After leaving our mooring at 9:20 It was only a few hundred yards to Hawkesbury Junction where the Oxford Canal branches off the Coventry Canal in a hair-pin turn. This will take us all the way back to our marina.
To enter the Oxford Canal one has to ascend a stop lock about a foot high, the only lock on today's journey. It is needed as the Coventry Canal was created slightly lower than the Oxford Canal preventing the Oxford Canal using Coventry Canal Water.
After leaving the Coventry Canal the Oxford Canal follows a route through the hilly countryside similar to those later used by the West Coast Main Railway Line and the M6 which in places create background noise on an otherwise peaceful canal.
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| Unusual design of bridge near Hawkesbury Junction |
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| Approaching Stretton Stop, boats everywhere |
About 2/3 of today's journey the canal passes through through Stretton Stop where there is a busy boatyard, moorings and hireboat base. This is followed by Easenhall Cutting where poor design 200 years ago has led to frequent landslips. A major one in January 2024 blocked the canal for several months.
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| Repaired landslip in Easenhall Cutting |
It took us longer than planned to find a mooring spot as our usual one near Brinklow was full but we were able to find somewhere suitable at 13:45 out in the countryside near the hamlet of Cathiron close to the West Coast main line.
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| Moored at Cathiron |
Todays Statistics
Distance: 10.47 miles
Locks: 1
Duration: 4 hour 25 minutes
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