Oxford and the Thames

We've now come down the Oxford Canal and tonight we are out on the Thames heading upstream towards Lechlade.  It seems strange being on a wide river again. It's now quite a few weeks since we left the Severn at Worcester.  The variety of waterways is one of the pleasures of boating.

The last posting on Tuesday 26 June we were on the summit level of the Oxford Canal.  We set off down the Claydon Locks the following day, the first of 30 locks down to Oxford.

We spent Wednesday evening at Cropredy, a very pretty village.  This view is of Cropredy Lock.

These are some of the many pretty houses in the village.  This is called 'Tradesmen's Row' because it used to be occupied by the butcher, baker and other local tradespeople.  The pub sign you can see is for the Red Lion, one of several in the village.  We ate at the Brasenose Arms, taking some shade in the tree lined garden.

On Thursday morning we passed these cows cooling off in the canal.

Later in the day we came through Banbury but decided not to stop there.  We've looked round Banbury before and there was no shade in the moorings in the centre of town and once again it was stiflingly hot.

We moored out in the country south of Banbury and above Grant's Lock, the only slight flaw being the steady drone of the M40 traffic nearby.  We went for a walk when it cooled down a little and found ourselves on a footpath running parallel and beside the motorway.  Not too good you might think but the banks of the motorway held a profusion of butterflies.  I'm sorry this photo is a bit blurry but we think it is of a gatekeeper butterfly.  Not rare but nevertheless it's the first time we've seen one.  Also interesting on the wildlife front was a tunnel under the M40 designed for badgers.  And it was clearly being used from the paths leading to it.

On Friday morning we were about to set off when 5 boats went past us heading for the lock.  From here on the canal has been a lot busier and we have had to queue for some locks.

The spire of King's Sutton Church is a significant landmark, though getting to the village is difficult because the River Cherwell flows between the canal and the church and there is no bridge handy.

At Aynho Weir the canal crosses the River Cherwell at a cross roads or cross waters if you like.  In this view back from Aynho Weir Lock you can see where the river flows leftwards under the arches.  Crossing here can be difficult if the river is flowing fast but we've had so little rain lately it was no problem at all.

Aynho Weir Lock is strange.  It is diamond shaped but still has narrow gates.  This seems to be to boost its volume of water so that it can feed the much deeper Somerton Lock that follows in a few miles down the canal.

And here is Somerton Deep Lock which is well named as it is the deepest on the canal at 12 feet.  Normally a deep dark hole but the sun was so bright and high in the sky that Ian was still in the sun at the bottom.

We probably should have stopped sooner on Friday because it was really hot and still in the afternoon.  We passed one promising shady spot (probably a mistake) and had to keep going to Upper Heyford before we found the shade we wanted.  Later new friends Paul and Julie on After Time joined us and we retired to the Barley Mow for a drink together.

Saturday took us to near Thrupp:

We found the lift bridge in Lower Heyford had been electrified since we last came this way and, even better, the control box has been installed on the towpath side - much easier for single handers.  The curious gantry over the canal presumably carries the wires connecting the control box to the bridge motor.  So Helen is here pressing the button rather than toiling to lift the bridge manually.  Last time she had to co-opt a passing delivery driver to help.

Between Baker's and Shipton Weir Locks the canal travels along the River Cherwell for a mile or so.  This picture shows Leo cruising down the twisting course of the river.

And here we are waiting for Shipton Weir Lock where the canal parts company with the Cherwell again.  Shipton Weir is another diamond shaped lock.

From our mooring near Thrupp we did an interesting walk between Shipton on Cherwell, Thrupp and Hampton Gay.  The three villages are very close together so it wasn't that far.  Hampton Gay is a village now deserted and more or less vanished except for the church at which services are still held and a derelict manor house shown here.  It must have been a wonderful building in its day.

Sunday morning we cruised into Thrupp and visited the services shown here.

And we went through the electric lift bridge nearby.

We had an arrangement to meet our friends Stephen and Margaret in the afternoon.  They live in central Oxford so we did not take the direct route to the Thames.  That would be the Duke's Cut under the bridge seen here.  Instead we stuck to the main canal which goes left and continues southwards to the city.

There are a lot of residential boats moored in the narrow cut down to Oxford and we had two boats ahead of us at Wolvercote Lock.  The lock landing is only long enough for one boat so the two other boats had to latch onto the moored boats.

We moored soon below Wolvercote Lock by the Plough pub.  So we enjoyed Sunday roasts at the Plough with Stephen and Margaret and later went back to their house to sit in the garden in the shade.  it was good to catch up with everyone's news.

Today we came down the last 2 miles of the Oxford Canal to Isis Lock where, via the Sheepwash Channel, it links to the Thames.

This is the distinctive church at Jericho, alongside the canal.

At the end Isis Lock under the bridge goes down onto the Thames while to the left is a short arm which used to go to a basin which has long been infilled.  The arm now provides further mooring for residential boats.  Only 30 foot long boats can turn at the end, so not sensible for Leo to go down there.

The Sheepwash Channel below Isis Lock goes past an old railway swing bridge and under a low bridge below the current railway and then comes out under the footbridge you can see onto the Thames.  We turned right (upstream) towards Lechlade.  Left goes to Abingdon, Reading and London.

The river widens out at Port Meadow but it is shallow at the edges.  Hundreds of Greylag geese were gathered here.

Just above the lock at Godstow is Godstow Abbey, now a ruin.  Dissolved by Henry VIII it was finally ruined by a Civil War battle in 1645.

And here we are on a free 24 hour mooring below Eynsham Lock.  The green buoy is one of several we have seen marking shallow sections of the river.  And this afternoon we have seen some swimmers cooling off in the river wading our side of the buoy so it is probably sensible not to go the wrong side of it.  Green to the right and red to the left going upstream!

We've walked across the meadows this afternoon to the Talbot Inn for a relaxing drink.  Entertainment is provided at our mooring from kids leaping into the river by the weir opposite Leo.

In the next few days our aim is to travel upriver to Lechlade where we will have to turn round as the restoration of the Thames and Severn Canal is a long time away from completion.  Now wouldn't that be good!