September Cruise: Day 7

We went to The Boat after dinner last night, and had a drink and a very entertaining chat with Jill and Nick from Chubb’s Nook.  Lots of boating stories were exchanged.  This morning it was sunny but really quite chilly when we set off at about 8.15, through Kidlington and a couple of locks, to Duke’s Lock and Duke’s Cut Junction.  Every other time we’ve come this way on BR we’ve turned right under the bridge onto Duke’s Cut and the Thames; this time we turned left, staying on the Oxford Canal.  This will be the only new water for us with this boat this trip (although we did come down here on Debdale in 2007).

Almost immediately you go under the A44 bridge, and then there’s a little lift bridge dwarfed by the massive A34 bridge above.

There’s another lift bridge, then Wolvercote Lock.

Lots of the going is rather slow because of the residential moorings, but there are also some nice back gardens to examine, and some of the bridges have murals underneath, the best of which is this kingfisher.

There are big new developments which we reckon weren’t here last time we came this way.

We moored up just beyond College Cruisers, opposite the long awaited Jericho Wharf development site, where nothing has happened for years, and shows no sign of happening.  We walked into town by going over the footbridge into Jericho, past St Barnabus Church which is right opposite our mooring.

We had lunch in a cafe, then went for a walk around the town, passing the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian Library.

We’d booked a tour of the Castle and Prison for 2pm, so wandered back down that way.  The tour includes going up the tower, with great views over the city.

The ticket also includes the castle mound, where there are more views, including Nuffield College and the tower we’d just been up.

We walked down to Folly Bridge for a view of the Thames, as we won’t be coming this way this trip.

Our route back was via the railway station, to pick up a new handle for the lump hammer from the Amazon lockers, as the old one splintered yesterday as I banged some mooring stakes in at Thrupp.  We then walked over Sheepwash Channel, which we’ll be doing tomorrow, and back to the lock and the boat.  We got wet in a couple of heavy showers, and after we got back there was a downpour including hailstones.  There have also been a few rumbles of thunder.

7 miles, 4 locks.  (81 miles, 61 locks)