A Day Off in Abingdon and a Lost Phone.

 Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June 2021 in Abingdon.

King's Lock was on self service, as it was still early. Once through, we were well and truly on the mighty Thames. It always feels HUGE after the narrow little South Oxford canal!

The rowing eights were already out silhouetted against the rising sun. There were many small craft moving on the river and a lot of "wild" swimmers.

This row of cottages in Oxford always reminds us of the "Morse" television series, which was largely filmed in and around Oxford.

This lock in the middle of Oxford proved quite challenging as the approach is narrow with a weir on one side and there was a small launch in the middle of the lock moorings. Still, Peter managed to thread "Inkling's" 70 feet through and into the lock watched by R from above. R awarded him nine out of ten!

South of Oxford, the river is lined with University Rowing Clubs.

No lock keeper, so it was a case of "Self Service". But these locks have hydraulic assistance, so it only requires one finger to operate them. Most of the locks have beautifully tended gardens.

At Abingdon we moored up just below the bridge and breasted up with Inkling. There are not many moorings here and that way we left an extra mooring space available, which very soon was taken by another boat.

An unexpected pleasure - a visit from our friend Richie who worked for Kingsground during MM's build. To our surprise, he arrived by motorbike and had shaved his head! It was really lovely that he bought his son Connor with him, also his friend Gordon.

We may see Richie later in the year if we take MM up to Lechlade, as he moors his own boat on that stretch of the Thames.

Because Mel and Peter were expecting friends to visit on Sunday, we decided to take a day off and not go anywhere that day. It was lovely to take some free time as we have been doing quite long days since we set off.

We did the inevitable shopping for a "few bits" but when we returned, we found that Mel had inadvertantly dropped her mobile phone into the Thames. R spent some time trying to retrieve it but without success. Even right next to the bank, the river is very deep.

These are fabulous moorings right in the heart of Abingdon and next to a large park.

Today: 12 miles, 6 Locks and 4.4 hours.

Trip: 136 miles, 68 locks and 61.8 hours.