We pulled our pins out of the ground this morning at seven o’clock and started the long slog through Cropredy. As we got closer to the village, we saw more and more people, many with bleary eyes, yawning as they walked towards one of the many places selling breakfast on the festival weekend. The first three locks were in our favour but by the fourth, we realised that we were following another boat. As a result, we had to turn the next four but as we made our way up the five at Claydon, we started to meet oncoming craft so progress seemed smoother. We reached the summit just before eleven, ten locks – not a bad morning’s work! We made our way to Fenny Compton tunnel and although we had to wait for a couple of minutes until another boat emerged from the narrows, we made good progress, only meeting one more boat on the way and at a section that was wide enough for two boats to pass. We next passed Fenny Compton marina and crept around the final bend before the visitor moorings came into view. As we reached the end of the fourteen day section, we saw a space but were unsure if Caxton would fit but we gave it a go anyway. It worked and it was the tightest fit we have ever managed with the front fender ” button to button” with the boat in front and the rear resting on the stern of the boat behind. If the bank had been straight it wouldn’t have worked because our fender would have lined up with the one behind and there just wasn’t the space for that. I tied the boat up but in all honesty, we were wedged in and probably didn’t need to.

Wharf Inn Fenny Compton

We went straight to the Wharf Inn and had lunch by way of celebration, the meals being as good as they were a couple of days ago. Fed and watered, we returned to Caxton by way of the towpath – all 100 yards of it. Luckily enough, I had tied the boat up as the boat in front had gone and the one behind had moved forward a few feet so we were wedged in no more. I reconfigured our mooring lines and then we settled into our chairs on the front deck for another afternoon of relaxation.