Easter Cruise Spring 2024 - Week 3

 Monday 11th March - Marston Doles Visitor Moorings to Fenny Compton 

The rain has finally stopped and Dave and I are beginning to feel a little better, so we have decided to move on.  Our cruise today is completely lock free, we are on the summit between Marston Doles and Claydon with 11 miles of gentle cruising.

During the summer this is a glamping site, I guess the owners have taken the canvas and furnishings away for the winter and will reinstate it for the new season.

The site of HS2 as it prepares to cross over the canal.  This stretch was supposed to be closed ready for the bridge to be put up but the contractors delayed it.  No sign of a bridge though!

The iconic radio mast which resembles the Eiffel Tower standing proud in the mist.

Wedding Bridge, no idea as to how it got its name, but it is a narrow wooden, plank bridge, very picturesque.

Love the silhouette of this tree against the cloudy skies, still waiting to develop its new flush of bright green heralding the start of spring.  We moored at Fenny Compton for the night and had a light lunch at the Wharf Inn.

7.5 miles, 2hrs 48mins, 0 locks.

Tuesday 12th March - Fenny Compton

Another very wet day, we woke to heavy rain and an even more muddy footpath!  Once again we have chosen to stay on our mooring and hopefully move on again tomorrow.

We did go and look at the shop in the pub, there was very little on the shelves but we could have had milk if we needed it.  I guess it will be better stocked once the season starts properly.

One of the signs along the canal suggests there is laundry facilities but this no longer exists.

Wednesday 13th March - Fenny Compton to Top of Claydon Locks

We have woken to grey skies but no rain!  Great!  We reversed the boat back to the water point and filled up with water, then set off for the short cruise to Fenny Marina where we filled up with diesel, replaced the gas bottle and refreshed our wood and kindling supplies. We then continued on our way towards Claydon.

Almost immediately we are into Fenny Compton tunnel which was opened in 1776. The tunnel wasn’t very long – about a kilometre and suffered from subsidence as it wasn’t very far underground. In 1838 the canal company bought the land above the tunnel and work began to open up the tunnel. It was done in several stages; by 1840 the tunnel roof had been removed at both ends and in the middle thus creating two separate tunnels. The southern tunnel had its roof removed by 1858 and the second in 1860 leaving the cutting boaters see today. It is still referred to as Fenny tunnel though.  A stream used to run across the old tunnel into Wormleighton reservoir and an iron trough was installed when the tunnel roof was removed. The trough has since been removed and water runs straight down the side of the cutting into the canal.

We are now crossing under the dismantled railway bridge of The Stratford and Midland Junction railway.  The Stratford Upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway’ or more affectionately - The S.M.J. was a small independent railway company which ran a line across the empty, untouched centre of England.  It became affectionately known as The Slow, Middling and Jolty Railway.

The old railway arches covered in ivy and overgrown.

This is the most northerly of the lift bridges on the Oxford Canal and marks the boundary between Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.  These lift bridges sit in an open position in rural settings, thus restricting movement of livestock and allowing free passage of narrowboats along the canal. Where they are positioned on busier tracks or byways they often rest in the closed position.

Permanent moorings on the way to Claydon, they have a good amount of ground and many have these little shepherds huts. 

This is Bridge 142 over a feeder stream from BoddingtonReservoir.   Boddington was the last of 3 reservoirs built around 300 years ago to support the South Oxford Canal.  You can see the new water coming into the canal as it is a different colour.

We moored at the top of Claydon Locks in quite a stiff breeze and decided to stop for the night.  

We went for a walk down the Claydon Locks.  This was once the Oxford Canal Company’s workshops, possibly a smithy, and has been renovated and is now a holiday cottage.

I spoke to some CRT vounteers asking where I could find a dog poo bin and I learnt that as part of cost saving cuts, CRT have removed all poo bins along all canals hence saving money on paying people to empty them.  As a dog owner I always pick up after Toby, but if there is nowhere to deposit the waste, I wonder how many people will pick up after their dogs and carry it home?

3.5mile, 2hrs, 0 locks.

Thursday 14th March - Claydon Top Lock to Cropredy Visitor Moorings

We made an early start this morning as we wanted to be moored up safely in Cropredy before the gusty winds started at about midday.

