Category Archives: Oxford Canal

HS2 View. 19th December

Fenny Compton to over looking Lower New House Farm

The sun came out today, what a difference. Tilly immediately started to try to find a way to sit in it, she will always find a sunny spot to sit in unless they are only on vertical surfaces, but she’ll still try to give it a good try.

Todays decision was which mooring to stop at. If there was space would it be at a gap in the hedge with a good view, or a few more wiggles to the mooring we found on our way up that we really quite liked by a bridge with sheep in the field. Neither of them that far away, we’d see what space there was.

This section of the summit pound has the biggest wiggles in it due to following the contours. We set off heading North East, then northwards, then west followed by east just to get around Wormleighton Hill. On the off side in a wood was a fenced off area with water butts and small shelters, we wondered what animal was kept here, hogs? The medieval village of Wormleighton more noticeable than before with the low sun picking out the highs and lows of the old settlement, the more modern village now sits high on the hill above.

Wormleighton Grange sits on the end of the biggest loop the canal does. What views they must have from up there, just a shame they planted tall trees so you only get the occasional glimpse, not enough for a photo. Sheep wandered from one field to the next in front of the house, separated by a stone haha. The trees were most probably planted to help cut down noise from the busy A423, if it had been us we’d have invested in double glazing and kept the view.

The radio mast came into sight, so we knew we were close to the first mooring. Not one single boat was moored here, we pulled in at the first big gaps in the hedge, could we get views from both the dinette and bedroom. We pulled back and it was almost possible. If we’d have carried on a touch further the gaps in the hedge are longer, but we were happy with where we were. What a view stretching on for miles.

The low sun was so strong that the galley blind had to be pulled down so that I could see anything to make us some soup for lunch. Then I could get on with making a wreath for the cratch.

Tilly busied herself finding friends (one a little bit too big!) and helping to prune the sideways trees. We were surprised when she didn’t venture off down into the huge field below, I was saving that for tomorrow.

With enough day light left and a cat indoors we decided to take a walk up to bridge 128. In a few years time the view we were enjoying will be very different. HS2 will cross the canal at Bridge 128 (link to maps) and cut across the valley we have a great view of. Mick found a map of the planned route so we could trace out where it will go. Some work will go on around here, a viaduct will replace the (Lucky Sods) bridge to cross the canal and it looks like embankments will take the tracks across the valley. Now the world up here is calm, faint noise from the A423 and today only one boat passed us, but that will change.

Looking things up later I came across a petition to Parliament from Lower New House Farm regarding HS2. Only having had a quick read through it looks like part of their farm will become a temporary works compound (Oxford Canal North Compound) whilst construction takes place. This works compound will operate for five years and accommodate between 90 to 170 workers with temporary living accommodation. The road leading to the farm will be upgraded and they have concerns about the safety of the radiofrequency beacon on their land and it’s protection whilst works are on going (another petition here about the beacon, part of the Marine Beacon Differential Global Positioning System network, covering 50 miles around the UK coast line). Storage of their own topsoil and noise levels of the works are also a concern to them. This was all written in 2013, another document showing homeowner protection zones was published in 2016 with the route remaining the same.

Our mooring today will change in the coming years, the view will be different and high speed trains will cross the valley at regular intervals. A massive amount of upheaval will happen as the construction takes place, but once everything has settled down and nature restored around the new line it will become like any other railway line crossing the canal and valley. How many of us marvel at the viaducts built in Victorian times, here’s hoping that HS2 has it’s own structures to marvel at. Here’s also hoping that all the upheaval will be worth it in the long run.

But the biggest question is, will this mooring still be worthy of a Mrs Tilly stamp of approval?

0 locks, 2.76 miles, 2 boats moving, 1 sunny winters day, 4 root veg soup, 1 GF homemade biscuit topped pie! 1 wreath, 1 large friend, 1 field yet to help dig up, HS2 to come, Ep 3 Luther, 0.5 sock, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.

https://goo.gl/maps/tUv4Z3UPXHv

Another Wrong Forecast. 18th December

Fenny Compton

Awake early for a change, brilliant! Our plan to get up and get going to beat the weather, mooring up for breakfast before the rain started, sadly didn’t happen. We were woken by strong winds that hadn’t been forecast to start for a few more hours. Only one thing for it , stay in bed a while longer with our cuppas.

