Hold ups galore

12 Locks, 7 Miles. Now moored above Claydon top lock.
578 locks, 711½ miles, 18 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

After an early morning visit to the famous Tooleys boat yard for some bolts we set off about 9am. We had a great run to start with as there were lots of boats heading south from Cropredy and all the locks were in our favour.

Once we reached Cropredy it was a different story. The Cropredy festival organizers were busy clearing up the rubbish as we passed between their camp site and festival site.

Arrival at Cropredy lock saw us 5^th in the queue for the lock and this was the norm until we reached the Claydon flight. With more south bound boats appearing later in the day this helped split the boats up but it was still slow going. We finally moored up about 5.15pm making it the longest and slowest day we have had in the nine months living aboard.

Waiting in a lock queue we spotted some more babies, Piglets this time.

We bumped into another email correspondent from back in 2004/5, New Zealanders, Keith McIvor and his wife Bronwyn aboard their narrowboat Kotuku. Keith emailed us for information prior to getting their boat built and they are now living the dream. Yesterday we also met Hugh and Jane on n/b Poetry in a lock. They are another Kiwi couple enjoying the canal lifestyle which unfortunately will be short lived as they only have NZ passports and have to leave the UK at the end of October. Their boat will be up for sale at Braunston Marina very soon. A good buy for somebody.

As we moored up tonight we were passed by another of our fellow countryman proudly flying the New Zealand flag. Unfortunately we never had a chance to chat. This makes a total of 4 New Zealand boats in 24 hours. I wonder if there are any left at home?

Blackberries.

3 Locks, 4 Miles, 2 Lift Bridges. Now moored at Banbury.
566 locks, 704½ miles, 18 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Banbury Cross - yes just like the nursery rhyme

This morning was cool and overcast when we set off. As we had set off early again it was a quiet and uneventful trip. Just past Banbury Tramway moorings we pulled in and moored up on the 14 day moorings behind some commercial buildings. Once moored up we realised that there was blackberries growing up against the building with the fattest, juiciest blackberries we have seen to date. It didn’t take Joy, Alan and I long to fill 3 plastic containers.

Gypsy Rover moored in the centre of Banbury

After a quick walk up to the Banbury town centre we found plenty of moorings in the 24 and 48 hour zones so we pulled the pins and heading on up through the lock and lift bridge. Once safely established we went for a walk to buy some meat and veggies but this is where the problem started. The Castle Quay mall shows a Somerfield supermarket on its door plan but after walking all around the place we found out that it ain’t there no more. We had to settle for M & S who don’t have that good a range of produce. The main item required was cooking apples to go with the blackberries and they did have some of those in stock.

After dropping the goodies back to the boat and catching up with Alan and Joy again we set off in search of the Banbury Cross and what ever else there was of interest.

This evening we have only cooked half of the blackberries and apples and had a superb dessert with ice cream. As we had cooked more than anticipated there is still some left over to have on our breakfast cereal tomorrow morning. The remaining uncooked berries will be dealt with tomorrow evening hopefully in pie form.

Islands in canals?

6 Locks, 10 Miles, 2 Lift Bridges. Now moored at King Sutton.
563 locks, 700½ miles, 18 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 17 lift bridges since Nov 2006

The River Cherwell yesterday, a bit different from a couple of weeks ago.

We cast off from Heyford and moved several boat lengths up to the water point where we refilled before setting off. We had only gone about 500 yards when we spotted Clare and Doug aboard Zanzibar who we first met at Reading on the Thames. We pulled in for a chat and eventually got away about half an hour later. Passed Narrowboat Quidditch just out of Lower Heyford but no signs of life on board, must have been too early!

It was an uneventful cruise until we got to Somerton deep lock where a solo boater was trying to bow haul his boat out of the lock. Several other boat crews got stuck in and helped him out. Apparently he had picked up a prop full of weed coming into the lock.

