Sandy and Trevor.

Monday 20th May, 2013 at Banbury.
We awoke early to a cooler, breezier day. Two of the pirates were washing down their hired "man-o-war".
Sandy and Trevor arrived at 9:00am and after a guided tour of MM and a bacon sandwich, we set off to the north, leaving their car in the adjacent railway station car park (which is free!).
The weather stayed cool and cloudy, but thankfully dry. S & T soon mastererd the art of "locking".

We were surprised at how many boats were out on the Cut, but then the Oxford is a popular waterway. It was certainly the first time that we had to queue for a lock.
A lovely surprise was when we passed by nb "Rufford" going the other way. She is John and Judith's "shared" boat, that has just been re-painted - and she looked beautiful! She had almost passed by before we realised it was her so we were unable to ask the names of the shared owners; they did, however, know of Judith and John.

It has taken a while to get used to the movement of the water on this narrow canal.  When passing other boats, MM quite frequently rode up on the shallow edge of the canal, causing her to rock to the extent that the kitchen drawers suddenly slid open with a bang and we had a bit of broken crockery as a result.  The locks, too, are very narrow indeed and some of them are very deep. Once inside them, it can be very claustrophobic.  Somerton Deep Lock is most aptly named; at twelve feet, it was quite intimidating.

We reached Banbury in time to drop S & T off to catch the train back to Heyford to collect their car. We had a lovely day with them and they said how much they had enjoyed themselves.
The outskirts of Banbury are industrial and, therefore, unpreposessing, so we pushed on a little further and passed the historic "Tooley's Boatyard" in the middle of the city. 

We moored on the far side of town; however, we found ourselves opposite a Kraft facility which processed coffee and a smell of roasting coffee beans filled the air!
We thought that we should explore the town centre while we were there and were so glad that we did, because we found many delightful historic building.  The famous Banbury Cross was very handsome. But, best of all, was the magnificent bronze statue of the renowned "Fair Lady on a White Horse".

She was complete in every detail with "rings on her fingers and bells on her toes" - so she really shall have music wherever she goes! Lucky lady!
Today: 13 miles, 8 locks and 6.2 hours.
Trip: 18 miles, 11 locks and 9.2 hours.