We met Derrick at Claydon Top Lock, he has been a volunteer for a long time and turns up most days (except Christmas Day and his birthday) to sort out the water on the flight of locks.  He also lights the fire in the hovel to keep the damp out, very posh!

Very smart hovel with chimney which did have smoke coming out of it.  He helped us down the first three locks and then excused himself to go and have a cup of tea, we were very pleased to have some help!

This is Clattercote Wharf with several boats with the Klaes Family name on them.  Forge Farm has been run by the Klaes family since 1981, holding true to the ethics of organic farming in all aspects of farming life.

Toby, the boat dog, he has received loads of compliments on how well behaved he is on the back of the boat.

At one of the locks, the bin provided by CRT has been removed and the council have put a new dog poo bin beside it. I wonder how much this is saving CRT?

As we came past Cropredy marina we could see Di and Mark’s boat called nbEnbilulu, they are planning on starting their cruise towards the end of the month.

After we had moored up at a very pleasant mooring outside the village of Cropredy, we went for a wander around the village.  The door to the church tower was open and we were able to see the church bell ropes.  The tower has 8 bells, six of which were installed in the 17th century and the last two, Fairport and Villager were added in 2007. These bells were named to reflect the good relationship between the church and local Fairport Convention annual festival.

There are some beautiful stained glass windows and we particularly liked this one called ‘We have seen his star - South Aisle, South Wall 2. This bright window shows The Three Wise Men at Christ's birth.

Soon after we returned to the boat, the wind began to get stronger and the rain set in.

2.75 miles, 2hrs 24mins, 8 locks

Friday 15th March - Cropredy to Banbury

Today we leaving our mooring and travelling to Banbury.  We came down through Cropredy Lock and through the village before stopping at the services to put on water and dispose of rubbish.

As we were leaving the village behind we passed a field with Herdwick sheep in, the last time we saw them was in the Lake District, they are such beautiful looking sheep!

As I was waiting for a lock to be ready I spotted these buds on the canalside.  It is a goat willow or pussy willow, named because the male catkins resemble cat’s paws.

This is Bourton Lock with a boarded up lock keepers cottage.  It seems such a shame that these buildings are so unloved, but because access is difficult, there is no immediate road access and to get to the cottage you would need to carry everything some distance along the towpath, there appears to be little desire to renovate these cottages.

Dink and Malc on the front of their house, apparently Malc died in 2021, I wonder if Dink still lives in the cottage?

We managed to moor the boat on the newly renovated waterside in Banbury, a little tricky as it was quite windy, but we soon managed it and then walked along to Tooley’s Boatyard.  This is the museum attached to the boatyard, a work in progress but quite fascinating!

We need to have some work done to one of our bathroom windows as it leaks when the rain hits that side of the boat.  Tooley’s will fix it for us Monday which is really good news.  Tooley’s Boatyard has one of the oldest working dry docks on the Inland Waterways, working continuously since 1778. The site also includes a blacksmith's forge and carpenter's workshop used for building traditional wooden boats.

5 miles, 3hrs 18mins, 4 locks

Saturday 16th March - Banbury

A quiet day, catching up with paperwork, cleaning and shopping.  The sun has shone and we have done a little exploring in Banbury.

Sunday 17th March - Banbury

A morning spent cleaning out the engine bay and then a walk through Banbury looking to replace the mop!

Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn is considered to be one of the oldest inns in Banbury.  John Knight was a man of great respect in the town, a baker by trade and owner of property and land in Banbury. It’s believed he purchased the poorly developed plot of land in 1564, where The Reindeer now stands, and after extensive building work it opened as an inn in 1570, with David Horn being the first landlord.

This statue was funded and erected in 2005 by the people of Banbury to commemorate the nursery rhyme which has made Banbury famous throughout the English speaking world:

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross,

To see a Fine Lady upon a White Horse,

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,

She shall have music wherever she goes.

Banbury had three crosses in the past none of which survived as they were pulled down in the year 1600 by Puritan iconoclasts who objected to their religious imagery. The present Banbury Cross, now the centrepiece of the roundabout, was erected by the people of Banbury in 1859 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter.