Mint sauce

 

With the temperature at minus 1 we pulled ropes through rings from our mooring at Fenny Compton with the plan of getting to the bottom of the Napton flight of 9 locks. A bit of an early start at 07.30 but with the reward of a beautiful Sunrise it was well worth it.

You may remember that I put up a picture of this tree a few weeks ago for Ann on Nb Oakfield. Well here it is again with the Sun coming up behind it.

As you can see it’s bloody cold ,but with thermal socks ,gloves ,hats and a few hundred layers of clothes we are fine. We have a couple hours of cruising across the summit of the Oxford canal before reaching Marston Doles and then descending The Napton flight of 9 locks. Now it’s time for a cup of tea to warm us up “one sugar for me please Carolyn” .

It’s still there and doesen’t appear to be going anywhere very soon . I did wonder how they were going to do their blacking of the hull ,but I suppose they won’t bother unless they get a crane in or dig themselves out.

Reaching the top of the Napton flight and we were met by a Canal and River Trust employee who informed us that the third pound up from the bottom was completely empty and it would require water being let down from the top to remedy the situation. He told us to come down through the flight but leave one top and one bottom paddle on each lock open. He in the meantime he went on ahead and set the locks for us to go down.

Halfway down the flight and here are the first Lambs we have seen this year and what a lovely sight and how sweet they look said Carolyn. I said they will look far better in a few months time when they are sat on a plate in front of me surrounded by roast spuds, vegetables ,gravy and not forgetting the mint sauce . Yum yum.

Because the CRT guy had gone ahead it meant that a lot of the pounds were low . But in the end we reckoned that it put another hour on the cruise which wasn’t so bad.

At the bottom of Napton and it’s good to see that someone is trying to use nature to combat bank erosion. Several trees have been planted here where the bank is slowly sliding in to the canal . Hopefully as they grow their roots will spread out and make the bank more secure.

After a good days cruise we picked up a mooring just past The Bridge pub which has been closed down for sometime now .Another early start tomorrow as we have a 2 hour lock free cruise in to Braunston where we have planned to meet up with some friends for a night out. That should be Just the ticket !

                                                                                         Happy Days

Bye bye Banbury

 

While Carolyn raises the lift bridge I pass Tooley’s Boatyard,which is situated in the heart of Banbury ,it has the oldest working dry dock on the Inland Waterways, having been in continuous use since 1790. It also has an 86′ dry dock which is fully covered and heated. Also on-site is the 200 year-old forge which is in regular use by blacksmiths. Also they had 42 quid of mine as we had to buy a new riddle for our stove from them after ours fell to bits.

 

After dropping down the lock we used the services before heading down to the winding hole to turn which is about a mile away.

When we got back we were met by friends Bob and Jan who very kindly helped us work up the lock.

We have certainly been blessed with the amount of good friends we have made since we started life on Inca. Amongst them are Bob and Jan (nb Small Dreams) who have been brilliant during our time in Banbury and have invited us to their house on a couple of occasions plus giving Carolyn a day out in Oxford and a trip in their car to do a big shop at a local out of town supermarket. Fortunatley they plan to be in Rugby in a few weeks when we are there ,so we will meet up again before we head North for the Summer and they head South.

I think it’s probably a good job we are leaving Banbury as it looks like some Aliens have landed here.

First lock of the day and I grab the windlass and set the lock for Carolyn. I’m happy to jump over the gates even though my legs are not that long. Carolyn will not jump so she has to walk all the way around to open and close the gate on the other side. I need the exercise so it wont do me any harm unless I fall in.

We arrive at Little Bourton lock and it’s such a shame that the Lockkeepers cottage is empty. There is a sign that says that it is owned by boaters but with no way of getting to it by road and being a bit isolated, I think it will only be a matter of time before it succumbs to the elements .

In control (well sort of in control ,good job Her Ladyship doesen’t read the blog) and Carolyn brings Inca in to the last lock before Cropredy.

Passing up through the lock at Cropredy and this time we have no time to stop as we are on our way to meet up with friends at Braunston.

Heading up through the Claydon flight of five locks and the skies behind us start to turn rather grey . After another hours cruising we reached Fenny Compton and managed to moor up before the skies opened. We hope to be on the move again tomorrow but with low tempeartues forecast and the threat of the canal freezing over we will just have to wait and see what the morning brings.

                                                                                                                       Happy Days

St Marys

We have been to Banbury many times before and have always admired St Mary’s church but we have never been inside . So this time we made a point of visiting and we were certainly not disappointed.
St Mary’s predecessor was a splendid mediaeval church which had fallen into disrepair and had become dangerous. Part of the old church collapsed one Sunday morning in April 1790 with the tower adding itself to the rubble the following day. Financial constraints delayed the completion of the new church and the “pepper pot” tower was not completed until 1822.

On our way in to the church we noticed this plaque named "Gulliver's Travels" - Jonathan Swift hints in the preface to the 1726 edition of Gulliver's Travels that he had taken the name of Gulliver from tombstones in the Churchyard at Banbury. Unfortunatley none of the original tombstones from that time exist anymore.

