Leaving Letchlade

Having made it all this way we turned around this morning after buying supplies in town and headed downstream.

 Letchlade church in the morning

We stopped again for the night at Tadpole Bridge, for access to the car which we had left here one our way up the Thames.

Total distance is 10 miles and 5 locks.
Moored at Tadpole Bridge.

Letchlade

A somewhat easier day to near the head of navigation of the Thames for powered craft (you can actually get about a mile further to the junction of the former Cotswold canal). Lots of pillboxes to be seen as the Thames was one of the WWII 'stop lines' for defence in case of invasion. We passed about dozen swimmers going the other way. Reading the sign on the accompanying boat, they were apparently on holiday. We were joined aboard by Hannah.
Fish and chip supper for all from Marion's Plaice in town.

Total distance is 10 miles and 5 locks
Moored at Letchlade

Tadpole Bridge

After a reasonably early start, we headed North on the Thames, passing Port Meadow as we left Oxford. We found a wild mooring after failing to find a suitable spot near the bridge, now tied to a tree by a steep river bank. We passed many beautifully kept Thames locks which i completely forgot to photograph.

Total distance is 20 miles, 7¼ furlongs and 7 locks.

Summer Holiday

We joined the boat at Oxford, near the Plough at Wolvercote, it having been moved there by my sister and her other half on their trip from Banbury. We motored down the Oxford canal, past the bottoms of the gardens of North Oxford and Jericho.

Once on the river we turned downstream, through Osney lock, encountering pirates in canoes, one of whom immediately capsized in front of us and narrowly avoided being crushed between Syncopation and another moored narrowboat as the wind carried us toward the bank.

Finding a mooring opposite Christ Church meadow we settled in for the night.

Total distance is 3 miles, 5¼ furlongs and 2 locks

Driverless

Seen today. The TRL are still trialling driverless vehicles at North Greenwich.

This one emerged from the Continental Hotel compound, pursued by two minders on bicycles.

Unexpected Boat Trip

Thanks to a security alert that closed the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf to Stratford the Greenwich Peninsula is an island this afternoon. I've taken the Thames Clipper to get back to central London.

Unexpected Boat Trip

Thanks to a security alert that closed the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf to Stratford the Greenwich Peninsula is an island this afternoon. I've taken the Thames Clipper to get back to central London.

Mystery Trees

What  makes trees this shape?

Answer

Empty Nest

They've flown the nest

Hatched

Three nestlings

Fake!

There doesn't seem to be any point in having a chimney that serves no purpose other than being decorative. It's a liability. But here it is on one of the new houses in Tingewick. Where wood is a practical fuel that is easy to obtain.

Very Still

If I hadn't noticed the feathers on the ground I would have missed this nest by my back door.

The nest is on top of the outside light. If you look closely at the second picture you can see Mrs blackbird's tail. I put my phone about 8 inches away from her and she stayed perfectly still the whole time, trusting her camouflage.

Near the Slipway

It looks as if there was some sort of publicity event for Gibbs Amphibians today at North Greenwich. In the car park nearest to the slipway I spotted these:

Although I didn't see them in action, you can see the Youtube video.

Chimney

No really: it's just a chimney.

This is the flue stack of the new combined heat and power station at North Greenwich. It's going to be covered in glass panels when it's finished. The facility will provide heat and power for 61 buildings on the Peninsula.

Starship

 Frankly it's an odd name for a new delivery service. They're trialling delivery robots in North Greenwich. The company is Starship.  Their delivery Robots look like a coolboox with six wheels that trundle along the pavement at walking pace. The one that passed me this lunch time had an endearing squeaky as it trundled past.

Restricted Operation

We started moving early this morning in order to compensate for delays caused by the stoppage at Buckby lock 12. The lock is back in operation but delays are to be expected. There was a short queue (4 boats) at the top of the flight (lock 8) and we found another queue of five or six boats waiting for lock 10. The queue for lock 12 was eight boats long by the time we arrived around 1 PM. One of the top gates on the lock has failed. Canal and rivers trust engineers have braced the gate and CaRT staff are very carefully easing boats in and out of the lock by hand (no engines permitted).

They are allowing two boats to go down at once but only one boat up at a time, so the queue to go up the flight has reached nearly 24 hours with parked boats nearly as far as the eye can see from Wilton Marina:

Despite all the delays we still reached Blisworth before it got dark.

And, yes madame, we were moving at minimum speed (engine at tickover). Your boat will move when even a rowing boat passes it if the thing is not tied up. No, the centreline only does not constitute properly, even if you are in the queue for the locks.

Moored at Blilsworth Mill

Total distance is 13 miles, 6¾ furlongs and 7 locks.

Designated Mugs

Designated Mugs

You know which one is yours:

Short distance today.

I bought some excellent steak pies for dinner from Village meats in Braunston, and strawberries for pudding. Then we went to the Boat Shop and awarded ourselves a brass plaque for traversing Blisworth tunnel (a trip we've done more times than I can count) and some ice creams.

We'll see how the stoppage at Buckby is progressing when we get here tomorrow.

Moored at Bridge 9 near Norton Junction.

Total distance is 4 miles, 5¾ furlongs and 6 locks.

On the Puddle Bank

We made our way from Marston Doles to Braunston Puddle Banks today. I got wind of an emergency stoppage on the Buckby flight via Canalworld. After checking the Canal and River Trust website it was confirmed. Nothing moving at all since lock 12 has a broken gate. Moored on Braunston Puddle Banks Total distance is 8 miles, 6¼ furlongs and 8 locks

Build Your Own Marina

It would appear this boater has decided to build his own personal marina. With the aid of a JCB. I'm not sure what the Canal and Rivers Trust view is on this.

Judging from the state of the bank, the "marina" was dug through the bank, the boat sailed into it and the bank replaced behind it.

Moored at Marston Doles

Total distance is 11 miles, 4¼ furlongs and 5 locks

Late Finish

We started really late, due to rain, shopping (we've just discovered fleece blankets) and a general inability to get going. However we were woken comparatively early by the movement of bins and goods outside the shops in Castle Quay. Next time we'll stick to the much quieter mooring by the park a few hundred yards away.

It seems really hard to find old-fashioned wool blankets. We've all decided the duvets we have on board are too warm for the current weather. I don't like the hospital style blankets that are more holes than substance (actually about 50%), so we've bought some fleece blankets. They're still much lighter than old fashioned woolen blankets but very cosy.

The result was we were still moving after sunset, stopping just as it became too dark to see as we moored.

Moored at Claydon Bottom lock.

Total distance is 6 miles, 6¼ furlongs and 7 locks