Lingering In Abingdon

Well who wouldn't, it is a really delightful spot.  Having found a mooring here, or at least half a mooring....

If you enlarge the photo you can see we are hanging on the end.....

But quite secure and snug

And Barney has a hidey hole in the long grass

The moorings here are very full and as soon as a spot becomes vacant it is quickly filled again.

As you can see we can stay for 5 days free which is great but helps to explain why it is so full.  

Yesterday (Sunday) was sort of planned.....never do that.  Part of it came to fruition but parts not, although some was in a nice way.    Emma duly arrived at 8am to sleep between night duty.  Once she was tucked up in bed and asleep Geoff and I set off for Church at St Nicholas in the town, only to discover that the service as advertised on their board outside was not taking place.......we were not impressed.    It wasn't even just a notice about regular services, it was specific to this month......the Church was all locked up with no sign of life.    After a few minutes a lady came up and said she had also forgotten that there was a Cluster service in one of the other churches(an hour previously!!)....a notice would have been good.  Nothing daunted Geoff decided to do a long walk with barney and I decided I just had to sit and read my book, such a hard life.  

A little later a phone call from Giles et al said they were coming for a surprise visit for Fathers Day........3 small children on the boat with Emma trying to sleep............however it all worked very well as Geoff arrived back as they arrived and we repaired to the pub for a Fathers Day drink.   Oscar (8months) and I managed to spill 2 1/2 pints of cider all over ourselves.......well Oscar did really but I had the blame for being an inattentive Gillyma!!!!!

A visit to the swings for the two elder ones with Giles and Geoff followed, whilst Zan, Oscar and I returned to Petroc to give him some food.

Oscar seemed quite pleased with this arrangement

Today, Monday has been a beautiful day until about 4pm when the rain eventually reached us.   I was able to sit out in my new chair at last.

Meanwhile Geoff and Barney went walkabout again and managed to take some photos to show how delightful this past of the world is.

Looking down river through Abingdon Bridge

Sign post along the Sustrans Cycle trail

Ah well we may have to be slightly more active at the weekend.   Giles and Susannah have a wedding to go to on Saturday late afternoon/evening so we have been roped in to baby sit.    The intention therefore is to aim for Goring on Friday in the hopes of being able to moor there so they can easily pick us up to perform Grandparenting duties!!!!

Abingdon

We stayed over Friday as planned as the forecast was dire......however in the event it was nowhere near as bad as we had been led to believe.   Nothing lost as it was a good day and good position for visitors.   Wally stopped off on his way up from Taunton to London(just a slight detour)  and Maggie came on the train from London and we were only 5 min from the station.   A good day was had by all.

Before they came I walked up to the shops and was annoyed that the chauffeur had had the temerity to take our car out for a spin

Today we planned to be at the lock at 9 with the aim of getting to Abingdon late morning in the hope of finding space to moor.   We hung around a little too long and we in the second lockful down...obviously everyone with the same idea......

This was our first real trip down the river and now we were into wide water and lots of different sorts of boats.

Some big

Some small

Some bigger

And the boat houses to keep them in

The weather was showery and occasionally very blustery but it is a pleasant run down just 4 locks to Abingdon.....and all with lock keepers.   Barney is not impressed as he has to stay on boat as do we.  he is used to hopping off and assisting Geoff at locks. now they are both going to miss their exercise.......

On the plus side we do pass some very pretty places.

And even some wild life

Today we saw our first Kingfisher of the year...far too nifty to catch on camera......we had been wondering where they had all vanished to...

The other difference now is the speed we can travel at.....today there were times when we were nearly doing 5 mph....!!!

And so to Abingdon.  We could see when we were in Abingdon lock that it looked very busy down below...so much for getting here early.    The wind was blowing quite well and we made one attempt to get in a space that was just big enough for us but there was some sort of obstruction close in and despite someone coming and trying to help pull us in we kept going aground so decided to abandon the attempt.  We trawled on down through the bridge but nowhere looked very hopeful so we turned around (Can't do that on the canal) and started back along the line of boats.  Eventually we spotted a space right on the end of the mooring which was about half the length of Petroc.  So here we sit quite snugly with access only from the bows but we are securely(I hope)  tied up on no less than 4 stakes.  We are on the meadow side which is ideal for Barney, he promptly took himself off and snuggled into the longish grass.

9.04 miles, 4 locks, 3hr 29min

The Thames at last

Well...just......
The timing of our departure today was important as we wanted to moor just above Osney Lock and the moorings seem to be full every day.   Geoff and Barney did a recce mid morning and saw there were some spaces so we waved farewell to the Oxford Canal about 10.30 and descended through Isis Lock onto the cut to take us to the Thames.

