Today's Canal - Oxford
The forecast for today's weather was much the same as for the past two or three: very hot with the possibility of thunderstorm later. Again we planned to make an early start with a long lunch break.
By eight o'clock as we cast off, the sky was already bright blue and temperature was rising rapidly.
It was not far to the Napton Locks where we first stopped on the water point. Whilst Mike and Jess filled up the tank, Christine went to see if the shop at the Folly Inn was still operational but alas no. (This pub has had a chequered career!) She decline the option to walk to the village store - the sign says only 10 minutes but we have been fooled by that in the past!
Water tank full we then pulled under the bridge to the opposite bank where the disposal operations take place!
There was a volunteer on hand to help through the bottom lock but not at any of the others. A steady flow of traffic meant that most of the locks were less effort than might have been although at one point we caught up with a boat ahead of us so we had to turn that one, with no oncoming traffic to help.
For the past 21 years, one of the notable scenes alongside the lower locks has been the herd of water buffalo which the nearby farm has specialised in. Their website indicates that they are still maintaining this herd but they must have been on an out-of-sight grazing!
It did not seem slow progress but it was only ten minutes under two hours by the time we completed Marston Doles at the top of the flight, waiting a few moments to allow a boat coming down to clear.
Ahead of us now we had just over ten miles of level cruising. The canal is a classic early contour canal as it twists and turns to avoid building cuttings, embankments and locks.
This boat in its own canal just a few mm longer than itself, is almost an impossibility. To most people the obvious question is Why? In any event, it is a requirement that any passing blogger must include a photo and since we have not been this way for six years, this is an update!
We again passed a site of substantial earthworks. There was nothing to indicate what was happening but later we discovered that it is the Wormleighton Heave Cutting - another HS2 preparatory project. In this case they have constructed a cutting, part of what is planned to be much more substantial, in order to install monitoring equipment to give better data on the ground conditions. This information will be used to finalise the civil engineering design
By one o,'clock we had reached the popular moorings close to the former Wormleighton Decca Navigator transmitter (an important navigation aid worldwide from just after WW2 until the late 1990s when GPS offered a more accurate positioning) where we managed to find a partly shaded spot to take a three hour lunch break.
On again and we passed under the wooden Marriage Footbridge. Although the present bridge has 2009 date on it, it is a replacement for an earlier one, some say with the same name, others call it Plank Bridge. So far we have not found an explanation of how it came to earn the Wedding name.
At Fenny Compton we stopped for an anticipated ice lolly from the shop at the pub. Alas, the shop is being refurbished but the kitchen did manage to rustle up three ice creams in plastic beer glasses. To Christine's surprise it seems that they qualified for the 'Eat Out to help Out' scheme!
The former Fenny Compton Tunnel followed soon after - the final southernmost part is still very narrow where boats cannot pass in opposite directions.
We were aiming to find a mooring close to Boundary Lift Bridge but as we came near dark clouds appeared together with the promised flashes of lightning - but fewer than last night. But just as we pulled in to the towpath (mooring is not good between Fenny Compton and Claydon) a very heavy rain storm also broke. By the time the boat was tied up Mike was really soaked but much cooler!
12.3 Miles - 9 Locks
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