On To Banbury

Tuesday we left Cropredy mid-morning and stopped at the service station for water and to get rid of some rubbish.

Cropredy Lock Blue Skies Still.

 We made steady progress and cruised at a sedate pace taking in all the lovely scenery. The weather was a little cloudy but it was still warm. The trees are turning a lovely colour and we are surprised at how many of the bushes still had berries on them, we have been told this means it will be a late winter as the birds have not eaten them.

Lovely Cruising weather

We passed under the the M40 twice the traffic seems to be going so fast but its most likely because we have been used to going so slow. The locks on the Oxford canal are really easy to use apart from leaking a bit.
After doing Hardwick Lock its just over one mile in to Banbury. We have moored near to the park and its a very nice mooring to.
My knee injury has come back and given me some pain so I made an appointment with Banbury Health centre, so after seeing the Doctor who has confirmed that I have a Tendon Injury. I have been told I need to rest my knee as much as possible. The moorings in Banbury are 2 days so I called CRT and explained to them about my injury. They were fantastic and have allowed us to stay over the 2 days just to keep them informed  of how my injury is healing. So we agreed to stay at Banbury until Monday and then move on if my knee allows it.
Some friends we met at Lymm way back in the summer Shirley & Kevin off N/B Jenny Wren work in Banbury so we did met up with them and enjoyed a meal out one evening. It was great to see them again.

Saturday morning we got a phone call from Mike & Karel who wanted to come and see us so we spent a lovely afternoon catching up they have become really good friends and we will be seeing them again before christmas.

So that takes us up to today.

Time Travelled Tuesday 3 Hrs Distance 4 Miles 4 Locks

Total Distance Travelled 936. Miles 

207 Locks (Broad ) 426 single locks and 18 tunnel's, 10 Massive Lock

Total Tunnel length 10957 yards   
Total Time 495.5 hours  

We Are Loving It so Much

Napton Locks And A Boat In A Field

We left Napton Bridge Inn on Sunday morning after enjoying a cup of tea and a read of the paper in bed. A short chug up to the bottom of the 9 locks at Napton.

We filled with water before starting the locks. These locks are very tight and it has been known for a boat to get wedged in a lock if it has its side fenders down, it was good to see CRT have a notice ( very small one)  informing boaters to lift their fenders before starting the flight. We made really good progress up the locks however between 11 and 12 the pound was quite low and one of the lock-keepers whizzed past us on his bike to flood some water down the flight which done the trick

 ( we didn’t need it but the boats following did)

Sharon and I work really well doing locks so we were at the top In 2 ½ hours which we were very pleased with. 

We passed this fellow having a drink his mates were further away, he is a buffalo which are farmed right by the canal.

Buffalo

We both love the Oxford Canal as it’s a contour canal and twists and winds around at times it seems like your heading back from where you started. 

We saw this very unusual sight whilst cruising it looks like they dug the bank away brought the boat in then replaced the bank the boat is sitting in a little bit of water.

You Can See Where The Bank Was Removed/Replaced

In The Middle Of The Field

Someone Is Living On Her They Have The Washing Out & 

We moored just after bridge 129 we have moored here before and it’s a nice quiet place.

Moored For The Evening

Monday we untied at 10.00 and headed towards Fenny Crompton which was quite busy and as usual. We are going to stop there on the way back and have a beer maybe a meal as we have been told the food is excellent. So a really lovely cruise up to the 8 locks that lead in to Cropredy the locks do leak rather badly along here which meant we had to top up every lock that we thought would be with  us. We are  moored for the evening in Cropredy and will be heading off to Banbury tomorrow.

Time Travelled Sunday 5 Hrs Distance 7.5 Miles 9 Locks

Time Travelled Monday 5 Hrs Distance 7 Miles 8 Locks

Total Distance Travelled 932. Miles 

207 Locks (Broad ) 422 single locks and 18 tunnel's, 10 Massive Lock

Total Tunnel length 10957 yards   
Total Time 492.5 hours  

We Are Loving It so Much

Good Bye To Braunston And More Visitors

We took the bus in to Daventry on Wednesday to have a look around, nice little town with the usual shops. We found Aldi and managed to stock up on provisions and a few other bits we needed. We have had a great time in Braunston and are moorings for the week were wonderful.Just a few pics from our window.

Braunston Church Spire

Lovely Reflection on A Misty Morning

Lovely Swans Wanting Breakfast

Wonderful Pic I Think

Thursday we slipped the lines and went up to the water point to fill with water and do the other necessities.  I popped in to Midland Chandlers and brought some coal which I don’t like buying from chandler's as we much prefer to use one of the trade boats but have not seen one for a while so we hope we see one on the Oxford Canal soon so we can stock up on it.