As I approached the lock I could see a small clump of floating reeds in the lock which Dot and Alan tried to flush out before I got there. I got into the lock OK but as I rose to the top I could see a hive of activity going on above the lock. The lock exit was blocked by a huge floating island of reeds which had broken away from somewhere and floated down to the lock. It took 4 of us half an hour using a long fork and pole hooks to pull the island out of the canal onto the bank. The occupant of the old lock keepers cottage gave us a hand and said he would wait for it to dry out and then fork it over the fence. The lockkeepers cottage is for “Sale by Auction” on Wednesday with strong interest and then the couple will retire to live where else but on the canal in their narrowboat.

We stopped at Aynho wharf for lunch and then carried on until we found a good mooring just above King Sutton lock. From our mooring we can see a combined harvester in the distance making the most of the fine weather.

For the last 2 days we have been taking note of the flood levels of the recent flooding. All along the canal banks and hedgerows we could see where the water had risen to and they were quite frightening levels. It became quite obvious why BW had to close the canal for a time. It’s no wonder that the river Thames has been taking so long to return to normal levels.

Beautiful sunset tonight with Gypsy Rover in silhouette.

Lock queues.

5 Locks, 7 Miles, 2 Lift Bridges. Now moored at Heyford Wharf.
557 locks, 690½ miles, 18 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 15 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Another early start was the order of the day on Friday but with boats all going the same way we soon found ourselves 5^th in the queue for the first lock. We did meet the occasional boat travelling in the opposite direction which spread the boats out a bit. At Kingsground boats yard we stopped for diesel which was only 50p a litre. The site is under development and there is an on site lady who will sell you a pump out card but you have to ring the main office to get somebody to come down and dispense the diesel. Apparently the contractor who was developing the site for Kingsground went bust (familiar story these days) and until the liquidator has finalized the winding up of the business they cannot appoint another contractor. Eventually there will be a chandlery, shop and workshop on the canal side site.

The trip up to Heyford wharf was slow but it has been a beautifully hot day. After lunch we went for a walk up to Oxfordshire Narrowboats where we were hoping to find Doug and Clare of n/b Zanzibar who we met on the Thames at Reading. The boat was in the marina but the crew were not onboard. Normally they are in the yard on Fridays and Saturdays but for some unknown reason they were AWOL. We continued on a circular route around the village and along the towpath north of the village before returning to the boat. We were on the lookout for blackberries but they were very small which indicated lack of water early in the growth period. We had found some nice berries around Oxford bit insufficient in quantity.

Elderberries are in abundance so home made wine makers will have a bumper crop to make their favourite tipple.

Finally under way.

5 Locks, 6½ Miles, 3 Lift Bridges. Now moored at Thrupp
552 locks, 683½ miles, 18 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 13 lift bridges since Nov 2006

We were up early this morning so that we could make an early cast off and hopefully beat the rush. Pulling away from Osney we had to use plenty of power (1800rpm) to fight the flow. By the time we reached the Sheepwash channel we decided that the best route would be through Isis lock so we turned into the channel where there was a marked difference in water flow.

Alan, Joy and yours truly at Thrupp

We had a good run up as far as Dukes lock where we started to catch up with other boats. Most locks were set for us as there were as many boats going down as up. Just past Roundham lock we were forced into the trees due to an oncoming boat and moored boats. I had to cut my way through using a pair of secateurs that we keep handy for just such occasions.

Thrupp facilities and lift bridge

When we arrived at the Jolly Boatman at Thrupp we moored up and I got onto the roof to sweep all the leaves away. Hello, where’s the boat hook pole? Bugger we must have lost it in the trees. A quick walk back down the towpath and sure enough there was the end of the pole sticking out of the water. Hmmm, how to retrieve yonder pole? A boat in the lock heading my way was my saving grace. I hopped aboard and when alongside the pole I managed to hook it towards the boat where John, the skipper was able to grab it for me.

All present and accounted for.

He then kindly gave me a lift back to Thrupp. Thanks John, I forgot to get your boats name.

