Monday 9th September - Sandford to Godstow
This week we will complete our time on the River Thames and head off onto The Oxford Canal.
Here we are coming into Oxford and Folly Bridge. The passage is quite congested with these huge Steamers moored up. On the right behind the trees is 'The Head of the River' but it looks pretty tired to me.
Out of Oxford and we are cruising along Port Meadow which is the largest common land in Oxford, this large meadow consists of 440 acres of grazing land which is still used for cattle and horses.
We came through Godstow Lock and moored up beside the ruins of a 12th century abbey, or nunnery, which stands in a meadow beside the River Thames at Godstow, just north of the city. Godstow Abbey is famed as the burial place of 'Fair Rosamund' de Clifford, Henry II's mistress. We also visited the Trout Inn, a 17th Century pub, with links to literacy and historic greats such as Lewis Carroll, Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, Rosamund the Fair, and King Henry II.
Whilst we were there we managed to capture a shot of this splendid peacock, apparently a resident at the pub.
6.5 miles, 3 locks, 2 hrs 36 mins cruising time.
Tuesday 10th September - Godstow to Thrupp
The remains of the Abbey church in the early morning, very peaceful scene.
Toby checking where Dave had gone, he had been out for his early morning walk and was waiting to go back inside the boat. The face says it all!
By the time we were ready to leave the mist had rolled in along the river, this is Godstow bridge, quite an acute angle to get through the right hand arch not helped by the fact that it was difficult to see!
We are heading for the bridge which carries the Oxford By-pass over the river, you can just make out the cab of a lorry, visibility was really that low!
Two men in a boat - we had gone round the outside of the red buoys as it would have been too shallow for us, but not for them, love this photo.
We are turning right into the channel which is going to lead us back onto the Oxford Canal, we go through a shallow stop lock and then turn left onto the Canal.
We moored up at Thrupp, very quiet with a choice of moorings, we went up by the lift bridge and settled there for a couple of nights. We went for a walk across the fields to Hampton Poyle and walked past a Roman Villa, I think you need to use your imagination!
The church at Hampton Poyle was very attractive with a tall spire, much of it dates back to the 13th Century, and we then joined the canal at the Jolly Boatman and continued back into Thrupp and the boat.
Wednesday 11th September - Thrupp
Today we are having a rest day in Thrupp, and this boat passed us, it has the Worcestershire flag painted on its side, we are flying the same flag at the back of our boat, pleasant coincidence! The owners are from Malvern and moor their boat at Droitwich.
Whilst we were working on the boat we heard a loud clunk and saw that a car had driven onto the bridge whilst it was being raised, its wheels had gone over the edge of the bridge and the weight of the car brought the bridge down. Those who saw it couldn't quite believe what they were watching!
We went for a walk along the canal and found our old share boat nbMinuet moored up further out of the village. We used to own shares in Minuet when it was based at Bromley Wharf and we sold them just before our own boat was ready, unfortunately it was all locked up so we couldn't say hello to anyone.
When we got back Canal and River Trust and their electricians were in attendance attempting to fix the bridge. The weight of the car had pulled the sensor out of the ground and they needed to replace it securely and get the whole thing to work together again. After 5 hours, bridge fixed and working, and they were able to release the cars from the carpark and allow the boats to go through. Good job we weren't planning on going anywhere today!
Thursday 12th September - Thrupp to Lower Heyford
Today we manoeuvred our way through the bridge and set off on our way to Lower Heyford. We passed nbMinuet and there were signs of life aboard, but no-one we could speak to. I wonder who was on board and whether they were co-owners we knew? Further on we came across this boat sitting across the canal, I had to get as close to the boat as possible so Dave could get on board, grab a rope and pull the boat back to its mooring on the offside of the canal. A tricky few minutes but we managed it!
For about a mile, the Oxford Canal joins the River Cherwell, no problems today as the river levels are well down and passage was a delight. The boat feels so much different when it is running on a river, the depth and flow of the water make a real difference.
Leaning on a lock beam and having a lovely chat with a lady from a boat going in the opposite direction, a pleasant way to spend 20 minutes.
We moored up at Lower Heyford and went for a walk up to Steeple Aston, a lovely walk with stunning views across the Oxfordshire countryside.
Friday 13th September - Lower Heyford to Aynho
Today we cruised to Aynho, going up one of the deepest locks on the narrow canals, Somerton Deep Lock at over 12 ft deep, it is a long way down when you are on the boat!
We moored up in front of the bridge at Aynho and waited for a visit from Mark Paris, a boat safety inspector. Our safety certificate expires on 28th September, 4 years from the time the boat was launched, so we needed to have an inspection and hopefully get another certificate for the next 4 years. We are pleased to announce that nbElla passed with flying colours!
Afterwards we walked along the canal to The Pig Place and bought food for the next few days. It was so pleasant that we stopped and had a drink whilst reclining on their outdoor sofas! Very nice indeed.
The rare breed pigs are free range along with chickens for free range eggs. In the evening we treated ourselves to supper at The Great Western to celebrate the boat's success!
5.5 miles, 3 locks, 2 hrs 42 mins cruising time
Saturday 14th September - Aynho to Banbury.
The next morning we moved from our mooring spot, through the bridge and across to the Wharf where we put on water and diesel.
We continued along the canal and passed the Pig Place which we visited yesterday and headed towards Banbury.
One of the features of this canal are all the lift bridges, many of which are left up, this is most helpful for boaters as we don't have to keep getting on and off the boat to open and shut them. Progress along here was incredibly slow as the water levels were so low, apparently a paddle had not been closed properly overnight and the pound had drained. CRT were refilling the pound and passage was viable although we were scraping along the bottom in some places.
We got to Banbury and were met by a huge amount of redevelopment going on in the canal area. This meant that the moorings and footbridge had disappeared and we continued to moor alongside the park and Sovereign Wharf. We did some shopping and had a quiet evening on the boat.
7 miles, 5 locks, 1 moveable bridge, 4 hrs 18 mins cruising time
Sunday 15th Banbury to Cropredy
Today we left Banbury and headed towards Cropredy. Another sparkling day, we have been so blessed with the weather so far, what more could you ask for in September?
This house has a photo of the owners and their boat used to be outside the house, good to see that they are still there.
This lock keepers cottage is looking even more sad than the last time we saw it, the roof is beginning to collapse now. It would be lovely to see someone taking care of it. We moored in Cropredy and spent a quiet afternoon catching up on admin and blog writing.
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