An early dart out of Banbury
We awoke at five for no reason particularly and then couldn’t get back to sleep. At half past six we gave up trying, got dressed and moved Phoenix III through the lift bridge and on to the water point. Having spent the whole of Monday moored at Castle Quay we were in need of all facilities so we did what was necessary and were on our way by ten to seven.We passed a hire boat from Braunston as we exited the lock so that made things easy for us. Needless to say there weren’t many boats on the move at that time of the morning but we made our way peacefully through the light drizzle of the grey June morning anyway. With two miles to the next lock Sue immediately got cracking in the galley and rustled up a couple of bacon sandwiches made with the cheese and onion artisan bread that we bought on Sunday at the Banbury show. Fuelled by our high octane breakfast we made easy work of the locks and miles heading south on the Oxford canal. We caught up with a couple of boats heading in the same direction as us but our waiting time was minimal and by the time we reached Aynho weir lock there were boats travelling in the opposite direction.
We reached Upper Heyford at one o’clock and decided to stop, finding a mooring just above Allens lock. We have travelled through here a few times before but never visited the village so we locked the boat and went to explore. Upper Heyford is one of those dormitory villages with nothing much to offer except a post box and a pub and even that was nothing special, we had a drink and then walked back down to the canal where we’ve settled for the day. There’s no internet at this spot but we can get television, tomorrow we will move on to Thrupp, we’re planning an early start but you can guarantee that we’ll sleep late instead!
Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
After a peaceful night spent at Cropredy we got up and made our way to the village lock. We dropped down through it and then crawled to the facilities station at Cropredy wharf where we carried out the necessary duties. Water filled and waste emptied by a quarter past eight we headed off in the direction of Banbury.
On our way out of Cropredy we passed by Steve Haywood’s boat “Justice” and vowed to stop and harass him on the way back.
It’s only a short hop and we reached Spiceball park without encountering any moving boats along the way. We tied up and then paid a short visit to the fair in the park, it was quite early but we took the opportunity to buy some artisan bread before we walked into town, briefly stopping at the boat to drop off our purchases. We wandered around Banbury, stopping off for a few hours in the local Wetherspoons of course before walking back to our mooring. We saw that most of the area around Castle Quay was empty so we untied Phoenix III and moved her down into the town. The sun came out and we sat out on the back deck for the rest of the day until finally it sank in the western sky.
Cool Running
It was cool and overcast when we got out of bed this morning. With just the summit to traverse there was no point in us both getting up and dressed so I got ready, untied and set off while Sue showered and made breakfast for us. Fortified by a round of bacon sandwiches each washed down with a cup of coffee we wound our way around the top of the hill and into Oxfordshire. The sun teased us now and again with a brief appearance or two but it was pretty cool in the easterly wind that blew across the summit on this early June morning. We passed through Fenny Compton and its ‘Al Fresco’ tunnel just after ten o’clock running behind a boat that had emerged from the marina there.
When we reached Claydon top lock the boat in front not only waved us through but then proceeded to help us with the paddles and gates. We followed a boat down the flight and as a result had to fill most of the locks behind them but nevertheless our progress was fairly rapid. We eventually reached the village of Cropredy just after one o’clock where we found a mooring just above the lock. After we had secured the boat and sat down for a few minutes we locked up and walked to the Red Lion just a few yards from bridge 152 below the village lock. We spent an hour in the pub garden with ‘Shandy’ the pub dog, a friendly and quiet canine companion who kept us amused for the duration of our stay.
We left the pub and returned to our mooring via the shop at bridge 153 and the annual music event opposite hosted by the local canoeing club. Sue quickly sorted out our evening meal, chicken breasts that had been marinating during the afternoon with couscous and vegetables. All that remained was for us to just sit and relax in the evening sun.
Fenders Up!–We’re off again.
We left Phoenix III last Sunday with most of our stuff on board including quite a bit of food in the fridge which we left on since we were plugged into the mains electricity. After work on Thursday we returned to the marina with most of the bits and pieces that we thought we would need for our two week cruise. We unloaded the car and then nipped into Daventry where we did some last minute food shopping in Waitrose. On our return to Braunston marina we noticed four vintage cars in the car park, a couple of Austins and two Rileys and wondered if perhaps there was some event at the weekend. We were wrong as it turns out, later on when we carried some bags back to our car and took a few minutes to admire the old vehicles, their owners came back accompanied by one man dressed in traditional boatman’s clothing. We discovered that he had been showing members of a car club around steam narrowboat ‘President’ and butty boat ‘Kildare’. Cheekily but unsurprisingly, Sue asked when we would get our tour of the boats. We were delighted when the boatman, Steve Kirk said that he would show us straight away if we wanted. We didn’t hesitate at all and a few minutes later we were in the cabins of the historic pair. Steve gave us a great talk on the history of the boats and gave us an insight into the living arrangements of boat families of old. It was after nine o’clock when we left Steve ‘Captain’ Kirk and returned to our modern narrowboat for the evening.
