Wish we still were ...

Thursday, 21 October 2010 15:53

Cruising, that is!

Currently we are "hobbled" to the wharf at Tooley's Boat Yard in Banbury, but I am still looking back to how we got here. More about the hows and whys of Tooley's soon.

I left you at King's Sutton in the last blog, if I remember rightly! Further north of King's Sutton is Twyford with its wharf and bridge. The buildings that were associated with the canal have been restored and put to use by Twilite Leisure Park, a caravan park.

This building hides two Grade ll listed Brick Kilns at right angles behind it. They are now showers and toilets!

Twyford Wharf is near the site of a flour mill, first mentioned in the Doomsday Book. At the beginning of the 20th century it was the site of iron ore extraction and smelting to the north and east of the flour mill. At the wharf was a brickworks and more flour milling.

The Mill has been owned by the Cherwell Valley Group since 1970; an old photo of the Mill is here - clickety click

The company also has moorings for narrowboats but these are permanently occupied. The clouds over the bridge looked rather threatening.

Over the hedge we spotted an occupied gypsy caravan  - we saw wisps of smoke from the chimney.

I am not sure if the ducks appreciated that boats are asked to slow down for them but anyway, passing narrowboats should slow down for the moored boats. (Ha! Not something anyone has told them on the South Oxford, sadly)

slow down sign

Passing under two more lift bridges (both named after Stevens!) we had one more lock to do, the M40 to pass under again and yet more lift bridges before a mooring I had spotted on the way down to Aynho.

Grant's Bridge and Grant's Lock beyond - the wooden railings look very rickety and could do with a lick of paint.

Here is our mooring that night - a really lovely one. I could have stayed for days! But we had a date with Tooley's!