Wednesday 3rd October 2018 at Claydon.
Interlude...
M flew to Croatia; she told R that she was flying Easyjet, but seems to have decided to use the services of a certain super-hero instead!
Croatia was wonderful and whilst there, she did a day trip to Venice with Adrian, who had never been there. M, who had last been to Venice in 1965, was curious to see if it had changed much. It was as magical as ever in terms of its architecture and beauty but the crowds had quadrupled in the intervening years. It certainly highlighted the peace and quiet of cruising on MM!
For R's birthday, M had given him a "taster blacksmith's course" at Tooley's historic boatyard in Banbury. We arrived by train at Banbury Station in perfect time for the course.
Tooley's is the oldest working inland boatyard in the country and this October it celebrates its 240th anniversary. This gate led into the old forge.
As we arrived, Jamie, the lovely resident blacksmith, was just preparing the fire and he welcomed R warmly (no pun intended!). R enjoyed wielding the hammer, although it was very heavy and, after an hour and a half, his arm well and truly ached!
An hour and a half later, the result was a small decorative poker - all we need now is a fireplace for it.
To M's surprise, neither of them wore a traditional blacksmith's apron but they clearly both enjoyed themselves.
Matt Armitage is the current owner of Tooleys Yard and this weekend he is publishing a book of the history of the yard - "Forging Ahead - A History of Tooley's Boatyard". On Sunday 14th October, they are holding an open day as part of Banbury's Canal Festival.
MM was still moored at Cropredy Marina just north of Banbury. As there only appears to be one bus a week out there (on a Thursday?), we had little option but take a taxi. To our surprise, our taxi driver, from Pakistan via Manchester. took a keen interest in boating matters.
Cropredy is a relatively new marina with excellent facilities and the staff are very helpful.
The weather this afternoon was absolutely gorgeous as we set off; a perfect autumn day.
These two lovely ladies were clearly puzzled by the strange activities of these human creatures!
R had remembered, from when we came through here last year, that there was a lovely mooring spot along here, so we tied up for the night. Bliss.
It was marvellous to be back on board MM!
Today: 5 miles, 4 locks & 3.6 hours (including 19/09)
Trip: 330 miles, 214 locks and 220.2 hours.
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