We thought we had it bad being stuck on the Thames for 3 weeks, John told me that he had been stuck for 7 weeks which included wading through waist deep water, a rescue by the tug Tungsten from Oxford cruisers and a week in the marina.

Stampede.

Still moored above Osney lock.

Today has been the day many boaters have been looking forward to for a very long time. The red boards are coming down to be replaced with yellow boards. Needless to say the flow of boats through here today has been fairly constant. We have had about 15 boats going up river and only 6 going down. The latter were really flying as they went through here.

Mid morning we went to the railway station to meet our guests, Alan and Joy Moore from the NZMCA who are joining us for a trip to Rugby. After getting them settled on board we went up town to buy some fresh milk, fruit and vegetables.

The rest of the day was spent adjusting mooring ropes, tidying up and checking everything in the engine hole ready for cruising tomorrow.

We have enjoyed our enforced stay here in Oxford and made many new friends but we are looking forward to moving on to new territory and a change of scenery by the end of the month.

The lifting of n/b Hertford.

Still moored above Osney lock.

This morning we had a busy morning doing 2 water runs from the pub using our neighbours’ wheel barrow. Using every receptacle we could find I could carry more each trip. We had no sooner done this when our Tesco delivery arrived delivered by a very attractive Tesco lady. Unfortunately she wasn’t part of the order.

A short while later a couple of boats went past us which caught our interest. The first was a narrow boat that had come up through Osney lock yesterday. He was heading up river until he was abreast of us where the channel narrows and he just sat there motionless going no where. It wasn’t until he was just about at full throttle that he started to make headway. By the time he reached Botley Road Bridge his speed started to increase but only marginally.

The other boat was a tug from Oxford cruisers and we took a guess that they were going to try and recover the “Hertford” See our earlier story here.

So with cameras in hand we locked up the boat and set off for Folly Bridge.
Upon rounding the bend we spied the tug alongside Hertford with 3 pumps set up trying to pump the boat out. After a while they attached some ropes and a steel hawser to try and pull the boat away from the channel marker but she was stuck fast. They managed to raise the boat so far but then they were fighting a losing battle with more water pouring into the stern.

PUMPING

GETTING THERE

AFLOAT BUT STILL STUCK

TRYING TO KEEP WATER OUT

NEARLY THERE

FINALLY FLOATING

MOVE DAMN IT

WILL IT WON'T IT

Using the engine hole cover board across the rear access with a sheet of plastic and stuffing a curtain that was unceremoniously ripped out of Hertford, into the engine hole vent they managed to get control. When the boat was fully afloat but listing they put a rope onto the bow and with quite a lot of power applied by the tug they managed to pull it free. They towed Hertford up river a wee way into the shallows and re-arranged the pumps to try and get the boat on a more even keel. The whole operation took about 2 hours and eventually they started to tow the boat back up river on a short tow rope.

ALL CLEAR

Once they had come up through Osney lock their worst nightmare was about to come true because with Hertford having no power it would be at the mercy of the river once it got into the weir stream. They maneuvered both boats as far away from the weir stream as possible so that they were not too close to moored boats should Hertford become uncontrollable. Between the 3 crew they managed to keep Hertford under control and moored outside the Watermans Arms pub for a well deserved lunch. An hour or so later they set off again and coming through the narrows alongside us the tug was really working hard to make headway. We heard on the towpath telegraph later that Hertford was now back at College Cruisers on the Oxford canal awaiting a very extensive re-fit.

FINALLY UNDERWAY

As I sit here writing this blog we have heard that the red boards could come down tomorrow BUT there will still be a strong flow to contend with. Another narrowboat has just come up through the lock and he is making hard work of it with black smoke belching from his exhaust and a huge bow wave as he punches into the flow. He slowed down approaching Botley Road Bridge as he has a lot of gear on his roof and Dot tells me that something did hit the bridge but he didn’t lose anything overboard. Another narrow boat coming down river met the first boat at the bridge and had to do a quick back pedal because there isn’t room for 2 boats to pass at the bridge. He has now just gone flying past us.