Progressing up the Oxford Canal

After all the problems getting up the swollen Thames, the last few days have been a breeze.  The countryside is idyllic, the only difficulties are the really deep locks (one at 12 feet is the deepest on the canal system) and a few stretches with many boats to avoid.

And then there are the lifting bridges

 But most of these are left in the open position so they are not as much of an aggravation as they could be if we had to stop and open each one.

There have been some strange locks, such as Aynho Weir lock pictured here:

 This is a diamond shape to increase its volume as locks lower down the canal are very much deeper than this one, so a shallow lock of large area produces the same volume of water as a deep lock of small area.

And so on Monday we reached Banbury which is a much more interesting and attractive place than we expected.  We stayed two days as David had alternator problems and took the offending appliance to be tested.  In the end he has had to buy a new one, but it seems now to be charging the batteries properly which the old one was not.  Here is David installing the new one:

And finally here are some pictures of historic Banbury:

Ye Olde Reindeer Inn - good food and beer

Fine lady on a white horse

Tonight we are moored at Cropredy a few miles on from Banbury and our aim tomorrow is to reach the summit pound of the Oxford Canal.  We aim to reach Napton and the junction with the Grand Union on Friday evening and then Birmingham will be within our reach.