Falling in love with narrow canals all over again

Monday, 04 October 2010 13:00

I have missed so much cruising!

However, my Beloved has kept you all up to date with his solo travels (not forgetting Petroc's companionship!). Did he really miss me?

I am debating whether I rejoined him at just the right time - I love the South Oxford Canal and its well balanced narrow locks. With the sun shining today, chasing away the memories of the previous awful wet day, there was no better place to be than on the back of narrowboat Epiphany.

Epiphany in Varney's Lock (23)

Our first lock of the day was Claydon Top Lock, in a very rural setting. The Lock Cottage, known as the Old Smithy, was once home to canal artist Jane Selkirk. It is the start of the flight of five locks built by Samuel Simcock. The Bygones Museum in this lovely village houses artefacts from village life in days gone by and a collection of standing steam engines.

Wharf and small warehouse at Top Lock

Exiting Claydon Middle Lock (19) can be a bit tricky as the damaged brickwork testifies. I was pleased to find that I had not forgotten my helmsman skills despite the proximity of our rails to the arch of the bridge!

Bridge 145 below Middle Lock

Compare these two rising plates and spot the damaged one - nasty if the front button caught as a narrowboat ascended. The warning notice about "this top gate" is on the bottom gates!

Claydon Bottom Lock (21) and Elkington's Lock (22):

So on to Clattercote Wharf, always a fascinating place. Today there were pumpkins in the dock (see tomorrows blog for the reasons!), together with a boat and a VW camper van.

Clattercote Wharf, dock and arm:

John Cartwright of Aynho was Landlord of Clattercote and was one of the proprietors of the Oxford Canal Company. He was responsible for extending the "Lepers Pool" of the Elizabethan Priory (established as a Leper Hospital) as a feeder for the canal. The Priory, home to the Gilbertine Order, was a victim of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and rebuilt into a substantial Manor House. A few of the original buildings survive, albeit in a parlous state.

The buildings of Forge Farm beside the short arm at Clattercote Wharf always have something interesting to look at. Today there were guys leaning against one of the buildings. I wonder if they are able to contemplate their fate - destined for the bonfire I presume!

Guys at Forge Farm

The Broadmoor Lock (23) area is always full of moored narrowboats, restored working boats, modern narrowboats and boats in various stages of restoration (or decay?). Neither of us remember the DIY slipway though.

An angler made manoeuvring past an overhanging tree less than easy. I was conscious that John would be extremely cross if the new satellite dish suffered the same fate as the old one - overboard! The former and the tree are just visible in the right photo taken from my favourite lock, despite its very leaky gates!

Our last Lock was Cropredy Lock, complete with its Lock Cottage with free apples available for the taking. I got chatting to the owner and we compared notes on the Lancaster Canal Northern Reaches restoration (click here and here) - he used to live in Kendal. I also came away with a bag of apples, with some picked fresh from the tree for us!

There were also plenty of gongoozlers to watch us through - a favourite spot for walkers on a sunny afternoon. We left the lock behind and our destination was almost in sight.

Cropredy Lock (25)

At Cropredy Wharf Bridge, with the Bridge Stores adjacent ,we spotted trouble ahead! A chaos of narrowboats at the BW services wharf awaited us. A tug boat was waiting for the Hook Norton Brewery boat to leave the wharf, another was trying to turn at the winding hole there and BW had two workboats on their mooring opposite!

Cropredy Wharf Bridge

Note the ad for Banbury Canal Day? More of that in tomorrow's blog!

Eventually it was sorted out - we went through the bridge and the Hook Norton boat passed by us as we passed the tug and the BW boats. As we wanted water and the facilities we moored in a vacant spot to wait for the wharf to be free!

We got there eventually

We were lucky to find a mooring here at one of our favourite spots and settled down, tired but happy to be back to a full crew compliment!

South Oxford Canal, above Claydon Locks (Hay Bridge 143) to Cropredy

3 hours 44 minutes, 3.33 miles, 9 locks