Lawrence also updated his statistics spreadsheet. For those who are interested, we have done, as of last night, 128 miles, 90 locks, 5 swing/lift bridges and 5 Kim's of tunnels in 69 hours.
Just as we were casting off at 10.30am two boats came by , so all the locks would be against us, so a slow day ahead and so it proved.
We caught up with them at Grants Lock, our first of the day. The first of the pair to pass us was just entering the lock. The boats were Futurest and Wings & Roots. Crewed by Pete and Janis respectively. Funnily enough Pete writes a blog nbfuterest which I read last year when researching our first trip with Geoff and Betty. Janis is an ex Kiwi and she and Pete have been travelling together for the last few years.
Anyway, Janis worked the lock for Pete and I then helped her work her own boat down, Pete meanwhile had tootled off to get the next lock ready. So for the next 4 locks I helped Janis work her boat through and then would start all over again to get Aqualife down. We stopped at Aynho Wharf for lunch and Futurest and Wings & Roots kept going. Even though we have only done 7 locks today my shoulders feel as though they have done twice that number.
Some of the sights we saw on our way to Aynho Wharf :
Twofold Wharf whose old wharf buildings have become des res's
This next one is especially for Geoff and Betty ( well not so much Betty!). Some curious dairy cows
The view that awaited us as we came out from under the M40. The contrast staggered the senses
This is the Pig Place. Peripatetic boaters, the Wherrys, fetched up here in 2007; still living on their narrowboat they run this canal side small holding specialising in pork, poultry and lamb.
Little do these ducks know what is in store for them!
We will stop here on the way back and check it out.
We reached Aynho Wharf at 2.00pm and had lunch at the Great Western Arms, a 'gastro pub'.
Lunch was excellent and, as at the time of writing, I can detect no signs of food poisoning!
At the next table were two couples speaking Italian. I wondered if they too were off a boat as two of them in particular were somewhat lacking any chic in their choice of dress. I took my coffee outside to enjoy it in the sunshine whilst Lawrence stayed inside muttering to himself as he read about the latest political goings on in Oz.
One of the Italian women was already outside so I bit the bull it (you all know how often I have a case of foot in mouth) and asked if she was off a boat. Yes, she was (phew). She went and grabbed her coffee, with both lit up and got on like a house on fire. Turns out that Bruna and Raul are Italian but have been living in the U tied States for the past 40 years and they have been taking annual narrowboat holidays format least the past 4 years (I lost count), last year and this year for 4 weeks at a time. In their opinion, boating the English canals is far superior to boating in Europe. They had lots of advice for us regarding Oxford. Bruna asked for our email, if we are going to do it again next year, perhaps we could meet up in our boats and travel together for awhile.
After parting with Bruna and Raul we kept heading south whilst they continued north.
We came to Deep Somerton Lock, which at 12 feet is deep.
The exit from Deep Somerton Lock
Aqualife and Lawrence in the bottom of the lock, still a bit lower to go.
Coming out of the lock under the pretty vine covered bridge
Not long after we came up on a pair of moored,up boats. As we passed two heads popped out of the hatch window of the rear boat followed by two arms waving madly - it was Janis and Pete on Wings & Roots.
A fantastic 15thc tithe barn near Upper Heyford. A tithe barn is a central tax collecting point for a big landowner. The peasants and other tenants beholden to him would rock up (reluctantly I presume) with their tax offerings which could be in the form of money, grain, livestock produce etc, hence the need for a barn.
We moored up for the night between Upper Heyford and Lower Heyford at 6.30pm
Today we did 11miles, 7 locks in 6hrs
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