Clean and Jerk, and some joggling

Monday 20th August; Oxford to Kirtlington

We knew we would be awake early as the trains can be very noisy on these moorings.  But it was a traveller with a loud wheely-case click-clacking past at 5.30 that woke us up!  We still didn’t leave till nearly 8 o’clock, meeting just one boat which was going down to turn below Isis lock, but otherwise it was very quiet.

We have already commented on the overhanging and encroaching vegetation on the offside; this example is less than a boat’s length past the end of the Aristotle moorings – the edge of the first moored boat can just be seen.

We had just tied up here the other day when a chap asked us if we had seen ‘a fallen tree’ blocking the canal.  We had only just arrived at the other end of the mooring, so no, we hadn’t.  He had a badge on saying he worked for part of the Oxford council so maybe we shouldn’t grumble about CRT for this one.

It is a slow journey out of Oxford past all the residential moorings.  Some of the boats look as though they have been abandoned for years even though someone still lives there, but others have plants and imaginative artwork.  This gentleman could be looking at the mermaid painted nearer the bow,  but we though he was trying to squint in the window!

We were not looking forward to the three lift bridges on the outskirts of Oxford.  The first behaved perfectly, but the second, no 233, was the one that I couldn’t get high enough to balance last week and I needed the help of a walker to raise it.  With no-one around, and the thing coming down too quickly for me to get a pole under it to hold it up, I had to heave it up part way, quickly switch my grip, complete the move and stand there like an Olympic weightlifter at her moment of triumph.  Of course Dave had to go quite slowly as it was only just high enough to get underneath and my arm muscles were beginning to tremble with fatigue as I lowered it.  I have reported it to CRT.  No pictures of course, I was rather occupied at the time!

We arrived at Duke’s Cut in the nick of time to take the lock ahead of two old working boats travelling together – the second was still coming up the lock on the cut and we were waved through.

We knew they wanted water so left the tap free for them.  Drinkwater’s lift bridge opened easily but I couldn’t release the key once I’d lowered the bridge.  Luckily the resident boater there was just returning to his boat – the problem seems to be that the mechanism doesn’t always release properly when you try to raise the bridge, or lock properly when you bring it back down.  Much joggling worked in the end.

It drizzled a bit during the morning but the sun was coming out as we stopped on the noisy mooring by the main road just south of Thrupp.  I walked into Kidlington.  I thought I’d catch the bus back with the shopping but got the wrong one, which turned off the main road after only a few hundred yards!  Still, while I was doing that Dave had been T-cutting and waxing the port side of the boat, so now we have two shiny sides.

Maffi was moored near the Boat as we cruised through Thrupp but we didn’t see him – other matters were pressing by now.  We have two spare – now full - cassettes but the critical point on the third was imminent.  I don’t know what we would have done if it the Elsan had been out of action.  The water tank was pretty low too.  There was plenty of time to nip across to get some cake from Annie’s Tea room and to take a photo.

The last lift bridge for the day was the dodgy warped one.  Since we passed last week tape has been wrapped around the sides but it hasn’t done much for the deck!

We passed through Shipton Weir lock onto the Cherwell.  The flow was very gentle in spite of the recent rain so we were soon approaching Baker’s Lock back onto the canal and catching sight of the radio telescope dishes across the fields.

The rain had washed some of the dust from the cement works off the leaves, but it is still clinging to the veins of the bigger leaves.

The footbridge carrying the towpath over the river always makes a nice picture.

Rather than stop by the quarry at Kirtlington we continued on a bit to moor on a quiet stretch a few hundred yards on.  We needed to bang in pins but the edge was good. 

The Cherwell flowed just a few yards away on the other side of the towpath. 

11 miles, 7 locks, 6 lift bridges (1 electric, 1 open, 3 dodgy).