September Cruise: Day 12

It’s been a very long and quite slow day!  We set off about 8.30 in more bright sunshine, immediately passing the huge caravan site just along from where we moored.

It’s much prettier when you’ve gone by all that lot.

At Pinkhill Lock a lock keeper came on duty while we were there.  At Eynsham Lock, a boat was coming out just as we arrived.  Then it was down to the junction with Duke’s Cut.  We were a couple of minutes too late, because a hire boat from the K&A had come out of King’s Lock and was making the turn into Duke’s Cut.

They proceeded at snails pace the whole way to Duke’s Cut Lock.  The top paddle on the lock isn’t working, so to fill the lock you just wait for leakage — it takes 10 or 15 mins.  It’s just a matter of waiting, not diverting as the sign there suggests (which would be pretty impossible to do at this stage anyway).

The hire boat turned right for Oxford.  We turned left, back onto the Oxford Canal heading north.  We followed boats up through the first couple of locks, and passed through Thrupp, where Adrian did the honours with the bridge.  When we got to Shipton Weir Lock, there was a queue ahead.

We were fourth in line.  The pound through Thrupp had felt rather low, and CRT had been running water through the lock to top it up from the River Cherwell.  Consequently, no-one had been through for an hour or so.  Everything seemed to take ages, because although it’s only a shallow lock, it’s wide so takes a fair amount of water.  We were probably there an hour, but at least the sun was shining.  We’d also heard reports of low water between Baker’s Lock and Pigeon Lock, and the pound was well down.  It meant those couple of miles took ages.  Then, as we knew from last week, Pigeon Lock takes at least 10 mins to fill because only one top paddle is working.  The pound above was also a bit down, and we’d been advised to go up another lock before mooring.  In the event, we ended up doing two more, because we didn’t see anywhere we liked the look of.  Eventually, up Dashwoods Lock and through the next bridge, a spot presented itself.  We have the trains for company, but that’s true all along here.

We had been on the move for ten hours, as it was almost 6.30 when we moored.  But because of all the delays.

17 miles, 11 locks.  (147 miles, 91 locks)

September Cruise: Day 11

Another lovely mooring and another sunny morning.  We set off about 8.15.

There are a few houses along the river at Eaton Hastings, and we particularly liked this one with a lovely extension and a launch moored outside.

The first lock, Grafton, was on self service.  It’s pretty, as are all the locks on the upper Thames.

Radcot lock has a cottage dating from 1986, rather than the much older houses the other locks have.

At Rushey Lock, Adrian went to work the lock and found a single hander waiting below for someone to help him through.  It turned out there was also a very nice lady lock keeper on, who worked him up and then us down.  The sharp bends in this area seem harder work going with the flow of the river; sometimes you feel the current catch the boat and try to push it into the bank.  There are plenty of wartime pill boxes along the river too.  Near Chimney there’s a nature reserve which has both a pill box and a bird hide.

We stopped above Shifford Lock for water, where the very fast tap filled the tank in no time.  We also got a wash load going.  Shifford Lock is the deepest up here, at just over 7ft.

After Newbridge, there were dozens of teenagers walking the Thames path with their camping gear on their backs.  One group towards the back asked me how far it was the pub at Newbridge, and were totally dismayed when I said it was about a mile and a half!  There are some houses with boat houses along this stretch, and a very class rowing boat emerged from one of them.

Northmoor Lock had a volunteer lock keeper on duty.  We moored up at about 2pm on the moorings at Bablock Hythe.  We decided not to go further because there are only a couple of moorings above Pinkhill Lock, and the ones on Eynsham meadows were full of what looked like pretty permanently moored boats when we came up the other day.  It had clouded over as the day went on, and not long after we stopped there was a brief rain shower.

16 miles, 5 locks.  (130 miles, 80 locks)

September Cruise: Day 10

Yesterday evening we went to the Riverside pub over the bridge to meet Adrian’s ex-sister-in-law Susan, who lives a few miles away.  It was great to catch up with her after quite a long time.  This morning was another sunny day at our mooring opposite Lechlade Church.

We had a cooked breakfast and then at about 9am turned to face downstream, letting the flow take the bow round.  Moored just a little way back was the fuel boat, Merchant, so we tied alongside and filled up with fuel.

Almost exactly four years ago, Merchant also supplied us with diesel in Caversham, but the boat has changed hands since then, with Jake the new owner.  It wasn’t the cheapest fuel, but we like the support the boats when we can.  Setting off again, we went down St John’s Lock and made a brief pause to use the rubbish and recycling point and the Elsan.  Then it was round some very sharp bends to Buscot Lock, where we were joined by a small cabin cruiser being hired for the day from above the lock.

We were very shortly at our planned destination for the day, Kelmscott.  We moored on the Kelmscott Manor moorings, closest to the house, which was William Morris’s country retreat.

