Marston Doles

We awoke to a cloudless sky which is how it remained all day. By mid morning it was much warmer than of late and we were able to reduce the number of layers of clothing. By mid afternoon a breeze picked up somewhat counteracting the heat from the sun, but we moored before it was necessary to wrap up again.

Cropredy Village and Church

Before setting off, Mike walked back to the village shop where Christine checked yesterday that they would have newspapers. He also collected a bulb of garlic which we discovered we were lacking too late for the shopping yesterday.

Cropredy Marina Construction Work

Some work was underway in the new marina - the water we saw in the phase 1 area has been pumped into a lagoon in the adjacent section - presumably saving it for when they need to fill up. Enough water to fill a marina does not come cheap. There is still a lot of work to be done before any boats can moor here.

Broadmoor Lock

It was still fairly quiet as we came up to Broadmoor Lock (where we first looked at Take Five) although there was a slowish boat ahead of us.

In the pound between Broadmoor and Varney's Lock there were several old travellers caravans - one looking quite smart.

 

It was so delightful to have such a fine day that some of the pictures today are just for the view! Nevertheless, in some it is possible to see how the trees are only just beginning to burst into leaf.

Claydon Bottom Lock

By the time we reached the Claydon Flight of five locks the traffic was building up and we arrived to join a queue with one boat in the lock and two more waiting. There were also boats coming the other way and most of the locks we worked turns.

Claydon Middle lock

Here, at Claydon Middle Lock, we can see the boat ahead of leaving the lock with one arriving to come down.

The flight of five locks took us over 90 minutes - not quite our expected standard rate of progress! Still, on a day like today, who's in a hurry? Some willow trees, not yet in leaf, look rather pretty when covered in pussy willow.

Boundary Bridge

We were now on the long summit pound which would take us the rest of the day to complete. Bridge 141 is called Boundary Bridge. It is the last of the lift bridges and sits on the boundary between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Wormleighton Reservoir

The main feeder for the summit is Wormleighton Reservoir and, although we have passed by here many times, we have never seen it as it is hidden from the canal despite being just a few metres from it. This time we paused briefly, just enough time to pop up and take a look.

Fenny Compton Tunnel

Then followed the section known as Fenny Compton Tunnel - it originally was a tunnel - before we passed Fenny Wharf and found a mooring place to have lunch.

From here, along the convoluted contouring route, was a pleasant cruise. With no locks there was time for some reading - at least for one of us at a time! It must be getting warmer as we saw a number of butterflies including several yellow Brimstones and a couple of Orange Tips. Sadly no photos of them!

We caught up a boat that was moving very slowly - we had difficulty in following it even on tickover. They stubbornly left us no room to pass until, after about twenty minutes, they cut one corner too many and ran aground and waved us passed.

Napton Windmill

The twists and turns mean that there are frequent surprises when a landmark is first on one side and then the other. Sometimes the direction is equally unexpected. Here (on maximum zoom) is the windmill at Napton, still some way off and well to our left. We will not pass it until tomorrow when we have descended the Napton Flight.

The lambs are out in the fields learning already to forage for themselves but still keeping close to their mothers.

About 10 minutes away from the start of the locks at Marston Doles , after trying several places, we managed to pull in for the night - at least here we had some piling to moor against rather than having to hammer in pins.

12.3 miles - 8 locks