An overcast but dry morning. We were planning to travel over lunch so did not want to start too early. This gave us the opportunity to wash the other side of the boat, the first side being washed a couple of months ago. This completed we set off at 9:45 travelling towards Napton Junction where the Oxford Canal leaves the Grand Union.
Napton Bottom Lock
On the Oxford canal again, it was not far to the 7 Napton locks followed by the 2 Marston Doles locks which brings the canal to its highest level before the descent to Oxford. All the flights on the Oxford canal are 7 foot wide which makes them much easier to operate than the wide locks on the Grand Union. It just took us 2 hours to reach the top as we were helped tby he steady stream of boats coming down ensuring that all the locks were empty and at most the gates were open.
Entering Marston Doles Bottom Lock
The Marston Doles locks are closed from 5pm to 10am to allow water to be pumped up from the bottom of the flight to the top. This is necessary as there is insufficient water supply at the top which would otherwise be too shallow for navigation. The locks are particularly busy on Fridays as hire boats need to return to their base at the bottom of the locks on Saturday morning. People coming down the locks told us that when they opened at 10am there was a queue of 15 boats and so they had to wait 3-4 hours for passage.
We moored up at 14:45 a short distance beyond Marston Doles in remote countryside - so remote that our mobile wifi router immediately came up with "No Service", the first time this has happened. Hence the delayed Blog posting.
8.3 miles 9 locks, 5 hours cruising.
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