As we arrived, it seemed very busy — it turned out to be a Heritage Open Day, so entry was free; but it also meant the place was packed with people.  Entry to the house is by timed slot, and the next available was 1.30.  We had a look round the garden, and then walked up through the village.  At the village hall, which is the William Morris Memorial Hall, the set-up for a wedding was well under way, with a very colourful table laid out.

We looked round the church, and found William Morris’s grave.

The queue for the Kelmscott Manor tea room was ridiculous, so we came back to the boat for lunch before returning for our slot round the house.  It’s a lovely place, with plenty of William Morris fabrics and wallpapers to look at.  The grounds are also lovely.

We had tea and cake from the tea room, then went back to the boat for a relaxing afternoon in the sunshine.  The Thames path is really quite busy here, with lots of Manor visitors taking the opportunity to have a look at the river, and we’ve also been talking to some people who’ve been swimming in the river, from a point just behind the boat.

4 miles, 2 locks.  (114 miles, 75 locks)

September Cruise: Day 9

We were glad we lit the fire yesterday evening because it was a cold night — there was even a touch of frost on the cratch cover this morning.  The rising sun and the mist swirling on the water made it an idyllic mooring.

We had more trouble starting the engine this morning, but for some reason it got going after about 20 minutes of faffing about.  Once under way, Adrian started searching for somewhere we could get a new starter battery from.  After a few calls, a garage in Lechlade said they could get one in a couple of hours, so we altered our plans slightly and made Lechlade our destination for the day.  First landmark of the day was Newbridge.

Shifford Lock was next, and the lockie yesterday had warned us it was deep and had powerful paddles, so someone would need to be at the bow.  So we adopted a new approach at unmanned uphill locks: I would tie up the stern then move to the bow and hold the rope there while Adrian did the paddles.  It worked much better than trying to use a centre line.  The next bridge, Tadpole Bridge, has a much bigger arch than Newbridge.

When we got to Rushey Lock, there were two lock keepers on duty which made things much easier.  The skies on the reach above the lock look huge.

Radcot Lock had a very chatty lock keeper on.  Bridge has clearly been hit by a vehicle, as there are bits missing, and barriers all along.

At Grafton Lock, we liked this sign.

Two more locks took us to Lechlade, where we moored on the meadow and walked into town to find the garage.  It has a Bentley in reception.

We paid for the battery, and asked if they had a trolly we could borrow to get it back to the boat.  Instead, they said they’d give us a lift — and even apologised for only being able to get to the bridge and not closer.  Getting the old starter battery out proved a bit tricky, but then the new one slotted in, and the engine started first time.  Let’s hope it does the same in the morning, which is when we’ve been having trouble.  We also need to go back into town for some food shopping.

16 miles, 6 locks.  (110 miles, 73 locks)

September Cruise: Day 8

Last night we went for dinner at The Old Bookbinders on the other side of the canal.  Fortunately we went fairly early, because the place was packed.  It’s a nice place, with quirky stuff everywhere, and the food was pretty good too.  Adrian especially liked his desert of crepe with apple and ice cream.

This morning we had a bit of a delayed start, because the engine wouldn’t start.  It’s been making funny noises for the last few days.  An RCR man came out (the same one we’d seen in Thrupp on Tuesday) and diagnosed the starter battery was beginning to fail.  He checked the alternator while he was there, and showed us a technique for getting the engine going.  All this meant it was almost 10.30 when we finally set off, just a hundred metres or so to Isis Lock.

This leads to Sheepwash Channel, which goes under a road and railway line, with an old rail swing bridge alongside.  Then there’s just a footbridge and you’re on the Thames proper.

It’s a bit narrow at first, then the views open out over Port Meadow, where there were cows and egrets.

At Godstow Lock, the sign said it was self service but there was actually a lock keeper on duty.  She was also able to sell us a licence, which was a bit cheaper than we’d expected.  Going upstream, the navigation arch of Godstow Bridge is right over on the right hand side, and is also overgrown.  Then we went under the A34 again.  King’s Lock was on self service, and is the first manual lock.  Adrian did the winding, pushing, and pulling.

Eynsham Lock was also on self service, and we stopped at the water point above the lock to fill up, with Swinford Toll Bridge beyond.

We got the washing machine going and had lunch, and there was also the first rain shower while we were there.  Above the lock, the meadow moorings were packed with boats, and there was one on its side, a flood victim.  Pinkhill Lock was also on self service.

After Pinkhill, the rain caught up with us, and it was torrential and included hailstone for a while.  It was best described as unpleasant.  We passed all the caravans at Bablock Hythe and arrived at Northmoor Lock.  As we came in, a lock keeper arrived and took over, which was a help.  We were now on a lookout for a mooring; the official one before Newbridge had a boat on it, but a little further on we spotted a potential meadow mooring.  We fitted and we could get ashore; it’s the sort of Thames mooring we like, seemingly quite a way from anywhere and very quiet.  It’s quite chilly though, so we are lighting the fire.

13 miles, 6 locks.  (94 miles, 67 locks)