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)
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