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!