Turn into Sheepwash Channel and this is what you find ....

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 18:16

We were woken at 6.45 am by the rowers on the River Thames - serve us right for mooring at Christchurch Meadow below Folly Bridge! By 8.30 am they were all gone. We had made a decision - it was to be onto the Oxford Canal today, via Osney Lock, Osney Bridge and Sheepwash Channel.

The Head of the River pub at Folly Bridge - the marquee looks as if it was lifted in by the crane

Turning right after Folly Bridge we made for Osney Lock .......

Chatting to the Lock Keeper, he said that he had not opened the weirs at Osney for a couple of months and the low water level was quite worrying. So it is not only canals that are suffering from low water levels. However there are less leaks on the River Thames and the locks are better maintained so it is really only lack of rain.

The reach above Osney Lock was almost deserted

But as we got to Osney Bridge this cruiser was moored directly below

Why so close to the bridge?

We saw no other boats on the move at all - quiet November, don't you just love it! Damp, cloudy and quiet. With a last look at the River Thames - boo hoo - we turned onto Sheepwash Channel and under the next two low bridges.

The railway is the lowest of the two bridges - but because of the low Osney Bridge, we had taken down both the chimney and the satellite dish so we had room and to spare.

Railway Bridge ahead

Now a bit of good news about our industrial heritage. The old Rewley Road railway swing bridge that lies rotting by the side of the channel is to be restored. Built by Robert Stephenson in 1850, it was closed in 1985. A £90,000 heritage grant will see the fabric of the bridge restored and the area landscaped. It will no longer be an eyesore and a sad reminder of the past days of rail travel.

Rewley Road swing bridge

The Oxford Preservation Trust want to get it to swing again - I wonder how that will work with narrowboats using the channel. It was originally opened manually by rail workers.  

Once through the narrow gap at the swing bridge and under the road bridge, Sheepwash Channel leads to Castle Mill Stream and the South Oxford Canal. 

Towards the Mill Stream and Oxford Canal

The Mill Stream can flow very fast but today all was calm, a good job as we needed to turn and go up Isis Lock backwards. The pontoon and boom below the Lock do not look so out of place now, but they are still causing a controversy and British Waterways have launched a consultation to address this.  Have your say if you have concerns about the boom and lock landing.

Pontoon lock landing and boom

Isis Lock

We put our bows to the downstream end of the pontoon and I hopped off

So why did we do it all backwards? Find out how and why soon .....