Napton

 Today's Canals - Grand Union, Oxford (South)

After a very hot and heavy night - we did get some sleep but it was not a recuperative as it might be - we were up and ready to leave just before eight o'clock. We hoped to split the day so that we travelled in the less hot times. Some hope! At least at first it was cooler, with the slightest of breezes and a slightly hazy and overcast sky.

We were not far from Welsh Road lock which we soon ascended.

We are not usually much taken by boats with 'funny' names (but then perhaps not everyone 'gets' our boat name, even when it is explained to them) This one - A Momentary Lapse of Reason - did manage to elicit a wry smile.

Before long we arrived at the four lock Bascote flight - the top two are formed as a staircase and again we were now back into working as an efficient team!

We have often managed to collect our daily paper at Itchington Bottom Lock. Whilst Christine and Jess popped to the shop, Mike continued to take the boat up - he first had to empty it and the shop is so close that the shoppers returned just after he had entered the lock.

One further lock and we arrived at the Stockton flight, eight locks all close together. By now traffic was building up and we passed boats coming the other way in 3 or 4 of the locks. By the third lock another boat was waiting for us to join them - they were glad of help as one of them was not as fit (in the heat) as they would like to be. We soon developed an efficient operation, with Mike entering the lock through a single open gate and then moving behind the closed gate to allow the other to come in alongside.

By the time we reached the top we were all flagging a little (or more than a little) but pleased that, even with sharing which can sometimes slow down progress, we completed the 8 locks in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Just beyond the Willow Wren base at nelson's Wharf we found a part shaded mooring where we rested up for well over three hours.

Eventually we persuaded ourselves that we could just about manage to complete the three Calcutt Locks. We set off, passing the steam powered Adamant just after Bridge 18. It seems not to have been out for some time, judging by the prolific webs created by spiders between the funnel and the top deck!

We then passed the substantial Ventnor Farm Marina - this is the third of its boat entrances - before arriving at the bottom Calcutt Lock.

A couple of boats were coming down at the middle lock - they made hard work of the passing routine, mainly by coming out of the lock far too soon and then losing control in the open pound. It is perhaps better not to repeat the comment made by one boater about the other crew, but it was less than would hope to hear whilst out on the canals where there is usually a strong willingness to help each other and to show novices some of the nuances one learns over time.

After completing the flight we cruised down the short straight section to Napton Junction where we turned right onto the southern part of the Oxford Canal. We have not been this way for six years.

We soon passed Napton Marina where it was good to note that every single one of their hire boat pontoons was empty. 

We noticed a boat possibly named after Jack Monk, one of the last working boatmen brought up on  a canal boat whom we used to know when we lived in Loughborough in the late 1960's. (Or was it just a TV character?)

A good mooring just after the next bridge easily tempted us to pull in for the night with just a few minutes run in the morning to Napton Locks. However, the phone signal seems to be a bit of a 'not spot' for the time being so this will be uploaded when we can. (We got there in the end but it was slooooow)

7.0 Miles - 18 Locks