Wytham Woods to Banbury

We enjoyed one more night on the quiet Thames meadow moorings before heading towards the Oxford Canal on Wednesday. 

Green marker buoys indicate shallows as we head towards the Oxford Canal

The short Dukes Cut took us onto the Oxford Canal and we soon encountered the first of many lift bridges, luckily the majority of them are left up. 

One of the lift bridges

Our first night on the Oxford Canal was at Kidlington Green and as we would soon need groceries I was pleased to see a nearby supermarket on  Google Maps.  Unfortunately my way to the road was blocked by a housing estate and the alternative route was too far, so no groceries yet. 

The next day we continued north and found the canal was shallow until we reached the oddly shaped Shipton Weir Lock which took us onto the River Cherwell for a short stretch.

The boat ahead of us going through Shipton Weir Lock, a wide lock with narrow lock gates.

We moored up opposite Kirtlington Golf Course which provided some entertainment over the next few days.  Kev chatted to the golfers and was amused to see some golf balls were retrieved from the rough by hand!  The village shop supplied us with some basic provisions but for the first time ever our large stock on board was starting to dwindle and some imagination was required for meals.  

Over the weekend the canal was busy and the water levels dropped so on Monday morning we made an early start to avoid moving out of the deep middle channel for boats coming the other way.  Progressing slowly on tickover we were fine until our prop snagged a duvet and we came to a sudden halt.  Kev was able to pull it free and we continued without further incident to Dashwood where we stopped for the day.  

It was a hard journey to Dashwood for these 2 who stretched out on the towpath as soon as we arrived

The mooring was quiet but some of the boaters were inconsiderate and didn't slow down as they passed.  This causes moored boats to move back and forward and after a particularly fast boat passed our back mooring pin was pulled out.  Annoyingly it disappeared into the canal and despite our efforts with a magnet and a grappling iron it was gone for good.   We had a spare pin so could stay on the mooring and did so for another day.  

A view across the canal at Dashwood, you can just see the roof of Brent III behind the first row of vegetation

On Wednesday we pulled onto the waterpoint at Lower Heyford and found it lived up to it's reputation as a slow filler; it took 90 minutes to fill our tank.  We continued our journey to Upper Heyford where we stopped so we could have lunch in the Barley Mow, our imagination with store cupboard items is beginning to fail us.  

On Thursday we broke our journey at Aynho Wharf to buy some provisions, propane, diesel and a replacement mooring pin at the boatyard.  We breasted up to the Mikron Theatre narrowboat which was moored up on the wharf and passed our purchases across their deep front deck.  We asked them about their next venue which was not much further on so we decided we would go to the show.  There are 4 actors in the company and during the summer they cruise between locations on the narrowboat.  That night's show was performed at The Pig Place, a small holding which specialises in rare breed pigs, hens and has a campsite and moorings.  We enjoyed the play about chocolate production during which the actors proved they were musicians as well by playing a variety of instruments to accompany their singing.   During the interval we appropriately enjoyed chocolate cake.   Unfortunately I didn't take any photos but here is a link to their website.  The Mikron Theatre

The weather forecast predicted rain on Friday and it wasn't wrong.  We moved a short way to Kings Sutton Lock and called it a day.  Once again we were close to a supermarket but the only route was a very long way round.  

On Saturday morning we headed towards Banbury before the strong winds started blowing.  We found an ideal spot on the outskirts and I set off on the bike for Sainsburys, the first big supermarket since we left Reading.  

Later we realised the mooring wasn't so ideal; when other boaters started dropping the deep Grants Lock behind us we were left sitting on the bottom.   We were well and truly grounded so couldn't move off.  The water levels continued to drop during the afternoon so I rang CRT who said they would check what was happening and get in touch.  They rang at tea-time to say they couldn't get the water levels back up until morning.  

Sat on the bottom caused us to tilt over

On Sunday morning we were afloat again and decided to move to a deeper mooring. Unfortunately the water was soon dropping again as boaters dropped the deep lock and we were soon grounded again.  I went ahead to the next lock to drop some water down to Kev who persevered and was able to ram his way through the shoal that had stopped us. Eventually Brent III arrived at Banbury and we found a good mooring through the next lock.


Our journey from Wytham Woods to Banbury

Lechlade to Wytham Woods

On Thursday morning the Lechlade farmer came to collect his mooring fee, £5 a night or £25 for a week; we stopped for the week.  

On the Lechlade moorings

As we sat out a small motor boat came along the opposite bank emptying crayfish traps.  The American signal crayfish have invaded our rivers and canals to the detriment of our native species and the size of their population is demonstrated by the commercial crayfishermen; they are exporting their weekly catch of half a ton to Belgium.  Kev asked where he could buy a crayfish trap and the fisherman gave him one he wasn't using.  Within 3 hours Kev  had 37 crayfish which once prepared he enjoyed fried in butter with garlic. 

One of the crayfish

Lechlade is a small but busy town catering for tourists with several pubs and take-aways, various shops and a very expensive supermarket.  Luckily it also had a car park convenient for Asda deliveries.   There were some good walks for Bess and Brinny who also enjoyed the meadow once the cows were moved to another field.  At night vivid sunsets lit up the horizon. 

Sunset at Lechlade

Our week at Lechlade quickly came to an end and we started our return journey.  At the first lock we passed the statue of Father Thames which was commissioned in 1854 for the Crystal Palace.

Father Thames, this statue has been at St Johns Lock since 1974

We were quickly back on the sharp twists and turns for the river and I tried to take some photos as Kev pivotted Brent III around the tight bends.

Pivotting round the tight bends

Shortly after sailing through the narrow Radcot Bridge we pulled over for the day. 

Radcot, the narrowest bridge on the navigable Thames

Over the next few days we travelled short distances and stopped on quiet meadow moorings. On Saturday morning we moored up in glorious sunshine on a meadow near Northmoor. During the day the river became busy with boaters, canoeists and several groups of swimmers. 

The last two swimmers with an accompanying canoe.  These swimmers had bright orange floats to warn boaters of their position.

Half a dozen sheep watched us from the top of the field and by late afternoon they came down to the river, reaching over the edge of the bank to nibble the grass.  Sitting out on our front deck we heard the splash as a ewe slipped in and the other sheep ran off.  The bank was too steep for the ewe to climb out so between us we hauled her up and by then one of the other sheep had come running back to us baa-ing loudly.  Reunited with her wet companion they made their way up the field and we were pleased they stayed away for the rest of the weekend.  
On Monday morning we sailed through Pinkhill and Eynsham Locks, our last two locks on the Thames, and moored up opposite Wytham Woods on yet another quiet meadow.  I think we'll be in for a shock when we return to the busy canal network.  


Our journey from Lechlade to Wytham Woods