Had a really lovely cruise and used the captain's perch to rest on, it really is very comfortable and practical as it can be removed when we need the extra space or when mooring up.

 The Captain's perch Wonderful & Comfy To Rest On

We moored up by the Bridge Inn Napton for the evening a really nice mooring. Friday I got on with a couple of jobs the biggest being applying a wax coat to the roof of Tacet for the winter and it  looks nice and shiny.

Saturday Morning and one of Sharon's work mates Jackie visited us and we spent a couple of hours catching up it was good to see you. 

We are planning to move tomorrow and have 9 single locks to do. 

Time Travelled Thursday 3.5 Hours Distance 6.5 Miles

Total Distance Travelled 917.5. Miles 

207 Locks (Broad ) 405 single locks and 18 tunnel's, 10 Massive Lock

Total Tunnel length 10957 yards   
Total Time 482.5 hours  

We Are Loving It so Much

Visitors Galore And A Wonderful Few days

Last Friday we woke to a lovely misty morning and a wonderful view of Braunston church in mist with sheep in the lower field. We took a walk around the village and then back along the towpath to Tacet

Braunston Church, Sheep And Mist Our View From Tacet

Friday evening we have arranged to meet Robin & Marion AKA The Hoods for a beer or 3 at the Plough pub, it was really wonderful to be able to sit down and have a really good catch up with them both they are such an interesting couple and we had a thoroughly good evening with them.

Robin & Marion AKA The Hoods

Robin & Marion Passing By 

Saturday the 10^th and we were really excited as Mike & Karel with there son-in-law Michael were coming over. Mike & Michael were going to fit our new seat on the back of Tacet as I don’t have the right stuff to do it.

It only took them an hour to do it and know we have a perch to perch on when we are cruising well only one of us can sit down as we only brought 1 seat but it is fantastic and so comfortable, thank you so much.

Great A Place To Perch 

The Captain's Perch Seat  It Lifts In and Out For Storage 

All too quickly the 3 of them had to leave so we said our goodbyes and hope to meet up with Mike & Karel before Christmas.

Later in the afternoon we had been invited for tea and cake with Carol and Peter who we got to know when we were moored at the same marina as we were last year. We had tea and cake on there boat Worth Waiting For. It was good to see them both and catch up.

Sunday the 11^th and we had our usual tea, coffee and read of the paper in bed and had a slow start to the day. We have our dear friends Phil & Louise visiting for the afternoon.. They came all the way from Suffolk to see us. 

Phil & Louise Thanks For A Wonderful Day.

They arrived just before lunch so we had sandwiches on-board then took a walk around Braunston. We had a lovely walk along the towpath from where we are moored up to the bottom lock at Braunston. On the way back Robin & Marion from Many Meetings  invited us in for a cuppa and yet more cake. 

Their boat is only 4 years old and is built on an Alexander Hull like Tacet and a wonderful fit out by Kingsground. 

We had an enjoyable time all  6 of us and then we said our goodbyes to Robin & Marion and made our way back to Tacet. 

We booked a table for an evening meal with Phil & Louise at The Boat House, the food was great and we had a great evening. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Phil & Louise we have had such a wonderful day with them both and hope we see hem again soon.

Monday the 12^th and I set about changing the fire bricks in the fire which only took 1 hour which I was rather pleased with. I took some rubbish up to the bins and as I walked in a car piped its horn and much to  my surprise and delight it was our great friends Phil & Carol from Guernsey who we knew were in the area. They have brought a narrow boat and were over checking it out. They had driven to Braunston to surprise us which they most certainly did. 

Phil & Carol It Was  So Good To catch Up With You Both.

We spent a good couple of hours catching up aboard Tacet but again all to soon we had to say our good-byes. We have agreed to meet up next year and have a cruise with them which we know will be great fun. It was lovely to see you both again and we know you will enjoy your maiden trip aboard your boat.

So to sum up we  have had a FANTASTIC weekend catching up with old and new friends.  

Hawkesbury Junction

On Sunday after we had moored at Hawkesbury Junction we set about doing a couple of jobs when we heard the sound of a band playing, upon further investigation we found that a band were playing at the Greyhound Pub which is a really lovely old pub selling really good beer so a good afternoon was had by me and Sharon.

Monday the 5^th we woke to a dull morning after a night of heavy rain. I love to hear the rain pitter pattering on the roof it sounds quite musical. We untied and moved to the water point to top up the water tank. Then it was round to the stop lock at Hawkesbury junction which has a 6 ince drop/rise on it. We then cruised on up to Ansty and found a very pleasant mooring for the evening. Just after we moored up the heavens opened and it poured down for the rest of the afternoon.

