Off the top and down to Cropredy

 We woke his morning to find the bad weather had returned.  Fortunately no wind but everything was wet.  Not actually raining, just grey clouds and dampness condensing out of the atmosphere. 

Fenny Compton "Tunnel"

But by 10 am  conditions seemed to be marginally better so we set off from out mooring.   The canal continues to take extravagent meanders, after travelling more than a mile we were less than half a mile in a straight line from where we started.  First place of interest was Fenny Compton Wharf about half a mile outside the village where we filled up with water.  Here the canal passes through a narrow section cut into the hillside.  It was formerly a tunnel but was opened up over 150 years ago.

3 miles further on we reached the 5 Claydon locks which take the canal down off the summit. These were followed by 3 further locks leading to the canalside village of Cropredy where we have moored for the night. 

5 hours 15 mins 8.89 miles, 8 locks

Napton Locks and beyond

Much better weather today, no rain, no wind, just a little cold.

Looking back down the Napton flight

Approaching Marston Doles top lock

We set off at 9:30, passed through Napton Junction onto the (south) Oxford Canal.and reached Napton bottom lock after 2 miles.  Then the 7 locks of the Napton flight spread over a mile followed a mile later by the 2 locks at Marston Doles took us up to the top pound.  This is some 10 miles long and meanders around the hilly countryside following the  contour at about 110 metres.

After lunch on the move we moored up near the route of HS2 some 3 miles from Fenny Compton .

5 hours cruising 9 locks 9 miles

April 2023 trip to Banbury

We have a week free so decided to go out on the boat for the second time this year. As we have not visited the South Oxford Canal for some we have chosen to head towardsBanbury.

2 Great Crested Grebes gettingto know each other in the marina
 

On the Grand Union between Braunston and Napton Junction

The original plan was to drive to our marina on Wednesday, 12th April, shop for supplies and then start our journey on Thursday. Unfortunately the weather on Thursday was very windy which would have made it difficult for us to leave our mooring and so we did not move until Friday morning. 

The wind had died down when we set out at 9:30, emptied our waste tank at the services block and set out at a good speed towards Braunston despite the weather forecast showing some heavy rain. There we turned right onto the Grand Unioun Canal. Our aim was to reach the start of the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction. Despite one heavy shower we carried on to within a mile of Napton Junction. However by then it was lunchtime and heavy dark clouds were filling the sky so we moored up for the day at 1 PM.

2 hours 45 mins cruising, 7.36 miles

Back at the marina

We are now back at our berth after a very enjoyable trip, the first time we have ever been out this early in the year. We started the day with a quick cruise into Rugby where we turned the boat around in an official winding hole. It was a bit of a squeeze - we later discovered that the winding hole was only intended for boats up to 50 foot long. There was plenty of mooring space available a short walk from Tesco where we shopped for groceries. Then back to the boat and an hour later we arrived at the bottom of Hilmorton Locks where we stopped for lunch. Then in the afternoon we quickly ascended the locks and arrived back in the marina at 15:15. We were concerned that the gusty wind might make steering the boat into the narrow berth difficult but it the event the wind dropped and we moored without any problems. 8.54 miles, 3 locks, 3 hours 50 mins. Total journey statistics Time 12 hours: 25 mins Distance: 30.2 miles Locks: 6

Rugby nearly

Bridge 101 on the Grand Union near Flecknoe

 This morning there was a strong gusty wind when we set off at 10am with the aim of reaching Rugby if the Hilmorton locks were open. We stopped for lunch near our marina.  When we started up again the sun was shining and  the wind had abated which made for a more comfortable journey.

Descending Hillmorton middle lock, the top lock in th background

Approaching Hilmorton a moored boater confirmed that the locks were open.  The first presented no problems but when Denise  filled the third lock she was unable to open the gate.  Luckily a passing walker was able to help.  After leaving the locks we decided that there was little point  going into Rugbyfor the night as the moorings there are shaded and we had no wish to visit a pub or restaurant.  So we moored next to a golf course at Clifton Upon Dunsmoor on the outskirts of Rugby. 

10.65 miles,3 locks, 4 hours 20 mins

Napton Junction and back

 

Moored for the night on the Grand Union

We set off from our mooring on the North Oxford Canal near Braunston  at 10:35.  At Braunston Junction we turned right onto the Grand Union Canal, cruised for an hour and moored up for lunch just before 12:00.

After eating we set off again and turned around 3 miles later at Napton Junction to moor for the night near to where we had stopped for lunch. Our revised plan is to travel to Hilmorton aiming to arrive when the locks re-open after the maintenance closure tomorrow afternoon.  We may then have enought time to get to Rugby and back to the marina before we go home on Sunday.

Despite the weather being rather cold our cabin is now almost warm at 19 degC as we have had the smokeless fuel stove continuously alight since we started our journey yesterday and the centrak heating was set to come on first thing in the morning yesterday 

9.21 miles travelled in 3hrs 25mins cruising

Out for a few days after more work on Densie

 After returning from our eventful trip in September the boat was taken out of the water at our marina so the hull could be checked and repainted.  We  took the opportunity to have the the rudder chcked as the  tiller was vibrating excessively.  After a day's work by the marina engineering staff the problem was fixed but we were unable to check it because of the very cold weather before Christmas.  Now the weather has improved we will be out for a few days as a trial run for the long trips we hope to take later in the year.

Our plan was to travel to Rugby and beyond on the North Oxford Canal but we discovered at lunchtime that the locks at Hilmorton were closed for repairs so we will instead now be cruising south to join the Grand Union Canal at Braunston which will take us west towards Napton.

Cruiisng out of the marina in the early afternoon it was immediately obvious that the tiller vibration had been cured and the boat was now running more smoothly than it has for sveral years.  At 3pm after 40 minutes on the move we moored up in the countryside near Braunston as the light was fading and rain was forecast.

1.8M cruising in 40 minutes