Friday dawned and I got up for work, after I left Sue did a load of washing, bedding mainly and then caught the bus to Daventry. She was surprised to find that one of her fellow passengers was the lady that we had met a week earlier in the Saltisford arm on board nb Oakdale. On her return from town, Sue walked up to the village and visited the butcher’s shop, bought some meat and then walked back to the boat where I was able to join her at on o’clock.
After a quick change of clothes and the obligatory engine check we cast off and made our way slowly out of the marina on to the canal and headed in the direction of Braunston turn. We enjoyed the same blue skies that had woken us at six o’clock in the morning as we chugged our way in the direction of Napton. It was all very peaceful, ideal boating weather really as we shared the driving on this the first part of our journey in the direction of Oxford.
We reached Napton bottom lock at four o’clock behind another boat which crossed over with one coming down. After that we had to empty every lock as we made our way up the flight. We did pass one boat coming down but whilst they had the benefit of our lock being ready and would probably benefit from the rest that we had used, we only had their first one in our favour. The crew owned a couple of black Labradors who competed for my attention as the lock drained but once their boat was moving they plodded off down the towpath. We shared the locks as we had done with the driving with Sue locking up the lower half of the flight and me working the rest to the top. Once clear of the top lock at Marston Doles we rounded the corner and moored at the end of the piling there.
Sue immediately started on an evening meal of minted lamb chops bought earlier in the day accompanied by Jersey new potatoes and a mixture of peas beans and carrots. As if that wasn’t enough, a bowl of fresh strawberries and vanilla yoghurt followed.
So that was it, we were on the summit and it was still only Friday evening. One or two boats passed in each direction and a few dog walkers made their presence known as they tried to keep their animals under some sort of control but other than that we settled down in our peaceful rural mooring for the night.
Back to Braunston again
Another blue sky greeted us when we got out of bed on the last day of our journey. We wanted to get up and through the Stockton locks before the traffic built up on what we thought would be a busy, sunny Sunday. By quarter past seven we were on our way to the bottom lock with me steering and Sue on foot. Another early starter in a Calcutt hire boat was in the process of coming down the lock so we waited until he had vacated the chamber before taking our place and beginning our ascent. The steerer told us that they were attempting the Warwickshire ring in a week, an ambitious target but as we are approaching the longest day of the year and with the weather settled for the week, they should manage it but it will be hard work. It soon became clear that they had been tied up at the Blue Lias because after we reached the locks above the pub, the chamber walls were dry and most were either empty or very close to being empty. We met a couple of boats near the top of the flight and that speeded our progress even more, so much so that we managed to leave the tenth lock just ninety minutes after we had started.
Despite the fact that it was still not quite nine o’clock, the temperature was rising nicely as we passed our regular mooring above the bridge next to the Boat Inn. We had a steady run up to the three Calcutt locks where we caught up with a lone locker just below the bottom lock. Between the three of us we soon transcended the flight and with the exception of a slight delay leaving the top lock where we waited while a boat attempted awkwardly to wind above the lock, we were soon out and heading for Wigram’s turn. Our lock buddy was taking his boat to Brinklow for blacking the following day so we settled in behind him at a decent distance and chugged our way back to Braunston turn where, with a cheery wave, we parted company. The journey back was peaceful enough in the sunshine and despite the large number of boats travelling in the opposite direction, it all passed without incident. We did see a pen full of sheep being sheared at the farm by bridge 104, the novelty of which entertained us for a few minutes as we passed by.
Typically, a boat pulled away from the water point near the A45 road bridge, no problem there as they would not have known that we were coming through behind them. We followed them to the marina entrance and then had to wait while they winded their boat. We were hoping that there might be enough empty berths to allow us easy passage on to our pontoon but we were out of luck. We made it in past Havoc II with a little help from another boater who fended us off the bow of the aforementioned narrowboat. Just before we started our manoeuvre, Sue had discovered nb Phyllis May II, pride and joy of Terry Darlington and his wife Monica tied up on the pontoon directly opposite from our own. The adventuring authors are taking a stall at the Braunston historic boat show, no doubt hoping to sell a few signed copies of their books over that weekend.
