Another hot one

Monday 15^th July; Banbury to Claydon locks

The chilly start came as rather a shock, but Dave took advantage by giving Meg a run in the park before we left. 

Then we went to B&Q (Dave) and Tesco (me) before we left.  In all the years we have been coming this way, we never really realised they were there – we had a vague idea that there was a big Tesco but never bothered to investigate as Morrison’s is so close to the canal.  It was quite a hike though, and crossing the roads in the morning rush hour was not easy!

We were away by about 10.30, passing the cottage with the hot-tub.  Many years ago we saw Dink and Malc (there is a picture with their name on it on the wall) waving cheerily as they enjoyed a G&T while they relaxed in the tub.  We’ve never seen it occupied since, though Malc was in the garden when we passed and confirmed it’s still there!

It soon got hot and T-shirts and shorts were once more the order of the day.  The rosebay willow-herb was a blaze of glory all along the offside with a lovely patch of it by the M40.

At one of the locks, can’t remember which, I was chatting to the crew from the boat coming down when we realised we have met before though mostly through the blogs!  It was Neil (NB Herbie) wielding his new toy.  We waved to Kath as we left the lock.

Several boats had passed on their way to Banbury, and they kept coming, so we didn’t have to turn any locks.  We cruised on to Cropredy where we snaffled the single mooring shortly before the facilities block for our lunch stop.  The gentleman with the waterworks problem seems to be ok now and able to enjoy a spot of fishing.

Before we moved on again, we walked Meg to see Jonah’s Oak, which Dave had discovered on a previous stop here.

After making full use of the facilities block, we carried on to moor once again below Claydon locks.  I washed the roof to remove the accumulated bits of tree and sticky aphid honeydew, while Dave used the wood he had bought in B&Q to reinforce the lids of the wooden bow lockers.  We were joined on this long mooring by just 3 boats and once more it was a lovely quiet evening.

7 locks, 5½ miles