Back to Abingdon

 Today we really did start early to avoid travelling in serious hot forecast weather.  At 8am we set sail, turned the boat around and set off back upstream to Abingdon.

typical view of Thames

Burcot House 

Clifton Hampden Bridge

Appleford Railway Bridge

I had expected travelling against the flow of the river would slow us down significantly but it made no dfference since there was barely any flow at all.  At the one weir we saw, the river water was just dribbling over the edge.  Both locks were ascended quickly as there were lock keepers on duty who had the gates open ready for us when we arrived.

We arrived back in Abingdon at 10:55  and moored on the town side of the river.  The journey had taken 2 hours 55 minutes, a slightly shorter duration  than our cruise downstream.

Whire fronted geese wait at the side hatch

The birds have been of particular interest.  During much of our stay at Dorchester I heard frequent cuckoo calls.  There have been good views of kites with their white and brown plumage showing clearly.  Also buzzards, and I think a pair of ravens. Outside the boat at the moment there is a family of what I think are white fronted geese, a change from the more common greylag.

On the down side we may be having problems with the boat.  Several times on this journey the engine has given nasty grinding noises when the gear lever was moved from neutral into forward.  So we called out RCR again in Abingdon as losing control of the boat on the river could be dangerous.  Unfortunately the problem could not be reproduced so it is something we need to watch.  On the plus side the engineer did diagnose a failing fanbelt and replaced it for us.

The temperature in the boat cabin at 18:45 is 36degC, down from a maximum of 38.

Daily Travel Data

Distance: 7.68 miles
Locks: 2

Duration: 2 hours 55 minutes