Napton Archives - Wandering Bells

We’ve now two thirds of the way to Newbury. We try to pick the drier days for cruising, but the weather does like to have a laugh and has given us all the seasons in one day, several times.
Ian’s attempt to stop the use of the multifuel stove for the year (following his efforts as a chimney sweep) went out of the window. It’s been so cold! In the mornings the temperature has nearly hit zero, then it’s gone up to high teens for the afternoon- ridiculous, so I’ll have to bribe the sweep with silver to get it cleaned again. Now, as I type this, we’re sitting in a heatwave with temperatures rising to 30+ degrees C so instead of a fire, we’ve got the fans out!

We left the Worcester & Birmingham at King’s Norton Junction and headed east on the North Stratford Canal (stopping for necessary supplies at a local bakery along the way). Dropping down the 18 locks at Lapworth we weaved through the moored boats and channels at Kingswood Junction to turn onto the Grand Union. We’re now into areas of the English countryside that are very familiar, as we spent many years cruising them for our family summer holidays – it was either that or camping!

Heading uphill on the wide locks of these bigger canals can be a little daunting, but we got lucky and managed to pair up with another boat for both the 21 Hatton locks and the 10 at Stockton. Having two boats side by side when you’re rising in these broader locks stops the boat from being thrown around as the influx of water can be quite violent at times.

At Napton Junction we turned onto the South Oxford Canal. There, we paused at the bottom of the Napton Lock Flight long enough to wander into the village and visit the Napton Cidery. Wherever we go on our travels, we like to “support the local community”, so having heard about this place from fellow boaters we had to stop and sample their wares. It was yummy, so Ian gallantly carried a case of bottles back to the boat. Lucky for us we discovered they also sell their cider through Ocado online shopping so we can replenish our supplies from them (and continue to support the villagers of Napton!!)

The contouring South Oxford Canal has always been a favourite. It curls around the hills and can be very bendy, especially in the section known to us as “the wiggles”. This summit level of the Oxford has an ongoing issue of low water, so you can’t cut corners on bends, or the boat can get stuck on the silt. Being such a pretty area makes it very popular, particularly for hire boats, and you can guess where you ‘re going to meet them! Yep, it’s always under a bridge or on a blind bend and one or both of you ends up going aground. But a wave and a smile usually keeps everyone happy…..usually. At one bridge we did end up listening to a hire boater toot his horn at us repeatedly even though we were already stationary and leaving plenty of room for him (we saw him coming!). Since our last blog we’ve done another 85 locks, so we’ve been busy and due a treat.

Tooleys Boatyard and Castle Quays at Banbury

In Banbury the canal cuts through Castle Quays which has shops, restaurants and a cinema (arriving late morning is usually best to get a spot). I’d been promised a trip to the cinema to see “The Sheep Detectives”. As we were tying up, our phones bing-bonged with a CRT notification that the navigation ahead of us was closed, a tree was down completely blocking the waterway and the towpath. Ian went off to investigate and returned with news that we were stuck possibly for a few days. Oh well, what a shame, time to go see some crime solving sheep!

Magical misty mornings on the South Oxford

Footnote: As my editor hasn’t published this yet I can add that in this current heatwave the inside of the boat reached 33.8C Everything inside was feeling a tad warm so I had to actually cool a bowl down before I could grate cheese into it for tea!

Where yesterday was more of a gentle introduction, today was more of a baptism by fire.

It was another bright, clear morning, this time experienced at 5:30am because I left the curtains open. The dew was really heavy. I should have worn better footwear for this morning’s leg stretching walk with Sam. Only went for 20 minutes but when I got back I could have been paddling.

You will find that I will occasionally throw something in when it occurs to me. And that’s just happened. It occurs to me that I should mention that if you are expecting a meticulous log of times, locks and distances, you are going to be sorely disappointed. What you very quickly realise, when you get into boating on canals, is that it’s about slowing down to learn that it’s not about times and distances, but savouring what is happening now

Despite saying that, I was on a bit of a mission today. And that was to tackle my first flight of locks flying solo. But we had to get there first. The first order of business is to get Sam installed on the roof. She does not enjoy sitting on the rear deck. Perhaps it’s the lack of space, or the vibrations from the engine, or that fact that she once fell off the back. So instead of keeping her shut inside the boat, Heather suggested I try her on the roof, tethered to stop her jumping off. She does seem to enjoy it, eventually. First problem, she cannot jump up, so has to suffer the indignity of being picked up. The second problems was that, whilst the non slip coating on the roof works well for human feet, it was more like ice for doggy paws. Hence the array of rubber mats, and only the human has problems with the rubbery smell.

So when she’s first up there, she’s very unsure if she likes it.

Then she settles down and gets more confident.

And she gets really into her new hobby – sheep watching.

World's Smallest Marina — World’s Smallest Marina

So, with the dog settled. There’s time to admire the world’s smallest narrowboat lake. Some people will go extreme lengths to avoid paying CRT mooring fees.

Arriving at Marston Doles, the top of the Napton flight, I was met by Gordon, a CRT volunteer lock keeper, who helped me down most of the flight (thanks Gordon). Something occurred to me in the second lock down. I should perhaps show you what our boat Heron looks like.

Look more closely - paint needs fixing — Look more closely – paint needs fixing

And then we were in the bottom lock. It’s surprising what some help and some engaging conversation can do to make the time fly by.

Then it was time for some refreshment at the Folly Inn before a short cruise to another favourite mooring spot on the way to Braunston.

Tomorrow is likely to be a shorter day, although there is the distraction of Midland Chandlers at Braunston that could seriously lengthen my day.

Napton

Locks, locks and more locks

Flying solo – Napton flight