19th October 2011
Cropredy to Upper Heyford(Two days in one post - no signal yesterday)
We had a bit of catching up to do, so we set off from Cropredy at 0745 in chilly but sunny conditions. At 1015 we tied up by the Castle Quay shopping centre in Banbury and went shopping. Not in Castle Quay. We had a look round the town, and found the famous Cross.
It doesn't really lean - that's my camera's lens distortion.
Two hours after stopping here we got under way again, just beaten to the lift bridge and lock by
Goshawk, whom we followed all the way to Aynho Wharf. In Banbury the wind had got up, and for much of the way we were going diagonally down the cut. Then it clouded over ... and then the rain came. A really heavy shower, making full wet-weather gear essential. We would have stopped had we not been trying to get to Upper Heyford where we still thought we might be meeting up with friends from Milton Keynes. This was the first real daytime rain of the week.
Jan steering into Aynho Weir LockWell, we made it to Upper Heyford, tying up above Allen's Lock at 1845 almost in darkness, but our friends sent a message saying they wouldn't be coming. We walked up the hill to the Barley Mow pub and ate there - cottage pie for Jan and steak and ale pie for me.
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20th October 2011
Upper Heyford to ThruppI had calculated that Upper Heyford to Thrupp should take four hours, but that was assuming we'd be through Allen's Lock. As it was, we didn't get going until 0815, bowhauling into the lock before starting the engine.
We passed through some wonderfully remote locks - I think I'm right in saying this is looking back at Northbrook Lock.
The countryside around here is beautiful. This is on the River Cherwell section upstream of Shipton Weir Lock.
At Shipton Weir Lock we were met by Mortimer Bones, who helpfully lifted Bridge 219 for us. At Thrupp we took on water and tied up on the visitor moorings by the cottages. The time: about 2 pm. I must somehow have miscalculated. It didn't matter.
Having read Maffi's and Bones's eulogies on Annie's Tea Room I was keen to try it for myself, so we went with Bones and had cream teas. Excellent clotted cream! Then we offered to take Boots for a walk, so Bones kitted me out with a bag of dog poo bags and a piece of sausage, and showed me how to hold the lead. (I'm very, very new to this game!) Then, feeling quite a weight of responsibility, I held on tightly to the lead, and didn't let go for an hour and a half. I am gradually getting over my childhood fear of dogs. Despite Bones assuring me that I was in control, I often felt as though it was Boots taking me for the walk, not the other way round. He dictated the pace - fast, with occasional stops for sniffing the grass - and seemed to know the way to go too. In a first for me, I had to use one of the poo bags, turning it inside out and putting it on my hand like a glove to pick up the poo as I'd seen other dog walkers do. I steeled myself and did the deed. It wasn't too bad, and we even found a convenient bin in which to dispose of the bag with its revolting contents.
We walked to St. Mary's church on the edge of Kidlington before returning along the right bank of the Cherwell. It was a very pleasant walk, on well-defined footpaths through fields and woods.
We were pleased to be able to share a meal with Bones on board
Shadow later in the evening.
Tomorrow we go to the very end of the Oxford Canal: into Oxford itself.
