The M40 and a daft notice from C&RT.

Tuesday 18th September 2018 in Banbury.
The same view through the trees as last night, but on a very damp and overcast morning.

Several of the Heyford hire boats that we saw yesterday, passed us after we moored up, so we decided to make an early start this morning to get ahead of them. Unfortunately, it seems they all had the same idea, so we ended up queueing at the locks! It had become very windy overnight, which made steering interesting!
In the middle of nowhere, we saw this notice, clearly put there by some kind person in case we had forgotten where we were.

Somerton Deep lock, at 12ft, ties as the deepest narrow lock on the system. It is a long way down!

This is truly lovely countryside with the River Cherwell and the canal forming the boundary between Oxfordshire (to the west) and Northamptonshire (to the east).

To say that the M40 is a noisy intrusion would be a massive understatement, the incessant roar of the traffic blankets the canal for miles. We have the highest regard for the Guide Books written by Michael Pearson; he pithily describes it thus: "into this exquisite landscape, the M40 intrudes like a kick in the groin." Says it all.

Thankfully, the M40 eventually takes its din off in another direction and peace is restored.

The C&RT's latest "THRIFT" campaign, to conserve water, leads with a request to share locks with other boats; this was posted on a narrow lock beam! They also ask us to report leaking lock gates - we did find ONE lock, Somerton Deep lock, that was NOT leaking; almost every other lock, of the 200 we have done this year, were leaking to a greater or lesser extent. They also exhort us to "plan cruises to minimise use of locks" - not sure how to do that on a canal? One wonders if C&RT management have ever left their offices?

We made good time to Banbury, despite the queues at a couple of the locks. We will stay here tonight opposite the "Castle Quay" shopping centre.

Tooley's Historic Yard in the centre of Banbury is the oldest boatyard on the canals still working. It celebrates 230 years of continuous operation this year.

Tomorrow, we will head up to Cropredy Marina, where we will moor up MM for a while to go home - so please watch this space, we shall be back to continue on up to Aston Marina for the winter.
Today: 9 miles, 6 locks and 5.4 hours.
Trip: 325 miles, 207 locks and 216.6 hours.

MM Visits Enslow, where she was Launched.

Monday 17th September 2018 near Somerton.
An overcast morning turned into a beautiful afternoon.
The village of Thrupp has been used as the location of a number of episodes of "Inspector Morse" and is one of the prettiest villages on the Oxford canal.

Much to M's relief, most of the lift bridges on the Oxford canal are left permanently in their raised position.

The locks that lead the canal on to the River Cherwell tend to be quite shallow and are diamond shaped so that more water is flushed into the pound below each time the lock is used than would be the case if they were normal narrow locks.

Enslow Wharf is where MM was launched nearly seven years ago. We couldn't possibly go by without dropping in to Kingsground's workshop. Their 115th boat, nb "Impossible Dream", is currently in build and is very unusual in that it is 8ft wide, destined for the Mon & Brec canal that has slightly wider locks.
Richard at Kingsground was quoted silly money to dredge his marina, so he bought his own dredger for a fraction of the quoted cost!

Heyford Wharf does a brisk trade in hire boats and today was clearly a handover day as many new hirers were being briefed.

In the process, they had let the raft of boats drift right across the canal, so we had to stop and wait for them to sort themselves out. Much hauling on ropes required!

The 15th century tithe barn at Upper Heyford looks to be in beautiful condition. It's slightly smaller than the barn at Bradford-on-Avon but it is of a similar date. The Rector must have had a very good living.

At Allen's Lock, M fell into conversation with a bystander, Jeff, with his dog, Jasmine. He said that he had never seen a lock operated before and was clearly fascinated and asked lots of questions. So, we gave him and Jasmine a lift to the next lock. He was totally overwhelmed by the whole process and left resolving to try boating for himself.

We tied up this evening near Somerton, a lovely mooring that we have used in the past.

On either side of the canal are two large meadows connected by a bridge over the canal. The local farmer arrived on his tractor with a large round bale of hay.

Initially, the cows ignored him but gradually they all followed him to see what goodies he might have brought them.

How lovely to see a mixed herd with so many calves with their mothers, grazing together.

As night fell, the moon rose between the trees.

Today: 11 miles, 7 locks and 6.4 hours.
Trip: 316 miles, 201 locks and 211.2 hours.

The Bottom Was Too Close to the Top!

Sunday 16th September 2018 at Thrupp.
Our overnight mooring was very quiet, despite being opposite the perimeter of one of Kidlington's housing estates.

We set off mid-morning to travel the short distance to the Jolly Boatman pub to meet our friend Richie for a late lunch. The pound was very low and we frequently touched the bottom, even with the engine on tickover.
Well, there's never a dull moment on the waterways and today was a classic example! As we approached Roundham lock, we ran firmly aground in the middle of the canal. M managed to get off and walked up to the lock to help as there was a boat coming down. In the meantime, MM had hit an obstruction underwater, which stopped the engine dead. With help from some of the people on another boat coming up behind, R managed to get MM to the side and cleared the propellor.
Meanwhile the boat coming out of the lock ran firmly aground too and had to be manhandled close to MM, where the canal was deepest.

They were still firmly aground, so M opened both top paddles of the lock to flush some water through and, with some human shore-power, we managed to get the boats going.

More human shore-power was required to get MM moving and more water had to be flushed down so that R could drive MM into the lock as the water flushed down, bouncing along the bottom all the way into the lock.
No photographs of this bit of the adventure as we were both kind of busy! Getting through this lock took the best part of an hour.
By this time, there were another two boats queueing behind us - and there was another boat waiting to come down. MM draws about 30in, but the boat waiting to come down drew a full 36in. R recommended that he flush his boat out of the lock with water through the top paddles (the pound above was full up to the bywash). We later found out that, unsurprisingly, he had real trouble getting out of the lock and clear of the waiting boats.
Thankfully, the pound above the lock was fine, so we soon arrived at the pub.

Luckily there was an empty space right outside and we were able to moor up to wait for Richie.

While we were waiting, M fell into conversation with Cynthia and Jason, two delightful Americans from Colorado who asked if they might take a photo of MM.  So naturally, we invited them on board for a tour and an introduction to the world of narrowboating.

As they were leaving, Richie arrived with his "Grey Ghost", Dylan, and we had an excellent lunch sitting at the tables outside, next to MM. We have eaten at this pub on a number of occasions and the food has always been first class. Dylan was allowed a little beef from the Sunday roast too!
Finally Richie had to leave, but it was great to see him and have a catch up.

As we are doing well for time, we decided to stay here tonight and continue in the morning.
Today: 2 miles, 1 lock and 1.5 hours.
Trip: 305 miles,194 locks and 204.8 hours.

A "Good Road" on the Thames

Saturday 15th September 2018 near Kidlington.
As the sun rose, so did the mist - until you could no longer see the bridge just yards away.

We have enjoyed our time in Abingdon, it is a lovely town and (unlike many other towns) clearly welcomes boaters and provides excellent facilities.
The lock keepers at Abingdon lock obviously have a sense of humour and are used to dealing with boaters who are not very familiar with the river!

The lock keepers also appeared to be in need of sustenance. M's response was that she was not parting with a sausage sandwich for anything!

This time of the morning, particularly at weekends, is very popular with rowers of all kinds.

Abingdon, like many towns, offers a free Saturday morning timed 5km "Park Run". It was lovely to see so many cheerful faces, including one chap running with his baby in a buggy.

Today, we had a very "good road" as the old working boatmen would say - as we approached each lock, the gates opened for us. All the locks were manned and we seemed to time it just right at every one (this is very rare!!).

Sandford lock is beautifully maintained with flowerbeds full of roses and the lovely lock keeper's cottage in the background.

As we travel along the canals and rivers, we see many delightful houses with their own moorings. This was certainly one of them.

The Regatta on the Isis was probably one reason for all the locks being manned. Luckily, everyone was still setting up as we sailed past, so we were not delayed.

This ornamental balustrading and bridge made a very elegant picture of days gone by.

Yet, in their own way, smaller residences can be just as attractive next to the river.

Having had such a "good road" on the Thames, we entered the Duke's Cut behind another boat that proceeded very slowly. At King's lock, the first narrow lock on the Oxford canal, we had to wait behind them and MM seemed impatient to get into the lock. After the Thames, it felt so narrow!