As designed by the architect, Samuel Pepys Cockerill, the building was a perfect square with sides 90 feet long. It is thought to have been modelled on Sir Christopher Wren’s St. Stephen’s Church, Walbrook, which, like this building, has a dome supported by twelve classical columns. Originally the gallery ran round the four sides and the church was able to accommodate 3,000.
Extensive alterations were made in the mid-19th century under the influence of the Tractarian movement. In 1858 the eastern gallery was removed and in 1873 the whole east end was reconstructed to the design of Sir Arthur Blomfield, and richly coloured. Blomfield’s decorative scheme has now gone, apart from the figures in the chancel which are painted in imitation mosaic and a small detail by the door into the south stairwell.  The view towards the alter from high up in the gallery.

The domed ceiling which is supported by the twelve columns.

We spent 10 minutes sitting in the pews up in the gallery just soaking up the atmosphere of the church.

The stained glass is also of Blomfield’s time, the most striking windows being those at the eastern end of the nave above the galleries – by an unknown artist. The upper windows in the gaIlery represent scenes from the life of Jesus – 30 illustrations in all, while the lower windows illustrate 10 of his parables. The detailed background in all the windows well repays attention. In the second upper window on the north side is the well-known Arctic window in memory of the explorer Admiral Sir George Back, which contains sketches from his notebook – H.M.S. Terror caught in the ice, Eskimos, polar bears, seals, reindeer, walrus and a surround of snow flakes.

The Church is open Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, Saturday 10.00 to 14.00 and then on Sundays where all are invited to the services. Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

As with every town we pass through on our journey around the country we always end up looking in estate agents to gauge the local property prices. We are still not sure where we will live once we retire from boating , but Banbury is certainly a possibility as we both love the town and the area. 
                                                                                                            
                                                                    Happy Days

Ride a Cock Horse

 

Still in Banbury and I’m always amazed at the appearance of the Banbury cross because for some reason I always expected a large cross and not something stuck in the middle of a roundabout on a busy road . Although Banbury has had many crosses over the years the current Banbury Cross is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form. Statues of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V were added in 1914 to commemorate the coronation of George V. The cross is 52 feet 6 inches (16 m) high, and topped by a gilt cross.

The words of the Banbury Cross nursery rhyme are often attributed to Queen Elizabeth I of England (the fine lady) who travelled to Banbury to see a huge stone cross which had just been erected. The words 'With rings on her fingers' obviously relates to the fine jewellery which would be worn by a Queen. The words 'And bells on her toes' refer to the fashion of attaching bells to the end of the pointed toes of each shoe - this fashion actually originates from the Plantagenet era of English history but was associated with the nobility for some time! Banbury was situated at the top of a steep hill and in order to help carriages up the steep incline a white cock horse (a large stallion) was made available by the town's council to help with this task. When the Queen's carriage attempted to go up the hill a wheel broke and the Queen chose to mount the cock horse and ride to the Banbury cross. The people of the town had decorated the cock horse with ribbons and bells and provided minstrels to accompany her - "she shall have music wherever she goes". The massive stone cross at Banbury was unfortunately later destroyed by anti - Catholics who opposed the notion of pilgrimages.

Next to the busy roundabout with the banbury cross is this lady on a Horse …..   Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross,To see a fine lady upon a white horse.

With  rings on her fingers ……

and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes.  That was for Curly.

After a walk around the town it was then time to catch up with friends Bob and Jan .We first met them a few years ago when we shared the Hatton flight of locks .They are also boaters but are a bit more sensible than us and live in their house in the Winter and then spend the Summer on their boat called Small Dreams. It was good to have a catch up and we have arranged to meet up again in a couple of days time. With Carolyn still hitting the fitness centre every day and sometimes even twice a day it seems like we could well be here for sometime, although I’m sure I will start to get itchy feet before long.

                                                                                                      Happy Days

Unhappy Hamish

It’s been some time since I posted a blog with the main reason being that we haven’t actually done a lot. With Carolyn doing all her keep fit plus wondering around the town plus a bit of ice on the canal it’s all been very quiet. Hamish as always loves it here as he has a lovely big park to walk and run in .It’s also a big thank you to all the hard working volunteers that keep this park in tip top condition.

Something we always do when we are here at this time of year is to get Hamish all of his inoculations done which is something that he is not very keen on. As you can see he knows something is going on and does not look at all happy.

He has now twigged as to what is going to happen . After a thorough examination from the Vet he is given a clean bill of health. Now for the jab and Carolyn has to hold him down with all her strength as he gets the needle. He also needed to have his kennel cough which is a drug that they squirt up his nose. There was no way he was going to have that done with us there in the room and in the end the Vet had to take him out the back where they caught him by surprise and did the deed . Needless to say he was not a happy Bunny ,but at least he hasn’t got to go through that for another 12 months.

On the way back we decided to pick up a Pasty from the West Cornish Pasty co . Unfortunately there isn’t a Devon Pasty shop in the area which sells far better made and tastier pasty’s.The last few times we have been here they have always given a discount for visiting Boaters and with a normal Pasty costing a fiver that’s very welcomed. But now they have stopped giving the discount so needless to say we will not be using them again.

                                                                                                                      Happy Days