say we were going with the flow, was an understatement - Tuesdays heavy rain had produced a very fast current and steering is challenging at the best of times navigating the twisty bends of the Thames upper reaches, since the back end of the boat does entirely its own thing. Speed up,or slow down, had little effect and we got pushed into some ragged overhanging trees when we met another boat on a narrow bend and suffered damage to the sign-writing - there was no time or space for evasive action other than to duck inside the shelter of the boat or we would have been injured too!

We thought ourselves fortunate not to have met this barge on a narrow bend! and look at the the lower lock landings under water.

So, when we moored at Newbridge, beside a farmers field some serious rubbing down and repair work took place over the next 2 days. Our faith was restored in waterside pub food here, at The Rose Revived - good service, good food and happy to recommend the place - thank goodness.

The morning sky one day was just like a noughts and crosses board! Reminders of the Dambusters film!

Our next stop was back at Bablock Hythe, and as busy as we have ever seen it, with moored boats. No swimmers this time, but some narrowboaters are using their safety ladders to advantage.

Altogether a very enjoyable ten days on the Thames, mixed with walking stretches of the Thames Path either side of our mooring spots, - highly recommended. Our Thames trip up to Lechlade some 3 years ago, paid off hugely, as we knew where the best dog walking mooring spots were.
We duly left the Thames, at Duke's Cut, very overgrown as you approach the Oxford Canal and hiding goodness knows what in the vegetation! As we dropped down onto the Oxford canal - a queue! Our first this summer, and then along to Thrupp, it was people and boats all the way - mad dogs and Englishmen etc!

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Monday 13 August 2012
Oxford Canal to Lechlade, River Thames

Anchor at the ready before we proceed onto the Thames!

The Olympics have finished, and the weather is back to showers again! but we have had 3 lovely days making our way upstream to Lechlade.

The flow on the Thames is very definitely there, you can see it, and certainly feel it as we swish round the sharp twists and turns - going under the low arched bridges requires concentration and a degree of good luck that another boat, and certainly not a narrow boat, appears from around a blind bend.At Newbridge, beside the Rose Revived with plenty of audience in the garden, we needed to push the throttle well forward to ensure we got through safely.

At Bablock Hythe we enjoyed some lovely real ale outside at the Ferry Inn and had a lovely mooring alongside their Thames field. The day was so perfect, some boaters used their safety ladders and plunged into the river for a swim - we didn't as we had seen some dead sheep floating down, half an hour earlier! Apparently, after the David Walliams swim, a lot of people are swimming the Thames, starting at this end - we met a group today of about 20, fortunately before they took the plunge!

Now and then, we have to operate the lock ourselves as the "Self Service" signs are up. Here is Bob doing his stuff at Rushey lock.

Ah Sunday Lunch! - we had found the perfect location, waterside pub, sunny day, lovely garden, good beer, despite a surly barman, BUT the food - eventually - a memorable plate of food for all the wrong reasons! How can some pubs survive, and yet so many others fail. We will not be dining in Radcot again, ever I think! 

Now  we are moored in Lechlade, with just a few other boaters, and shopped in the local town, but disaster - Waterways World is sold out!

Thursday 9 August 2012 - Thrupp, Oxford Canal

Well, we are now enjoying our 3rd night at Thrupp, a very quiet and tidy mooring spot on the outskirts of Oxford. Very good reception for the Olympics, very busy with moving boats and so waterway entertainment is always on hand. Pub, shop, water, we need for nothing else.

On our way down to Thrupp, we inadvertently moored in Lower Heyford, good spot but it is adjacent to the railway, and so no chance of a decent nights sleep. Won't do that again! Pretty well for the first time this summer we actually came across some CART people reinstating some canal bank, just below Somerton lock. It seems a strange priority when the vegetation on both sides of so much of the waterway is extending across the width of the canal and closing in fast. Picture shows Cart at work.

Until today our plans were to turn round and head back up the canal again, but we have good information that the flow on the Thames is less fast, and so we feel able to go along Duke's Cut, and on upstream to Lechlade tomorrow. .

Our pictures show the boat passing under Thrupp lift bridge - now electric, push button with 2 control boxes, (OTT?) and a clutch of very late ducklings, to taunt the dog!.

Sunday 5 August 2012 - Grant's Bridge, Oxford Canal

As I write this we are being battered by a heavy deluge of rain, having deferred moving off this morning because of the angry black clouds looming all around. We are on the Oxford canal, going south, having yesterday threaded our way carefully, and slowly through the many many moored boats already gathered for the annual Fairport Cropredy Convention festival next week. Having done that and not upset any moorers, we were then greeted by masses of canoeists spilling into the water by Cropredy shop. Many were prepared to risk life and limb and force their way between us and moored boats, to paddle away, really oblivious of the crushing capability of a steel boat - they should have a steer of a narrow boat and understand the 'no brakes' and little manoeuvrability aspect.

Lovely reeds alongside the Hardwick lock, just south of the M40.

Banbury was as usual, gongoozlers galore - felt like being in a fish bowl, moored there. We soon moved off after necessary food shopping!

Our picture shows our passage down the town lock as we left Quayside in Banbury - shame about the litter, when the town has so many litter bins and recycling facilities.