Birdingbury Wharf Bridge No 21 to The Wharf Inn, Fenny Compton

I am back on the right side of the stoppages at Napton Locks.

This morning I set off for the Wharf in the car and then got a bus to The Boat Inn, Stockton via Southam. Getting there I had crossed the County border into Warwickshire and my Oxfordshire bus pass, valid on this bus from Banbury was not valid in Warwickshire because I was "twirley". I paid out the £2.70. The plan was to get a breakfast in Southam at the No19 Cafe where I have breakfasted between buses before. But today I was greeted by the sign that informed me "Closed on Mondays"! I was expecting to get a 1000 calories inside me to fuel a day in the boat precluding the need to stop to make a meal. So I went in the Co-op and bought some refreshments: BLT sandwich, pukka pie and scotch eggs. Handing my Co-op card I was told "you are in Warwickshire, those cards are not valid we have our own!" They took my Co-op credit card ok.

The target for the day was The Wharf at Fenny Compton. I had convinced myself that I had done this single-handed before. I am not so sure now.  All went well as I approached Calcutt Locks as there was another boat, NB Albert, just ahead and I could join them to aid me up the locks. However, there was no water in the pound between the Bottom Lock and Middle Lock. Not even enough to get over the cill. So a crew member was dispatched to let some down from the next pound. Boats do move better on water!

Just after the flight I was hailed by a BCF member who had an AWCC Burgee for me. He had been asked to take it to Banbury but never got there so in seeing SONFLOWER in his windows shouted out. Just in time as they are moving to Wales next Saturday!

So to Napton Junction and a sharp turn onto home waters: the South Oxford Canal. At Napton a CRT employee was adjusting water levels at the bottom lock. He stopped what he was doing and emptied it to let me through and then told me that there were boats coming down who had been trapped behind a butty that they had just released from the notoriously narrow Lock 9. It had been stuck since 3.30pm on Sunday. Progress was slowed some more by a LNBP boat nb Lancelot which was moored in a very short pound with a central bridge between the third and fourth Lock. The crew had to abandon shop as they could not progress to the Braunston Base with the butty stuck in the lock. It was not a very good place to moor as two boats are unable to pass with ease with the bridge narrows and a boat on the lock landing. We managed, just.

The rest of the flight was slow and steady though I was pleased to have two of the locks set for me by oncoming boats and pleased not to have to shut the top lock top gate as a boat was coming in. I was not so pleased to stub a toe on the roof gangplank rack while getting to the ladder of Lock 15.

I cleared Top Lock at Marston Doles at 1520h. With the loss of the hour on Sunday, I would not have enough daylight to get to Fenny Compton but I pressed on. I did consider a mooring at Brige 131, close to the main A423, but there was no suitable piling here so I pressed on, the last two miles in darkness. The sunset was spectacularly beautiful but I would have valued it to be an hour later today!

I arrived at 1810 and moored by torch light outside The Wharf Inn. I am still "Sober for October"! I limped to the car which I was very glad to get into.

                                         14 miles, 12 locks,  7h 40minutes

Photos from Napton Yesterday

A GRAND DAY OUT

I went boating today but only got onto the boat for a cup of coffee.

SONFLOWER is in the hands of Tim. Tracey and Oakley. I met them at Marston Doles Lock No 16 to 'lock wheel' down the Napton flight.

Before I did, I spent some time in the company of Bill, a Canal and River Trust volunteer lock-keeper. He was adjusting levels by running water down through Lock 16. Apparently there are problems down the flight because the top gate of lock 16 has been renewed and doesn't leak. All the others do and the levels in the pound below get rather too low! The back pumping scheme continues to work automatically to make things worse. As it takes three hours for the water to get to the bottom of the flight (Bill's estimate) it needs a bit of work to let water go down between the boats that were queuing to use the lock this dull Monday morning in May!

It was fun to chat to the variety of people who were using the flight. A real mixture of owners and hirers. A couple of working boats. A Royal Navy submarine officer and his family were on The Andrew. I was also of service to two boaters. One was wearing British Airways overalls. I commented that I expected he'd rather be flying. However he said his flying days were long past. However, a couple of boats behind I got chatting to a chap who had a rather nice Lister two cylinder engine, recovered from a RN destroyer auxiliary generator with only 80 hours on it. He mentioned that he had flown with BA. I told him about the first man. Later in the day I met him again. They had met up and found that fifteen years ago they had flown together!

I also met, and helped, single handers: nb UFO who wintered in Banbury last year and nb Salad Days who was meeting a friend in Banbury for a return cruise to Crick.

Another boat I helped along was nb Lapaz. We met him again at the water point at the foot of the locks. The master of this 'posh boat' was not at all complementary about Tim's helmsmanship on the long summit pound, suggesting that he was dawdling and meandering "all over the place". Tim had the engine on 1600RPM which equates to about 3mph on the S Oxford Canal. Quite a reasonable speed for leisure boating I would have thought. However, not fast enough for this clown. He hadn't had the sense or manners to ask to pass, however, and just mouthed off to Tracey, not knowing she was Tim's First Mate! Very Rude. I expect they are back home on The Ashby by now at the rate he left Napton! I wished them "God speed", which is slow on this canal! "Good riddance!"

I left Tim and Tracey with an Australian family on Kate Boat's nb Thomas David. They were having a different type of holiday having cruised through the Suez Canal and then from Rome around the Mediterranean Sea, they were now having a five day cruise on the English Canals before four days in London to complete their six week holiday. Quite an educational trip for their twelve year old daughter who didn't seem too keen on the prospect of the next nine locks! "We don't have canals in Australia", Mum commented. They decided to moor and have a meal at the Folly Inn as they had no food on board and were a mile away from the nearest shop! The Folly "canal shop" was not open although the signs were out. I think it was when I told them the next pub was 7 hours away that they made the decision!

The sun even shone in the afternoon. Bill, The volunteer lock keeper, was at the bottom of the flight by now, assisting and encouraging boaters who were starting the flight. "Join us, you'd enjoy it" he called. I told him that if I volunteered to work on the cut it would be another type of calling!