River Thames - Oxford to Goring

We woke up excited, but also a little nervous as today we were heading onto the River Thames! 😀  

We exited the Lock which takes you from the Oxford Canal onto the River Thames.  The locks from now on are electric.  The first lock on the Thames is Osney Lock and as this was not manned by a lock keeper, we controlled it ourselves.  The instructions are clear and once you have completed one, they are all very similar. 

The next 3 locks were manned by friendly lock keepers and found ourselves sharing one of the locks with 3 rowing crews from Denmark who were on a mission to row to Teddington.

  

 Abingdon Lock has all the boaters facilities here, it is worth filling up with water when you can as there are not a lot of places to do so.  We also purchased the Environmental Agency Licence here for the duration of our time on the Thames.  We were blessed with wonderful weather and thoroughly enjoyed our cruise today mooring  on the  Council moorings at Abingdon.

The moorings are really good, clearly marked and well maintained.  You can stay for up to 24 hours free, up to 3 days can be purchased from the EA. 

What a wonderful historical market town Abingdon is. Plenty of shops, cafes, pubs, etc and a large Waitrose.

Some advice to boaters - bring your binoculars!! you will certainly need them as most of the signs for moorings are small and difficult to read.  Luckily, just before Days Lock, we spotted a sign for a Bishops Court Farm (Thames Path) mooring which you pay for online [this particular one was £7 for the night] .  This was wonderful as it was such a calm evening and a very pleasant, private rural mooring.

Taken from Bishops Court Farm mooring

The following morning, we descended Days Lock and just a little further downstream there is an elsan disposal and bins on a pontoon which is easy to miss. 

We continued the following day, cruising through Culham Cut/Lock and Clifton Cut / Lock and saw some wonderful sights/homes along the way.

Great to see this  WW11 pillbox along the way, which had been painted to commemorate the brave soldiers in the war.

Clifton Hampden Bridge

We had  another wonderful morning cruise through to Goring where we moored at the visitor moorings just after Goring Lock.  Great moorings - free for the first 24 hours and good access to the town.

Visitor moorings Goring 

Banbury to Oxford

Over the last week, we have enjoyed cruising from Banbury to Oxford on this lovely picturesque Canal.

 

It was such a shame on this stretch to see a couple of what would have once been beautiful lock-side cottages, which are now unfortunately derelict.

The first night, we moored not far from Aynho Marina which has a lovely little shop/outdoor snacks and you can purchase diesel here.  The following day, we went through one of the deepest locks on the narrow canal system, Somerton Deep Lock No 34, built in 1787 - 12ft deep.

Somerton Deep Lock

From Banbury onwards, the bottom gates switch from two to one, which can be a little heavier to open.  We then cruised through to a quaint village called Lower Heyford.  It is so pretty, with lovely thatched cottages and no through road, so peaceful.  There are 14 day moorings here complete with a space for us! The railway station here proved very handy as we used it pop home for a couple of days and had a day trip to Oxford which is only 15 mins away.  

View from the top of Carfax Tower

This is the view from the top of Carfax Tower in the centre of Oxford.  We walked up the 99 steps of the tower which is all that remains from the 12th century St Martin's Church.

After leaving Lower Heyford, just after pigeon lock, we saw a very unfortunate sight,  a boat teetering on the edge of the towpath.  We are guessing that at some point the towpath has flooded and the boat has been marooned on the towpath, now patiently waiting until the next flood?

There are some great Elsan/water facilities at Thrupp Canal Cruising Club.  Just after the club, there is a lift bridge (CRT Key to use this) and there are visitor moorings for 48 hours.  We were lucky and managed to moor next to the Boat Inn, where some episodes of Inspector Morse were filmed and where we enjoyed a meal in the evening. 

 

The following day, we cruised through to Oxford.  There are a couple of lift bridges on the way.  We moored up for the day on the visitor moorings (2 days) just after bridge no 240, Aristotle Bridge.  These are really good as there is a recreation park and a 15 minute walk takes you to the suburbs of Jericho.  There are lots of little cafe's, bars and a couple of grocery stores here - it has a real community feel to it.  In the evening, we enjoyed a curry at Jamal's and for breakfast this morning went to TCG's (The Coffee Guild) for a tasty breakfast.

 

Breakfast at TCG's

     We plan to descend Isis lock tomorrow and head out on the mighty River Thames!😀

 

Napton Locks to Banbury - Tooley's Boatyard

Over the next few days, we ascended Napton locks.  This is a flight of 9 locks taking you up to the 11 mile long summit pound. 

There are CRT facilities at the bottom of the locks, so after emptying the elsan and rubbish etc, we started our ascent.

