Almost at the end of the Oxford

 Today's Canal - Oxford

By morning the wind had almost died down and there were definite blue patches in the sky. The temperature was much gentler as well.

We set off in reasonably good time, leaving our mooring just in front of the former working boat. Around the corner we saw that we would have had somewhat better mooring - but only insofar as the offside vegetation is concerned.

A short while later we passed the offside moorings of the former Washford Hill Stone Quarries. When we moored at Lower Heyford we visited here several times and grand children often enjoyed exploring the area. One visit, however is best forgotten!

Pigeons Lock and we had a bright blue sky - helped to pass the time as all day we followed slow boats, not all the same. We were by no means in a hurry but there are limits . . . !

Caravan Lift Bridge seems to have been abandoned.

Here is what it looked like in 2014 when we last came this way.

At Enslow, a boat is permanently moored in the short distance between the two bridges, leaving only a narrow channel for moving boats. Approaching from the north the gap looks even less. It seems to be operating (or was) as a small cafe.

Just after Enslow we could just about see the communication dishes of Whitehill Satellite Centre, owned by Mercury/Cable and Wireless (not sure which is the current company), but only a small part of the site is visible. Just a little more can be seen from the river after dropping down through Bakers Lock. It is situated in a former quarry.

Between Bakers and Shipton Weir Locks the navigation joins the River Cherwell. We made rapid progress downstream but there are several very sharp bends to negotiate.

We paused at Thrupp Wharf for a full round of servicing before passing through the lift bridge. Thankfully this is now mechanised as it used to be very hard to shift and there is a constant stream of cars visiting the popular cafe on the other side. Beyond the bridge we found a space on the 2 day moorings where we could pull in for a lunch break.

Roundhams Lock is in a rather sorry condition.One of the top ground paddles is reluctant to shut properly and the bottom gate has a non functioning paddle mechanism and a 'temporary' extension to replace a broken balance beam. The gate itself has been held together with a piece of steel.

The last lock of the day was Kidlington Green.

We continued on, wanting to get as close to the Junction with Duke's Cut (onto the Thames) but not leave the canal until tomorrow when we will need to buy a EA licence for the next seven days. Moorings looked as if they were a but scarce and when we reached the once notorious Bridge 231 (was very difficult to operate) we could see (a) the visitor moorings beyond were all full (b) the bridge deck has been removed - it looks as if the abutments have recently been re-built (c) we could just moor up at the start of what would be the bridge landing, with the main part of the boat in the reeds! (Perhaps we will get a better picture in the morning)

8.1 Miles - 5 Locks