Scarecrows

 

After another great holiday together it was time for Curly to head back down to Devon. Chloe drove up the previous day and stayed aboard for the night before departing at 10.00. As you can see Curly is a bit disappointed to be leaving but she is also pleased to be going home and going back to School if that makes any sense . As soon as they left we pulled pins with the plan of getting all the way to Cropredy ,so in thick Mizzle we headed over the highest point of the Oxford canal. To get over the top to Claydon it’s an 11 mile journey with the canal weaving its way around all the hills due to it being a contour canal . In fact if you walked in a straight line it would only be 4 miles and you would probably get there quicker.

Still here and this has to be the most photographed boat on the Oxford canal. The guy just dug out a hole in the field and canal bank, drove the boat in and then filled the canal bank in. It’s now been like it for a few years so I guess it must be legal as it’s still there.

One for Ann on NB Oakfield, looking good now but I bet this tree looks great when it’s in full leaf.

Approaching Claydon and this is the first lift bridge we have been through for a long time. Luckily it was in the up position as we passed through.

Arriving and entering Claydon top lock and we have always liked the look of this cottage . I know it was up for sale the last time we came through here but I’m not sure if it ever sold or not.

After descending the Claydon flight of 5 locks which dropped us down 30 feet and 6 inches we passed Clattercote Wharf. As you can see the Scarecrows are having a welcomed Winter break after guarding the fields of Squashes which the Farmer grows here in the Summer.

Looks like someone liked Che Guevara .

After a most enjoyable cruise it ended up taking only five and a half hours to reach our destination of Cropredy. With the moorings above the lock in the village empty we had our pick of where to tie up. With some miserable people in the Bungalows opposite who don’t seem to like boaters we moored back a bit, but more about that in the next update. We will now have a day or two here before moving onto Banbury.

                                                                                                      Happy Days