You are wondering about the new location?

Tuesday, 12 April 2011 16:36

I promised to continue our cruise south; or is it east or west? I left you in Sandford Lock, waiting with us to leave!

Sandford Lock from downstream

The River Thames soon does a huge loop ....

As I looked back I could see where the ancient navigation channel comes out; it now forms a stream from above the lock, not far below Rose Isle. Apparently the remains of the old pound lock (1632) can still be seen on the west of the new lock (1936). To the right of the new lock is where the mill once stood.

Sandford Lock and old navigation from downstream

There is much more about the lock here - clickety click

So we continued and the River bends westward around Lower Radley where the Radley College Boat House strides along the west bank. It is a modern boathouse but, although it belongs to a school rather than the university, it has an interesting link with the University Boat Race.

Radley College Boat House

In 1943, during wartime, when London could not be used, an unofficial University Boat Race was run upstream from Nuneham Railway Bridge   (also known as Black Bridge) to the boat house. A crowd of up to 10,000 watched Oxford win - good old Dark Blues!

On the east bank hereabouts stands a grand mansion, Nuneham House, set in Capability Brown landscape and parkland. On a sunny day it looked beautiful.

Nuneham House

This was where Lewis Carroll and the Liddell girls came on their downstream rows. Poor old Jerome K Jerome abandoned his "Three men in a Boat" trip on this section because he was fed up with the rain!

He writes - "We rowed on all that day through the rain, and very melancholy work it was.  We pretended, at first, that we enjoyed it.  We said it was a change, and that we liked to see the river under all its different aspects.  We said we could not expect to have it all sunshine, nor should we wish it.  We told each other that Nature was beautiful, even in her tears … "

Nuneham House was built in 1756 for the 1st Earl of Harcourt. it was a favourite place of George III and later Queen Victoria. It is owned by Oxford University and is now a retreat for a religious movement of Indian origin.

It also has a rather cute Boat House!

Soon we started to cruise due west (well more or less!) around that curve I referred to above. We went on down to above Abingdon Lock and then turned around. The 24 hour moorings above were taken - by a cruiser and a large working tug and "dumb" barge - in old BW colours and with the BW logo on! We learned later that it had recently been purchased form BW and its owner has not got around to repainting - but he had got around to leaving it taking up a lot of mooring space!

 24 hour moorings

We had spotted a possible mooring -  a "rough" one, a potentially peaceful and out of the way one. So we returned to it - wonderful! Only a few walkers, but far enough out with the boarding plank to prevent intrusion! A few narrowboats and a couple of cruisers were to be seen passing too!

Our new location (but only for a short while) - so now you know!

River Thames, Christ Church Meadow to below Swift Ditch
2 hours 43 minutes, 6.96 miles, 2 locks