Today promised to be much more spring-like and indeed it mostly was, There was little wind and, in the morning, a good mixture of blue skies interspersed with grey clouds that produced no rain.
Many of the canal-side fields had flocks of sheep with their new born lambs, gradually coming to terms with having to find their own food. During the morning we tried hard to find some that would stand close enough to the water to take a usable photo but they were uncooperative! This was the nearest - and also shows the early grey clouds.
The A42 crossed the canal around Napton Junction several times. In the past the bridges were enlarged for modern traffic and took the road straight across, leaving the canal with a distinct S-bend underneath. These are tricky to navigate - as well as being two tight bends, there is little visibility of any oncoming boats.
By the time we reached the second crossing, the sky had changed completely.
Around the corner from the second bridge we spotted a large brood of tiny chicks - 13 here. Wonder how many will be around in a week or so's time as they fall to hungry predators.
We passed Napton Junction and continued a little way to the next winding hole where we turned around. Although this was supposed to be a full length, we only just fitted as the far end was both overgrown and some of the ground has collapsed into the water. Still, with a 16+ point turn we made it without touching the sides at all! But we were too busy to take a photo . . .
Several pairs of swans seemed to be preparing for the breeding season, collecting sticks and straw to build a huge nest. Here, one mother was well ahead of the crowd and we could just see that she had laid some eggs.
The decoration on this boat is quite impressive, of not to everyone's taste. It is certainly not traditional! However, it must have taken many hours of careful work to achieve - alas it now needs some renovation at the edges.
We have doubtless shown this bridge before but it is a useful reminder of what is the actual structural load bearing part of the bridge. Some of the farm bridges have had the side parapets removed to allow tractors to tow across the very wide crop sprayers that are now commonly in use.
The next bridge is the usual design. Settlement of the abutments at the edges can sometimes lead to visible cracks in the para[et walls and can cause some concern that the bridge is about to collapse. However, as the previous photo shows, this unlikely to be an issue and the bridge still retains it full load bearing capacity. (This bridge did not looked cracked but is included as a reminder of how they look normally)
We returned to Braunston Junction - just before it stands this impressive turnover bridge that would carry towpath traffic a cross the junction before the addition of the two ornate cast iron structures we showed yesterday.
Another attempt at taking a picture of the daffodil display nearly ended in disaster as Mike made a real mess of turning back onto the north Oxford.
The reason for the parenthetic note in this blog's title is a reminder that the section of canal between here and Napton was initially the Oxford Canal but became an important link for the parts of the Grand Union north and south of Braunston. This actual junction was only created in the mid 1800's as party of the extensive straightening of the Oxford, originally very much a contour canal. The junction was at first a little to the south where the marina is now, and set off in a very large level loop, now bypassed with a much more convenient junction.
The afternoon continued to improve and an outer fleece later could comfortably be removed.
At last - a mother and two lambs that were prepared to stand still for a photo shoot!
At Tarry's or Kilsby Road Bridge there is a much photographed collection of buildings. A now abandoned loop of canal once ran just to the right of these properties. We believe that the road that is now become the B4038 Rugby Road ran between the two terraces. The present road bridge (that looks likely to date from 1930s) diverted the route just behind the main left hand terrace.
The canal had another loop to the south but the only remaining part of that is now a winding hole, immediately opposite the previous photo.
We showed Hillmorton Marina yesterday but took a closer look today and discovered that all of the moorings have been removed except for a couple of spaces attached to some of the homes. The development is still being completed with one or two final homes under construction.
Only a short distance later we were close to Hillmorton Top Lock. We have a date at the boatyard above the bottom lock tomorrow morning (our oven is playing up) so did not want to go down the flight today. The mooring spots just before the last bridge above the locks had room but are not very convenient. The towpath edging is the older style of concrete piling with old railway tracks instead of Armco. The main visitor moorings are between the bridge and the locks but are very popular. What should we do? Should we carry on and risk not finding anywhere and having to go down the locks or do a lengthy reverse?
15.4 Miles - 0 Locks
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