We spent a little while doing the usual stuff and taking showers before clearing some bits and pieces into the car ready to drive home. Of course we will be back on Thursday evening to make ready for a Friday afternoon departure to start our two week cruise to ….., well we’re still undecided on that one so watch this space.
The Leaving of Saltisford
After a week in Saltisford it was time to leave. The weather had changed for the better yesterday and we had enjoyed a sunny afternoon in Warwick as a result. Saturday dawned with a bright blue sky and after a quick trip to Sainsbury’s we paid our dues to Ian and set off on our return journey. It wasn’t quite as simple as all that, Ian had disappeared with the hirers of ‘Saltie II’ which belongs to the Saltisford Canal Trust so we waited outside the office until he returned. While we waited we spoke to Ken and Fiona who were just off on their boat ‘Aileen Rose’. A few minutes later Ian returned and we settled up with him, a lovely bloke dedicated to the arm and a credit to the charity. We returned to Phoenix III and had a brief conversation with the couple on nb Oakdale, the boat that we had been tied to since Sunday. They told us that they lived in Bristol and were taking Oakdale to Braunston to be blacked the following week. Sadly they are giving up boating and plan to sell the boat in September so we wish them well in whatever they do.
We set off and with some sadness left the Saltisford arm before turning right on to the Grand Union canal. When we reached the Cape locks we caught up with Ken and Fiona and quickly dropped through into the pound that would take us through Warwick and Leamington before we started the climb out of the Leam and Avon valley.
We enjoyed our trip on the sunny Saturday morning and when we eventually caught up with Saltie II, the crew pulled over and let us pass. Soon enough we were behind another narrowboat and we expected that they would be our companions as we started our climb from Radford to Long Itchington. In the end it didn’t work out like that because they caught up with another boat at Radford bottom lock and by the time they had gone through and another one had come down, Aileen Rose with Ken and Fiona on board had arrived behind us.
We spent the rest of the afternoon climbing our way out of the valley in the company of two lovely, friendly and very experienced boaters and that made the day very easy and enjoyable. We passed our lock mates between Bascote and Long Itchington where they tied up before we ourselves moored just beyond the Two Boats pub. After a sandwich and a drink we walked to the Co-op in the village before returning to the boat. We soaked up the last few of the sun’s rays and then retreated to the inside of Phoenix III where we devoured another of Susan’s delicious meals, this time an amazingly tasty piece of roast pork with accompanying veg.
Sprink Bank Holiday Sun
Amazingly, we have been blessed with our second sunny bank holiday in the space of a month and so we made our way back into Warwick and wandered around the shops again. The weather forecast has now worsened for the coming days so we have had to make a decision on our travel plans. After a fairly short discussion we came to the conclusion that we would stay for the week in Saltisford and then cruise back to Braunston at the weekend when the forecast is set fair again. After returning to our boat we found Ian and confirmed that we could stay until Saturday as well as plugging our shoreline into the mains power supply.
So with our new plan in place we prepared to spend the week in Warwick and as a result there will be no more blog posts until we take Phoenix III back to Braunston.
Saltisford Sunday
We left our overnight mooring above the Fosse lock at eight o’clock and with no-one else around, made our way down to Radford Semele. As we skirted around the village we spotted a young deer running quickly across the adjacent field. On reaching the end of the field it jumped into the cut and then tried unsuccessfully to climb out on the towpath side. After a couple of attempts it gave up and managed to clamber up the bank on the off-side before disappearing into the hedgerow at the edge of the field.
We carried on with our cruise in the sunshine through Leamington and around Warwick through the two cape locks and into the Saltisford arm. After checking in with Ian the site manager, we moored alongside nb Oakdale and then walked into Warwick town centre. After a few hours wandering around the market place and enjoying a drink outside the local Wetherspoons, we returned to Phoenix III. We ate our evening meal at one of the site’s picnic tables and then spent the rest of our time sunning ourselves on the front deck until the sun finally disappeared for the night.
Spring Bank Holiday
We arrived at Braunston on Friday afternoon knowing that the weather would prevent us leaving the marina until Saturday morning. We weren’t wrong and so we spent a relaxing evening on board while the wind and rain lashed the outside of the boat.