Farewell Oxford Canal

We departed in the rain so it was long mac time for me, the first time it has been out this year.   However it has warmed up in the last few weeks so it was not too unpleasant.

The lack of rain over the last weeks meant there was hardly any flow when we emerged at the bottom.

Going through the narrow cut to reach the river is hardly prepossessing.

Before we left we prepared Petroc for her time on the river by getting the Anchor out and securing it to the bow,  We then have to stow it in the cockpit which is a bit of a pain........I know we have to do it for safety reasons, but I dread to think what would happen if we had to use the thing.......

In addition we had stripped the roof of flowers tubs and aerial for the passage under Osney Bridge.  There is only just over 7ft headroom in the centre so it could have been tight...however lack of rain meant the river was low so there was no problem and we could have saved ourselves the bother.

En route to hear we passed some allotments and were please to see that the Cornish influence still abounds

So after only 1/2 an hour we had tied up again.  The reason for the short trip was that the weather forecast for Friday seemed dire..strong winds and lots of rain so we had decided we wanted to be somewhere we could tuck up for the day.  In the event it has worked our well  as we are now expecting visitors for lunch...........

0.39miles, 1 lock, 33minutes

Layover in Oxford

We are moored just before Isis lock and it would be ideal apart from the boarded up disputed Jericho Boatyard opposite..

So a gentle day today but with a fair bit of walking especially for Barney......he gets to walk with both of us.  I did a circular walk heading southwards along the tow path and back through the town and that was after Geoff had been goodness knows where for over an hour first.

Later this afternoon Geoff and Barney took off again for a couple of hours walking the tow path along the river to Godstow and the ruined Abbey.
En route near Bossoms boatyard there was a narrowboat seemingly high and almost dry

No sign of life aboard

Canada geese aplenty

A boatful of girls to delight Geoffrey's eye!

The mooring here is quite congenial apart from the unsightly hoardings opposite the disputed Jericho area.   The towpath is very busy both with pedestrians and cyclists but luckily is wide enough for Barney to still sit out and people watch.   I say `pedestrians` and not `walkers` as most of them are walking with a purpose and are not so inclined to stop and chat as people are in more rural areas.   Most of them do not even make eye contact to allow you to bid them a pleasant `hello`...........I guess that is town life......

As I write this the boat behind who has his stern adjacent to our stern (bed is aft) and he is running his engine or it might be a generator.......it is 9.45pm!!

So Long to Thrupp

Sad to leave such a pleasant spot but a beautiful morning which was just made for early cruising........so we were off at 7 with Geoff and Barney walking so that they could buy the  paper on the way to the first lock at Roundham.  

There are several very sad looking boats in the first stretch before The Jolly Boatman pub

As I passed Milly M the sleepy head of Maffi appeared and I think he said Good Morning!!

There is a water point just after bridge 224 but no chance of getting on it.  A hire boat was moored there (not watering!) and poking right out into the bridge hole.  I had been creeping along very sedately and quietly but couldn't resist a noisy burst of reverse as I went past...........

Just before Roundham Lock there were 5 boats moored, the first 2 with out of date licences........

It was such a nice morning I shouldn't really have been critical BUT

This boat is moored in the lock landing place...grrrrh....

No criticism here, just a lovely rural spot with one of the several lifting bridges on this stretch of the Southern Oxford.

Spotted on a moored boat, can anyone enlighten me as to its use????

We moored right at the end of the canal just before Isis Lock.  Sun was still shining so washing out and then a trip into Oxford for me to find Specsavers to have my glasses adjusted.

6.37 miles, 4 locks 3hrs 57min

Wey Hey...Toilet Fixed!!!

Well at least we hope so and I will spare you a photograph......Lee Sanitation were brilliant and came straight out this morning, now they have replaced the whole docking station and Cal has assured us that it won't go wrong again....I just hope he is right.......
Boe departed at 6am this morning to be back in London in case she had a call for Supply work.    Emma stayed the day and left about 5 as she was starting a week of nights.........seems very quiet without them both.......bit more space though!!
So onward to Oxford tomorrow.  Despite the enforced prolonged stay we have really enjoyed Thrupp and will be sad to leave but one does get itchy feet after a while...........
Update on the Porta Potti argument.......stand-off.   We went to view them, a fem `um`s and `ahs` and did not purchase but decided we knew what was available IF the worst came to the worst and the loo could not be mended....but as you can see it's mended.........................