Napton lock 10

At lock 10, there is a pill box from the Second World War.  It is a lovely flight of locks, very picturesque and thankfully only shallow in one pound due to the lack of rainfall over the last few weeks.  Luckily, some boats were making their way down the flight, so we could be savvy with the water.  

A couple of days later after some much welcomed rain, we cruised from Marston Doles to Fenny Compton which is a very wiggly section, with lots of tight bends (thankfully Coventina is only 55 ft long). It takes you through beautiful countryside and past the site of the medieval village of Wormleighton, spotting this wonderful carving on the way.

On this section, we also passed some of the mighty HS2 railway project, currently under construction.    

We moored overnight at the visitor moorings at Fenny Compton. There are mooring rings here.  From the moorings, it takes approximately 30 minutes to walk into the village where there is a handy Co-op.

Fenny Compton

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Wharf Inn in the evening which is next to the visitor moorings.  Fenny Compton Marina, a little bit further along the canal, has diesel, rubbish disposal and you can empty your elsan for £3 which is handy.

The following day, after filling with diesel at the marina, we cruised through the section where the Fenny Compton Tunnel, constructed between 1775 and 1777 and later demolished in the 19th Century, used to be.  We then started our descent down the Claydon flight of 5 locks.  The friendly volunteers were in the process of sending water down the flight as it was shallow further down the canal and they helped us down the locks. 

 

After 3 more locks you reach the lovely village of Cropredy famous for its annual folk festival. What a lovely quaint village this is. 

Cropredy Lock 

We had a look around the church which was really interesting (mainly 14 C).  Once again, the visitor moorings are great, with mooring rings just above Cropredy Lock. 

The following day after using the CRT facilities (just below Cropredy lock on your right), we cruised through to Banbury and moored on the 48hr moorings next to Spiceball Country Park just before bridge 164 (Tom Rolt bridge).

There are plenty of visitor moorings in the Castle Quays development, with restaurants, shops and leisure facilities, you are really in the heart of it.  The new moorings actually in the centre of the development, have electric charging points for up to six boats - eco-moorings. These were installed to improve pollution and air quality, so boats don't have their engines running, generators etc.

   

Tooley's Boatyard

Tooley's boatyard is one of the oldest dry working docks on the Inland Waterways and has been in continuous use since 1778. Here of course was where Tom Rolt and his boat Cressy began their epic journey in 1939 cruising the rapidly declining canal system. It is wonderful to see this piece of history  retained, despite the Castle Quays development that was literally built around it.  

It was really interesting to have a look around the boatyard, the chandlery and museum and learn about the history and see the working forge.  

 

 

Atherstone to Napton Junction

Over the last few days since leaving Atherstone, we have cruised through Nuneaton to Hawkesbury Junction and then onto the North Oxford Canal. Last year, due to heavy rainfall, a landslip blocked the canal and towpath just before Brinklow.

Repaired breach North Oxford Canal near Brinklow

Navigation was closed for a period of time whilst contractors removed all the debris from the canal and repaired the breach. We could see the amount of costly work that had been required. 

Just before entering the town of Rugby, we passed through Newbold tunnel, built in 1834, and just 204 yards long

Newbold Tunnel

We moored in Rugby just after bridge 53a which is handy to stock up at the large Tesco, just a short walk from the mooring.  We then cruised through to Hillmorton Locks.  This is a flight of 3 locks.  Each lock has two locks side by side, which makes things a lot easier for boaters, as usually one is set in your favour.  The CRT facilities are accessible between the bottom lock and the 2nd pair of locks (not easy to moor for these facilites due to the uneven banking).  We moored at the top of the flight just before bridge 72 for the evening. 

North Oxford Canal Railway bridge and Wharf bridge 

What a surprise to see some alpaca's sunbathing when we passed Barby marina 😀

Last night, we moored just before Braunston (poor internet signal, which we have always found around this area).

Napton Junction

Today, we  entered the South Oxford canal which is new to us. The visitors moorings, just before Napton Bridge 111 are great, with mooring rings and a strong internet signal.

 

Our 2025 circular trip to London begins!!! starting at Shardlow

Our plan this year is to travel on a circular route from Shardlow on the Trent & Mersey Canal, turning onto the Coventry Canal, the Oxford Canal, onto the River Thames leaving at Brentford and head back on the Grand Union Canal and finally back on the River Soar to the River Trent.  Fingers crossed, all should go to plan, subject to water levels as it has been a very dry Spring.🤞

Shardlow Heritage Centre

Our journey begins at Shardlow. If you happen to moor or visit between Easter and the end of October on a weekend or bank holiday, it is worth a visit to the Shardlow Heritage Centre.  It is manned by very knowledgeable volunteers and looks at the history of not only the Inland Port Canal history  but the village too.  The reproduction of the living quarters from an old working narrowboat is excellent.

