I may be a little distracted, but...

Tuesday, 20 January 2009 16:59

I may be a little distracted but forgive me! As i write this I am also watching history in the making! We moored up deliberately before the Napton flight so we could get a good signal to watch the Inauguration of the new US President!

It has been a fabulous day. When the sun was at our backs there was some warmth in it. It was at our back some of the time as this section of the South Oxford canal is one of the most meandering bits on all the system! The compass swung from west to east, then north, then west again, east again, south, west, north, west, east and finally north west. Phew - time to moor!

Of course the canal followed the compass and so did the boat! Sorry, wrong order! This is the third time we have travelled this section so we both knew what was coming next, but still marvelled at the views, construction and the feeling of arriving from where you had come from!

Fenny Compton tunnel is the first interesting sight. It is straight and long, without a roof. Passing Fenny Marina and the lines of boats,

we spotted Jane Selkirk's boat moored outside the Wharf Inn

A few wiggles later comes the huge bend around Wormleighton Hall. This is not a place to meet another boat coming the other way under the bridge at the apex of the corner! Once again we passed a boat before, but not at, this bend!

A fairly straight section follows until the canal does 3 sides of a square at Stoneton

To starboard there are hills and to port there is a shallow valley around which the canal passes. If you look carefully you can see the bridges you pass under about 20 minutes later!

It is almost dizzy-making as the aerial near Wormleighton, the windmill on Napton Hill and the accommodation bridges seem to change sides on a regular basis!

Once past Priors Hardwick, off to the right, there are two more large bends followed by the approach to Marston Doles and the Napton flight top lock.

The flight is for tomorrow, so we moored in a nice spot, still in sunshine. The satellite dish went up, the kettle on and we settled down to watch current news making history.

Where on earth will we be in four years time? What difference will Barak Obama make to the US and also our country? What a weight of expectation to fall on one man's shoulders.

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