Rainy Day in Thrupp

This is our first really rainy day when all one wants to do is stay below with a good book........however we braved the rain to go to church at Shipton on Cherwell.   We lucked in as they only have a service every other week.  We had a very warm welcome and stayed to chat a good while after the service......we met another rnarrowboat couple, Dick and Jane from Ariadne,  and discovered that Dick was the nephew of Jenny Clarke (Deceased) who used to teach at Trevisker School where Boe went to school....what a small world we live in...

This was followed a little later by an extremely good Sunday Roast in the Jolly Boatman.

The afternoon was given over to to gently relaxing, culminating( in Boe's and my case) in a beautiful sleep..............until we were rudely awakened by a large thump on the boat.....

It was still pouring with rain but we were forced to clamber ashore as the lady on the wooden boat behind seemed rather upset.  We couldn't decide if this was because they had also been thumped or because her husband was having apoplexy over the incident and threatening to wreak revenge.  He was no doubt fuelled by the fact that the boat in question not only did not seem to know what it was doing but was full of seemingly extremely drunken lads.  There were in fact two boats......one of which was the one that had rammed the bridge on Friday......................

Poling at Thrupp

We had been told about the art of punting ones boat when wishing to reverse but later on Saturday we were able to see Maffi on Milly M in action., ably assisted by Molly on the roof.....

 Look....No hands (on tiller)

He certainly kept the boat as straight as a die..........

The squiggles only crept in when he went back on the tiller to negotiate the bridge!

And here we stay!

Well it was voluntary until late yesterday afternoon.........

We had two leisurely days in this delightful spot.  Iain & Christine came to lunch on Thursday and Geoff went into Oxford on Friday to visit the Pitt-Rivers Museum.   The original intention was to leave on Friday but Emma decided she would like to come for the weekend so we thought we would stay an extra day  so she could leave her car here, cruise down to Oxford with us and come back on the bus on Monday to collect.  Weekend all nicely planned.  Geoff had even googled for which church we would visit on Sunday and I had looked up bus times........now for Boe as well as she had decided to join the weekend party......DO NOT MAKE PLANS

Why are we still here..........THE TOILET IS BROKEN AGAIN!!!!! .  I am not sure which was worse, the toilet breaking or Geoff's sense of humour failure.   He takes these setbacks very personally......

We have had no problems for 4 years but this year we decided to be prudent and have it serviced.   DO NOT HAVE TOILETS SERVICED...remember the motto...If it is not broken don't fix it.

It was 4.45pm when I reached for the phone to call Lee San and of course they shut at 4.30pm on Friday so I could not even tell them we needed an urgent visit on Monday......

Whilst we were having supper 2 hire boats, full of about 20 lads, went past en route to the lifting bridge and the second boat had problems stopping and this was the result...

The lads all thought it was very funny!!!

After supper we repaired to the Jolly Boatman where we had arranged to meet Bones and Maffi and we thought it would be good for morale.   Emma joined us about 9.30 after a double shift in A&E and both Molly and Boots took a shine to her

If you are wondering if we are not drinking here don't worry, the glasses were only moved for the picture!

Anyway a hilarious evening served to temper Geoff's unhappiness......well for a while anyway.  Now he is threatening to go  out and buy a Porta Potti for just such emergencies.....this is being heavily resisted by me due to space requirements.    However I have a feeling he may win and then I shall be the unhappy one.

Our prolonged stay meant we needed water for the weekend and since the 7 day moorings are full we decided the only way to ensure that we kept our place free whilst so doing was to fill up at 6am.   So we snuck back through the bridge very quietly (actually at 5.45am) and by 6.30 we were back in our space.  I would like to say `Not a creature had stirred, not even a mouse`  BUT  those wretched ducks were alive and squawking

Luckily it is a beautiful morning

We are beginning to wonder if we will ever get off the Oxford.  Much as we love it I am looking forward to reaching the Thames and we hope the Kennet & Avon.  We are watching carefully to see what happens to the water levels on the K&A.  They already have restricted lock opening times at the summit however heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow so we hope that may help a little.  

Another Sojourn at Thrupp

Today I took the bus towards Oxford to rectify the last of yesterday's mishaps.......a filling had come out which necessitated a trip to the dentist...a very expensive one I might add!!

It is very easy to while away the days here in such delightfully kept moorings, although we are careful now not to keep our side doors open if unattended after the duck incident.....
On our travels we have seen several Cornish boats, St Piran, Truro to name a couple and we have seen several called Dreckly...however this one moored back around the corner from us really took the prize.

It really stands out as Cornwall colours I thought although on closer inspection what I thought was black turns out to be dark green.

The best bit however was this

The St Columb Canal is, or rather might have been, near where we live and was never completed.