Alrewas

The weather has been superb over the last week, so we have made good progress. We enjoyed the cruise on the Trent and Mersey Canal, filling up with fuel at Shobnall Marina at Burton-On-Trent (good value and very friendly), and through the quaint village of Alrewas through to Fradley Junction (3 locks manned by friendly volunteers) where we turned onto the Coventry Canal.  There are C&RT facilities at the Junction and a great cafe too.

Whilst cruising through Tamworth, we moored just after Sutton Road Bridge, where there is a handy little snicket with a 10 minute walk on the main road to Sainsburys , B & Q, Poundland etc. 

We moored overnight on the Atherstone Flight, between locks 5 & 6 (max two days visitor moorings), which is handy for shops, the railway station, pubs and take-aways.  Top Lock was manned by volunteers and they have facilities here for rubbish, elsan, book swap etc.  As always on the canals, you don't see a boat for ages and then at bridges bends and facilities, it is really busy and this is exactly what happened at top lock! 😆

Between locks 9 & 10 Atherstone Flight

What a wonderful time of year to cruise, there are so many baby ducklings and fluffy goslings with their doting mums to see.

A hint of Spring!

It has been such a sunny calm weekend and it certainly feels like Spring is on its way, or is it just a hoax!?  So, with the sun shining we took a short cruise from Shardlow, winding at Melbourne, an overnight stay and then returning to base, with the added 'delights' of Aston and Weston double locks along the way.

Such a treat to see clear blue skies , hear the birds singing, trees starting to bud and the towpath busy with walkers, dogs, and cyclists.

Nugget enjoyed our little trip in her usual spot on the stern 😀

River Trent - Cranfleet Cut to Newark - A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who operated the locks!

Over the last week we have travelled both downstream and upstream on the River Trent on a return journey from Cranfleet Cut to Newark.  The weather has not been the best, in fact it has felt like April at times, but we have had a great time and met some wonderful people including the dedicated C&RT Volunteers operating the large electric locks on the River.

On the outskirts of Attenborough Nature Reserve, we cruised past Barton Island. Here, the 2nd Beeston Sea Scouts have superb 'back to basic' facilities, no running water or electricity but plenty of proper good old fashioned fun.  What a fantastic experience for young people and all maintained by volunteers. Even though it is only accessible by boat, they have unfortunately experienced vandalism, which we find very sad. 

Barton Island

Beeston Lock allows you to bypass an unnavigable section of the River Trent and the Beeston Cut/Canal takes you through the centre of Nottingham. Sainsbury's is a convenient mooring spot to stock up on provisions.

At the end of the Beeston Cut, Meadow Lane Lock takes you back on to the River Trent.  Unfortunately the C&RT facilities at this lock are closed due to vandalism, however there is a water point.

We carried on down the Trent, mooring just before Holme Lock.  At the side of the lock is Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre.  We thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon watching the white water rafting/ canoeing taking place there. 

May we take this opportunity to thank all the volunteer Lock keepers.  Every one of them we met were friendly and made the ascent or descent a lot easier for us throughout this trip.  They do fantastic work!  The lock keeper at Holme Lock put us safely down at 9am the following morning.  It was lovely to see all the lovely Sand Martins flying over the water and going back to their little burrows in the sand banks and all the Canadian and Greylag geese with their goslings along this stretch.

Arriving at Hazelford Lock we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by 2 very friendly peacocks!!! 

We moored for the day on the C&RT visitor pontoon (which is for 2/3 boats) outside the Bromley Pub at Fiskerton.  This is a delightful village with a small post office/convenience store and some lovely walks on the riverside.

Fiskerton

The next morning, we carried on towards Newark.  With nobody on duty at the lock, we operated it ourselves and made our way into Newark.  The lock is just beside the ruins of Newark Castle which was a Royalist stronghold during the Civil War.

The pontoon visitor moorings were full, so we moored on the opposite side which has mooring rings on the wall.  This was great as it was actually more convenient for Newark town centre and the Castle Barge Pub! 😀

Over the next couple of days we explored historic Newark. Chris visited the National Civil War Museum (£8 entrance) which was very interesting. Later we enjoyed a tasty meal at the Castle Cuisine, a curry house which is not far from the Wharf and was  BYO. 👍

We also enjoyed a beer at the Castle Barge, a floating pub with a fantastic interior which gave it a cosy, authentic feel.🍺