Banbury

Today's Canal : Oxford

We have now settled on a plan to return to Banbury today, go to church there in the morning and make our way slowly back to the marina, probably with a day to spare on Tuesday when we can do some shopping that is out of the town centre, notably M and S.

But first we had to turn around, setting off at 10 am. The winding hole at Aynho Wharf was only a few minutes away. The turn was a tad more difficult than it should have been as some . . . (fill in your own preferred epithet!) had moored directly opposite the hole. Fortunately there was no appreciable wind so our boat went where we asked it and not on a journey of its own. We avoided touching anything else apart from the bank at the end of the hole, as much good luck as anything else. Even more annoying was that there was space either side of the moored boat. Aynho Weir Lock which is then followed by Nell Bridge Lock. In between the River Cherwell crosses over.

A boat was just leaving Aynho Lock as we arrived. We managed a photo this time that shows the unusual diamond shape better. Another boat turned up just as we were leaving!

The river enters the canal from the right in this picture and crosses over to the protected exit opposite. no problem today but this section can be difficult after rain and may even have to be shut if the water level rises too much and there is insufficient headroom at the next bridge.

Again, at Nell Bridge we were lucky to have the gates left open with a boat just leaving and then at the top this yellow boat arrived just at the right time.

Above the bridge, these work boats were still making it difficult to use the winding hole - just as they were a month ago!

The well known Pig Place not only seems to have lost all its pigs but has now replaced them with a number of caravans and campers. The grass is also well mown, not just an ordinary field.

Again, at Kings Sutton Lock we did well with other traffic - so would our luck hold? We pressed on to get through Grants Lock before stopping for lunch. There are growing problems in a number of parts of the network with a lack of water and drought conditions. However, on this canal the flow has been good, maintaining levels even with plenty of traffic - as can be seen here at the weir above Kings Sutton.

And so, just after 12:30 we arrived at Grants Lock. We could see it was full so Mike went up to start emptying. However, he could see a boat coming down, a little away but probably already passed the DIS marker (in olden days, if a boater drew a lock in front of an arriving boat that was closer than this post there would be harsh words, or worse, exchanged! In any event, why waste a lockful of water? Mike opened the gate and so he (a singlehander) could glide straight in. Since he was going to empty the lock anyway, Mike invited the boater to jump aboard.

At this point matters went decidedly downhill (pun intended). When  Mike came to open the bottom gate it would not fully recess into he side wall, leaving insufficient room for a boat to pass. We tried various tactics which sometimes work. We pulled all the floating weed behind the gate out, hoping that the problem was perhaps a hidden log. No go. We closed and opened the gate a few times to little avail. Mike then asked the boater to use his boat pole to probe along the wall behind the gate but he found nothing.

At this point another boat arrived below and before long we all agreed that it was time to call CaRT which the newly arrived boater (from the Netherlands - they have very different canals there!) did as she was the only one with a mobile to hand! Customer Services responded very speedily and promised to send someone as soon as possible.

Of course, a string of other boats soon joined the queue, some of whom were impatient to 'do something' without really checking whether we had tried it all anyway! Definitely time for lunch. By now six boats were waiting below but only much later did a downwards boat arrive and was briefed on the situation.

Just over an hour after making the phone call a shout went up that a CaRT van had been spotted in the nearby lane. two staff arrived with a new style keb in hand - the long handle is now made from aluminium and in a number of sections that screw together. No doubt this is to enable it to be carried in the van. In the olden days, kebs were part of the standard kit kept at each lock under the supervision of the lock keeper.

The keb was quickly assembled and a probe started which quickly identified something. This is a deep lock and it is quite difficult to pull something out from the lock side so one of the staff enlisted the help from the boat still trapped inside which she used as a platform from which to haul out the offender - a small tyre used as a fender that appeared to have been ripped off. This is one reason why fenders should always be lifted in close quarters such as entering locks.

In no time the single hander was able to exit and be on his way and somewhat smugly, from the head of the queue, we were able to start the delayed ascent, helped by the two staff who were staying to make sure that the queue  cleared as quickly as possible. Overall, the support service from CaRT was incredibly efficient - could not ask for a faster response.

We also learnt that the lock cottage has very recently been bought by a couple who have gained permission to demolish the ruins and to build a new house in their place. Work is expected to start very soon. It seems that the Oxford college that own the surrounding land have also been persuaded (at last) to release a small piece of land to make the project viable - this and vehicle access as well as basic services, is why former lock cottages often in an isolated location can be hard to convert to a private residence.

It was now a simple run into Banbury. We made a quick elsan and rubbish disposal whilst a boat finished coming down. Our passage through the lock and following lift bridge was aided by an enthusiastic onlooker, keen to wield a lock key at both.

The central moorings were quite well occupied but we did find a good space exactly where we moored last trip! (The electric post is still faulty!) Christine did take a quick look at the Spiceball Park moorings but in the end we stayed where we were as it is closer to the church in the morning. Both of us, separately, went to do a little shopping in Castle Quay.

7.3 Miles - 5 Locks