Tuesday the 6^th we set off and it was not long before we were joined by the sun. A nice cruise along to Stretton Stop and as we needed a new gas bottle we stopped and along with the bottle of gas we got 2 bags of coal as well. It’s a really lovely canal the Oxford canal and here are some lovely places to moor. We are moored just after bridge 34 lovely.

Wednesday 7^th we had lovely sun all day and cruised along nice and steadily enjoying the October weather. We passed a few boats moving and a cheerful hello was exchanged by both crews. We decided to stop at Rugby as we need supplies and there is a massive Tesco very close to the Canal. We were lucky and sneaked on to the last remaining mooring and made our way to Tesco nearly 2 hours later we returned laden down with provisions so we know have fully stocked cupboards again for a while. We set off mid-afternoon and moored at the bottom of Hillmorton Locks. When I went for a walk I got chatting to a very nice couple and it turns out they are from Woodbridge in Suffolk which is the next town from where we live (Ipswich) It’s a small old world at times.

Thursday 8^th we set off in lovely sunshine and after a very slow water fill up we were through the 3 locks very quickly. It's been a really wonderful day to cruise today and we have seen some really lovely sights along the way. We are now moored at Braunston as we have a busy weekend ahead of us. We are having a drink with Robin & marion off Many Meetings, Saturday Mike and his son-in-law are coming over to fit our captain's perch for us. Sunday we are really looking forward to as our dear friends Phil and Louise are coming up for the day and a meal in the evening. We are also catching up with Chris and Peter who live in Braunston and have a really nice mooring at the bottom of there garden so a busy weekend can't wait.

Time Travelled Monday 2 Hrs Distance 3 Miles 1 Lock
Time Travelled Tuesday 2 Hrs Distance 4 Miles 0 Locks

Time Travelled Wednesday 2.5 Hrs Distance 6 Miles 0 Locks

Time Travelled Thursday 3 Hrs Distance 7 Miles 3 Locks

Total Distance Travelled 911. Miles 

207 Locks (Broad ) 405 single locks and 18 tunnel's, 10 Massive Lock

Total Tunnel length 10957 yards   
Total Time 479 hours  

We Are Loving It so Much

Curdworth 11 Locks & Meeting Many Meetings Again !!

Thursday morning and we had the 11 locks at Curdworth to do, these are quite nice locks to do and we made good progress but most of the locks were against us but as the sun was shining it was a good day to be doing the locks. We moored at the bottom of Curdworth Locks by the water park. We moored at this spot on the way up to Birmingham and a very pleasant mooring it  is..

Friday morning and we woke to a lovely misty morning, we untied and headed towards Fazeley as we need to top up with water and get a few provisions. So after a beautiful cruise up to Fazeley and whilst the water tank was filling Sharon done a quick shop. When filling with water N/B Destiny passed with John & Nev on so a quick chat with them. When Sharon got back we moved on and passed N/B Many Meetings with Robin & Marion but no one was on board. After doing the 2 locks at Glascote we continued on in lovely sunny weather. We had planned to moor in Polesworth for the evening but decide to cruise on and found a lovely mooring for the evening. Sometime later in the evening Many Meetings joined us and we had a catch up with them. We last saw them on the Leeds & Liverpool canal which seems a long while ago.

Misty Start  

We Were Then Joined By

Nice And Twisty Canal

Saturday morning and another lovely morning we headed off to do the 11 locks at Atherstone, we left a bit late hoping that we would have a clear passage through the locks WRONG we were in a queue again but made steady progress through the locks. Atherstone seems a nice place but we didn't have time to stop other than to get a newspaper. We cruised on and found some nice moorings so moored for the evening near bridge 28.

Sunday and again we woke to lovely sunny weather, being Sunday we had a cup of tea in bed and read some of the paper we had brought yesterday. It’s a hard life at times !!!. We set off around 10.30m for Hawksbury Junction where we plan to moor for this evening. The cruise through Nuneaton was as we had expected the canal was rather full of rubbish so slow ahead for a short while. Once through Nuneaton the countryside is lovely and we had a good cruise up to Hawksbury Junction for the evening.

Are Morning View

And Are Evening View

We Don't Want The Stig On A Narrowboat Although At Times I think He Has Passed Us whilst We have Been Moored !!!.

Time Travelled Thursday 3.5 Hrs Distance 4 Miles 11 Locks

Time Travelled Friday 4.5 Hrs Distance 9 Miles 2 Locks

Time Travelled Saturday 5 Hrs Distance 6 Miles 11 Locks

Time Travelled Sunday 3 Hrs Distance 7 Miles

Total Distance Travelled 891. Miles 

207 Locks (Broad ) 401 single locks and 18 tunnel's, 10 Massive Lock

Total Tunnel length 10707 yards   
Total Time 469.5 hours  

We Are Loving It so Much