Day 77 On to Claydon Locks - 7 miles and 10 locks
Day 78 Up and across the Summit and down - 12 miles and 4 locks
Leaving Bunbury the South Oxford heads to Cropredy, gradually gaining height with spaced out locks. The canal was quite busy with some locks with us and at other times, we needed to await descending craft.
This lock keepers house is being renovated by a boater's group
Some lock gates were showing their age - this lock leaking to empty
Penny for my thoughts?
Ah! Open the ground paddle!
We had this plane circling us for a while - Nige, is that you?!
Passing the newly opened Cropredy Marina. Speaking to a couple of CRT workers, they said the opening had eased congestion on this stretch around Claydon Locks?
A watcher!
A sign Autumn is coming as the field get ploughed
Claydon Lock No. 20 - a dated stone
The Claydon Lock pounds were down - the CRT workers were up filling the pounds at the end of the day
The next day was a Saturday - does that explain how busy the canal was. We had a leisurely start and after a cooked brunch set off with boats behind and ahead.
The cruise today involved 2 locks up to the top pound and 2 locks down - hence a 'summit sandwich'!
Permanent moorings at Forge Farm(?) - each with it's own plot of land
Some newer wheeled cabins
I put the taller exhaust chimney on today - here getting under our last lift bridge on the Oxford No.141
The summit pound was down about 3" or 4" which made for a slower passage in places
Looking back at the narrows at the Fenny Compton 'Tunnel' - this was built by Brindley as a tunnel and proved to be a bottleneck at 9 foot wide for much of it's length. It was finally opened up fully later in 1870
Here, holding back to let a boat come through a narrow section
On the summit, the proposed HS2 with carve across it!
Having dropped down the top two locks at Marston Doles, we moored for the night just above Napton Lock No.14 - good TV reception as well!
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