All the way to Oxford - river navigation and strange shaped locks

We arrived in Oxford yesterday and this posting describes our trip down the last of the Oxford Canal and into the city over the last few days.

On Thursday (23^rd July) we went under Haddon’s Lift Bridge. South of Banbury, there are innumerable lift bridges but fortunately most of them are left in the raised position like this one.

Here we are waiting for our turn to go into Nell Bridge Lock. In the pound below here the canal crosses the River Cherwell, not by means of an aqueduct but on the level so that the river flows into the canal on one side and out the other. If the river is high this stretch can be unnavigable. It wasn’t when we passed.

Less than a mile further on is Aynho Weir Lock and the picture shows Leo waiting for this lock. The River Cherwell flows out of the canal under the arches on the right. If the river is running fast boats can get pinned against the arches.

Here the Cherwell is flowing into the canal from the other side.

Aynho Weir Lock only falls about 2 feet (but can vary depending on the river level). In order to supply enough water further down the canal it has a curious diamond shape so that although the fall is small, the volume of water is much greater.

This is Somerton Deep Lock, at 12 feet, is the deepest on the Oxford Canal. There was quite a queue of boats here waiting to go down the lock. Because it is so deep it takes longer to fill and empty and so causes a hold up but gave us plenty of time to exchange news with other boaters which we find is one of the joys of canal life.

This is looking down the canal from the bottom gate of Somerton Deep Lock. You can see the lock beam of the open gate.

And here is Leo down the bottom of the lock with some of our new friends opening the gate for us .

We spotted this tiny greenhouse at Somerton.

We moored on Thursday in open fields at Somerton and went for a walk into the village. Having a boat called Leo we are always on the lookout for lion related objects and found this lion face on a corbel in Somerton Church.

We spent an extra day at Somerton mostly doing jobs on Leo and enjoying the lovely open mooring by a large field running down to the Cherwell. On Saturday we carried on through Upper and Lower Heyford and met these two large boats below Heyford Common Lock – a motor towing a butty. As Helen opened the lock gate to let Leo out, the way ahead was blocked by the motor and the canal further on by the butty. However the boats had plenty of crew and all was sorted out with good humour and no delay.

This huge tithe barn is close by the church at Upper Heyford.

This lift bridge at Heyford was not kept in the open position but fortunately it is powered so Helen was able to open it with just a turn of the CRT key. The other two people are not leaping into the water but are magnet fishing which seems to be getting more popular. Tie a strong magnet to a rope and throw it into the canal and see what comes up.

This is taken from the bridge at Heyford Wharf and shows how close the railway and the canal are here with even a handy station right alongside the canal - and a hire boat base on the right.

On Saturday the rain came down in the afternoon and we stopped above Pigeon Lock to have lunch and get out of the rain. The rain stopped later so we walked into Tackley where we found this Tithe Barn on a green in the village. There is a small shop in the village which stocks local produce and looked good but it is only open in the mornings. The rain returned  soon after we set out but we had boots, waterproofs and umbrellas so we stayed dry.

Unusually on Sunday we had an appointment as we had arranged with our friends Stephen and Margaret to meet at Thrupp for tea in the afternoon. Part of the route to Thrupp involves one section where the canal and the River Cherwell are one and the same. Having come down Baker’s Lock we joined the river. The view here is looking back to where the river comes under the curved bridge with the channel to Baker’s Lock on the right where you can just see a blue boat moored.

Here we are out on the Cherwell. We passed a quite a few people in canoes and some were swimming in the river. The river goes round some very tight bends and we met a couple of other boats on this section.

We left the river at another strange diamond shaped lock – Shipton Weir Lock. As before this increases the volume of water in a lock which has a very small rise and fall in order to provide enough water for the larger locks further along the canal.

Thrupp is a lovely spot and here we are cruising through it. There is a sharp right bend and another electric lift bridge. Beyond this are some public moorings if you are lucky to find them empty. We have passed this way before and never found space but this time our luck was in and we moored right outside the Boat Inn where we enjoyed a Sunday roast lunch before our friends arrived in the afternoon. It was good to catch up with them by a socially distanced tea with us on Leo and Stephen and Margaret sitting on chairs on the bankside.

On Monday we reached the end of the Oxford Canal by arriving in the city. On the way we came through Roundham Lock where some CRT engineers have found a novel way to repair the bottom gate with lengths of sheet piling and a ladder arrangement of beams to replace a broken gate beam. The gate really is in a sorry state as it also has one paddle bandaged up in yellow tape to show that it is broken and out of use.

There are two routes to the Thames from the Oxford Canal. We passed the first which is called the Duke’s Cut below Duke’s Lock shown here. Our aim was to continue into the city and enter the Thames a few miles downstream.

Here you can see the Duke’s Cut going under the bridge. Having come down one lock, the Duke’s Cut then goes up another lock to reach the level of the Thames at this point.

We found moorings surprisingly empty in Oxford and moored close to Isis Lock which gives access to the Thames. We plan to stay here a couple of nights. There was more rain today but after it stopped we went for a walk on Port Meadow -  a huge flat area of land by the side of the Thames. The picture of the Thames looking downstream from Port Meadow shows Bossom’s Boatyard to the left and the route towards London is under the bridge to the right.

A couple of red kites were soaring on the strong wind above the meadow and I was able to get this picture as we sat on what is called “Round Hill”. Anything less like a hill it would be difficult to imagine but it is circular and it does – just – rise above the surrounding very flat meadow. It is apparently a Neolithic burial mound which explains why it is there. The red kite is clearly missing some tail feathers but seemed to be enjoying soaring on the wind currents nevertheless.

Today we enjoyed a day of sightseeing in Oxford where, at least in the morning, there were remarkably few people about. But you will have to wait for our next posting to see some of the pictures of the city. Our plan from here is to go up the Thames to Lechlade which is the navigable limit. With the forecast being for a spell of hot weather it will be good to be able to swim off the boat in the river if we need to cool off.