At Drinkwater's lift bridge, M struggled with the locking mechanism that was reluctant to unlock until Mick appeared with his two grandsons and, with four helpers, the bridge eventually yielded. The two lads had never been on a narrowboat, so they came on board for a look around. They were overawed to see that we had things like a fridge, washing machine and even a proper bed.
We waved goodbye and thank you to them as we sailed on.

Today: 14 miles, 9 locks and 8.4 hours (3 days).
Trip: 303 miles, 193 locks and 203.3 hours.

Didcot Railway Centre

Thursday 13th and Friday 14th September 2018 in Abingdon.
As planned, we both caught the bus from Abingdon to Didcot Parkway Railway Station on Thursday morning. M then caught a train home and R went into the Didcot Railway Centre, which is next to the station. The Centre is what used to be the engine shed and sidings in the era of steam; it is a huge site, over 20 acres and about 3/4 mile long. On Friday, when M came back to Didcot by train, we both went back into the Railway Centre for the afternoon.
The site is dominated by the large "coaling station". Coal was brought up the slope to the second level in trucks and then poured into the engine tenders on the tracks below.

We liked the little engine called "Captain Baxter" that was parked in front of the engine shed. The engine shed houses about 20 locomotives although only two are currently fully operational. In its heyday before the war, the shed employed 170 people, now it is looked after by two volunteers.

On Thursday, the Centre was running an "Engine Experience" day with six lucky gentlemen. They had a full day including a guided tour of the Centre and then a chance to drive one of the engines up and down the 3/4 miles of track. They looked very happy, posing in front of the engine with their "Guard", a lady who we met again on Friday - but in mufti, in charge of the shop!

R was lucky enough to see quite a lot of activity, including turning a wagon around on the turntable. A manual operation reminiscent of struggling with canal lock beams!

 

On Friday, after her journey back from Reigate, M was peckish and a kind volunteer in the café baked some fresh croissants especially for us. Delicious - how's that for service!
Next to the café was a nod to World War II - a sign directing us to the Air Raid Shelter...

Which looked far too comfortable and clean!

A lovely old sign that we haven't seen for many years.

The Centre is dedicated to the Great Western Railway or GWR, which pioneered the use of "Broad Gauge" track with a gauge of 7ft 1/4in as opposed to "Standard Gauge", which is 4ft 8 1/2 in. The Centre has one of the very few lengths of useable Broad Gauge in the country; here a part of it is seen next to a Standard Gauge track on the right.

One short piece of Broad Gauge has another very rare artifact, a piece of Brunel's "Atmospheric Railway", which used a vacuum in the pipe to "suck" a train along. It was never a success, mainly because it proved impossible to keep a tight seal over the slot on the top. Interesting to compare this with the concept of the new "Hyperloop" trains pioneered by Elon Musk to travel at very high speeds inside a vacuum tube.

The Centre has two Broad Gauge engines, the "Iron Duke" and the"Fire Fly", and two carriages, a third class carriage open to the elements and a second class carriage , which has the luxury of a roof.

Both the engines are recent replicas, the "Iron Duke" did once steam but is now a static exhibit. The "Fire Fly" was run regularly at the Centre until 2014, when its boiler certificate expired. Now it is awaiting time and funds for a major overhaul and the renewal of its 10 year boiler certificate.

These engines were capable of over 60mph in their day. With no protection of any kind for the train crew, it must have been tough on the footplate - it must have been quite breezy in the carriages too!
An 1840 notice advised passengers in third class to "...select a seat with their backs to the engine, by which means they will avoid the ashes emitted therefrom that prove a great annoyance."
One brilliant thing about the Centre is that one is very free to wander around. In the engine shed, you can even climb into some of the engines.

It is not just people who are free to roam around the site - we saw this very relaxed cat happily dozing in the sunshine between the tracks.

We caught the double decker bus back to Abingdon and, as ever, sat up top in the front seat. It was a lovely ride through several picturesque local villages. A super day out!
R took MM across to the service bay of the local marina for fuel and water.

R did a "Kilroy woz 'ere" from the bow deck. Only folks of a certain age will know what that is!
MM had two days off.