It is sometimes referred to as Edyvean's Canal, was first proposed by the Cornish engineer, John Edyvean in 1773. His idea was to run a canal from Mawgan Porth through parishes inland and to return to Newquay. Its purpose was to import sea-sand, seaweed and stone for manuring to improve land. Two sections were built. One, from Trenance Point at Mawgan Porth to Whitewater, and the other from Lusty Glaze to Rialton Barton near St Columb Minor.

Work started in 1773, but it was never completed. At Lusty Glaze an inclined plane can be seen linking canal and sea. The canal was dug to Rialton at a height of 100 ft passing under the path from St Columb Minor to Penrose. Parts are clearly visible. A section from Mawgan Porth to Whitewater was used for three years. Failed attempts were made to complete it in 1829.

For those who want to know more see here
The day ended with a very pleasant evening as Bones and Maffi came to supper.

Toilets and Ducks

Tuesday was not without it's problems.....

After such a delightful sojourn at Kirtlington Quarry the day ended badly when Geoff went to change the toilet cassette and had problems....it would not engage properly and subsequent investigation seemed to reveal that something was either broken or had come unattached.  Because of the way the toilet is fitted it is very difficult to reach or see anything.........why don't boat builders think of these things??????

Now Geoff does not do adversity well...........so a sleepless night was had by both of us and early morning saw us hot footing down to Thrupp where there was at least a sani station including loo.....a phone call to Lee Sanitation as soon as they opened elicited a promise that someone would be with us that day.

Meanwhile the trip down was extremely pleasant but at times chilly

It is supposed to be Flaming June!   Admittedly a few minutes later whilst waiting for the lock to fill and in the shelter from the wind and the sun came out, I was sweltering in this amount of clothes.

Luck was with us at Thrupp as we managed to fit into the last space on the 7 day moorings.

Cal from Lee San arrived about 2pm and quickly diagnosed the problem and managed to rectify it.......he left with the reassuring comment that it should not happen again!!!

Now where do the ducks in the title come in?

All along this stretch of moorings which are beautifully kept by the Thrupp Cruising Canal Club there are some extremely tame ducks.......we take great care not to feed them as they need no encouragement to come visiting.   However today the friendly white one decided to pay a call (literally!). He or she entered by the side doors and proceeded to make itself very at home by c....ing all over our floor.  To say I was not impressed would be an understatement.  In addition to the mess to clear up I can't stand being near any form of bird with flappy wings, so it was left to Geoff to catch the thing and remove it....now we keep the side doors closed....

The day did end on a much better note as we went to the pub for a pre supper drink to meet up with Bones and Maffi (2 local boat residents) after which we decided that the cruising life was OK after all.......

En route to the Jolly Boatman we passed this poor dog...such a hard life living on a boat

4.02 miles 2hr 38 min 3 locks

On the move again.

This is what I have been doing

Wey hey....we are on the move again.......
A week last Friday we left Petroc at Lower Heyford to go and house sit for Giles and Susannah.  Whilst they holidayed in Cornwall in our house for the half-term week we went to their house where we were in charge of 2 dogs(One was our Barney), 3 cats, 3 chickens and one fish, not to mention watering all the vegetables etc.....
Geoff was i/c chickens as they are not my cup of tea at all...I think he became quite attached to them.....
Geoff had visions of a really restful, peaceful week with little to do but walk the dogs.  In the event we had lots of visitors which was in fact very pleasant.  We were initially left without a car as there was a last minute hiccup with their car in which they had planned to travel to Cornwall.    The big car had to go to the garage and they had to squeeze all 3 children and a mountain of luggage into the smaller car......with the consequence that Boe had to drive out with out little car which she had in London........she ended up staying the week.....
We could have managed without transport except that we wanted to drive up to Petroc on the Tuesday and run the engine........we have never left her unattended for that length of time before in a strange place.   In the event she was absolutely fine and we arrived back last night.  We were driven back by Giles, stopping en route to do a biggish shop to stock up the fridge again.
So today we set off again on our leisurely trip southwards.  We had intended to water at Lower Heyford as we left but there was one on the watering point and two waiting, so we abandoned the idea as we were not desperate.
We have moored at the disused quarry at Kirtlington again as it is such a peaceful spot.  Tomorrow we shall wend our way to Thrupp where we hope there will be space to moor.
3.65 miles, 2 locks 2hr 30 min

Blenheim

During our week away house sitting I had a day out with Di Fletcher and we went to visit Woodstock and the grounds of Blenheim Palace.  Although it tried to rain on us it was kind to us whilst walking in the grounds which are beautiful.

 Duck Pond

 Approaching the palace over the bridge

 The bridge viewed from across the vast lake