Saturday morning brought the promise of a beautiful day and so we got out of bed just after eight and did our chores before we set off an hour later. We chugged out of the marina and made our way slowly towards Braunston turn in the morning sunshine. Once we had rounded the bend at the junction, Sue toasted some crumpets and we had breakfast on the go. We pootled along until we reached Wigram’s turn where veered to the right and headed for the three locks at Calcutt. We thought that we would be travelling with a hire boat moored at the top lock but they were taking on water and so we entered the first lock alone. Our lone locking carried on but with a number of boats climbing up the flight our passage down was swift and easy. We enjoyed a glass of wine at midday as we made our way from Calcutt locks to those at Stockton. We did the first lock on our own but then caught up with another narrowboat whose crew had waited for us in the second lock. We benefitted from the kindness of their friends who were in front and had set some of the locks in our favour with the result that we were very quickly down and through the eight locks above the Blue Lias pub. We decided to make a stop there for lunch and while we were chatting about our stop I hit the bridge! There is no excuse, I just wasn’t paying attention and although this is a particularly low bridge, it was my fault completely. Fortunately the fairlead on the port side bore the brunt of the collision so at least the paintwork escaped damage. Of course these sort of things only happen when there is an audience and today was no exception, the garden of the Blue Lias was full of customers and as a result I got a round of applause and one or two comments from the pub patrons. It didn’t put us off and within a few minutes we were tied up and sitting in the garden with a drink and a sandwich as we enjoyed a break in the afternoon sun.
Refreshed and re-energised we set off and dropped through the two locks to Long Itchington. As we passed a line of moored boats, we were advised by someone who had been tied up at the pub to “watch out for bridges”, there’s always a smartarse somewhere!
We partnered up with a lone locker through the remaining locks down to the Fosse lock but we were entertained along the way by a Canal club hire boat whose crew wanted to turn before the Bascote staircase lock. Unfortunately the canal is not wide enough at that point to turn a 55’ boat so they had to drop through the staircase before turning around with some difficulty and a great deal of help from our lock partner. Leaving the hire boat behind, we made our way gently to our mooring just above Fosse lock, our lock partner moors below the lock so as I tied Phoenix III to the bank, Sue assisted him through his final lock.
So after 19 locks and umpteen miles in just over eight hours we were moored up for the evening. We had an hour out on the back deck with a drink before retreating to the cabin where we had our evening meal. All that was left to do was to flop into our chairs and contemplate the rest of our journey down to Warwick and hopefully a mooring in the Saltisford arm.
Birthday lunch at the Wheatsheaf in Crick
After a late night and a deep sleep, we hauled ourselves out of bed this morning and prepared for the short hop to Crick. We took the opportunity to dump rubbish and take on water near bridge 19 at Yelvertoft and then we were on our way again, braving the cold gusty wind along the way. We passed nb Cyprinus Carpio again between Yelvertoft and Crick but the same as last week there was no sign of its owner Lee, probably too early in the morning for him!
An hour after setting off we were mooring again, this time opposite Crick marina. We took a look at ‘The Moorings’ restaurant/cafe/shop before walking into the village itself and after a quick stop at the Co-op we went into the Wheatsheaf on the opposite side of the road. May 11th is Sue’s birthday and that gave us cause to celebrate so we enjoyed a bottle of wine with our delicious two course lunch. After a couple of hours spent relaxing in the Wheatsheaf we wandered back to the canal. We had already decided to move on a bit so we untied and headed for the tunnel as soon as we got back to the boat. We reached Watford locks around four-ish and after passing through the top lock, waited for the lock keepers to bring four boats up the flight. Our timing was perfect, while we sat inside with a cup of coffee each, the heavens opened and dumped rain and hail on everyone in the area. The sun came out as the last of the four boats passed out of the staircase part of the flight and we made our way down in relatively pleasant conditions. We cleared the bottom lock with a little help from the lock keepers and the crew of the next boat which was ready to ascend the flight.
We tied up for the evening outside Weltonfield Narrowboats and thus avoided the heavy rain that arrived half an hour later. With the fire lit our boat was cosy again and we settled down for the evening on this the last night of our holiday. We have left ourselves with just the tunnel and locks at Braunston to complete our journey so unless anything out of the ordinary happens, this blog entry will be the last for this trip.