By the time we were up and dressed it was rainy too, should we stay put or battle with the elements to get to a better view. An easy decision, stay put. The storm that we’d hunkered down for a few days ago was nothing compared to today. The winds were far stronger throwing rain at the starboard side for much of the day.

A walk to see if we could find some milk took us out for a short while in between downpours. There is a Co-Op about a mile away in the village, but we decided to see if the shop at the pub had any first. At The Wharf Inn they have a launderette with large machines and then if you go into the pub at the rear there is a small shop. They stock pasta, rice, pop, cleaning things, fire lighters all none perishable goods. If we were stuck I’d have been able to put a reasonable meal together from their supplies. But did they have milk? A lady came through from the bar and went into the kitchen to get us a litre bottle. This will see us through to a big shop at the weekend, hopefully.

Having the milk there was no need to walk down to the village, an explore for a finer day. We scurried back to the warmth of Oleanna instead.

Tilly wasn’t that impressed by the day. Her first look out the back brought on her morning snooze, not stirring for a couple of hours. Then she sat at the back doors waiting to be let out, only to disappear off the back and re-appear at the side hatch a matter of seconds later hoping to be let back in. A few Dreamies and then she’d be asking to go out again. This got quite tedious and the thought of a cat flap was appealing.

Whilst watching an Australian film I made another loaf of bread for Mick. This time I had the oven turned down a touch, but the top of the loaf still came out a good sort of brown! In the evening we watched the first two episodes of Luther, several years behind I know. But with every episode on demand at the moment we will try to catch up to be able to watch the new series which starts New Years Day.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 litre milk, 1 dark brown loaf, 1 pair socks finished, 2nd pair started, 2 Luthers, 1 resigned cat who would far prefer to be sprinkling glitter at the top of the BT Tower!

Pre-Christmas Family Christmas. 7th to 10th December

Castle Quays to Sovereign Wharf

On Friday after breakfast we moved Oleanna the great distance of 0.16 miles up to Sovereign Wharf. Planning a weekend away we’d booked her in for a few days so that we could leave her plugged in to the electricity and not have to turn the fridge and freezer off, there’s still a lot of fish pie mix to be eaten!

As we set off a C&RT man was walking down the towpath and he announced to us that the way ahead was now open. The dams had been removed and he soon returned with the Canal Closed sign from the lock. Think he was a little bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be going that far, we were also a bit disappointed not to be the first boat through.

Sovereign Wharf is only open on Fridays, so it was a good job we were turning up then. We’d already been informed of our mooring which was right outside the office so made to pull in. The gap to us looked a touch too short and after pulling the bow in our suspicions were confirmed. Ian the chap from the wharf had come out to welcome us and quickly checked for space up ahead of us, there was none, and then went to the boat behind asking if he could nudge them backwards. With another 18inches we slid in sideways, fender to fender, a nice snug fit. Once we’d paid, been given a key to the gate and checked about a couple of deliveries we were hoping for we plugged Oleanna into the electric to get the batteries up to full power. The electric kettle could now be used and so could our Alde boiler for heating, without using any gas.

At round 2.30pm NB Dusty pulled up alongside us. They had just been a few boats behind us in the morning, but they seemed to be having a good chat with everyone so it had taken quite a time to reach us. A small top up of diesel, a new gas bottle and some more coal. This was going to be the last time we’d see them and we wanted to be stocked up to keep warm over the next few weeks.

The stove was left to burn itself out and the boiler took over the heating. Our plan was to leave the boiler on to keep Oleanna at a reasonable temperature whilst we were way, so that we wouldn’t get complaints from the feline one. However the post we were plugged into kept tripping out. A few resets and some adjustments to settings on the inverter were done and we hoped that the post would stop tripping out.

A sudden sharp hail storm covered the ground before we were ready to leave, luckily stopping in time for our walk to the station. One big bag and a shopping bag did us for the way to London, clothes, presents and a couple of bottles of wine. Our train tickets had been a bargain, but we should have thought a bit more about the time we were heading into London on a Friday evening. The train was rammed, standing room only as was most of the tube journey from Marylebone to Bethnel Green. The final leg on the bus wasn’t too bad, but it was nice to have room again as we walked around the corner to my brothers.

There was a fire lit, Christmas tree was up with loads of presents under it, a very festive house. We enjoyed a lovely meal catching up on all the news.

Saturday we spent preparing for the afternoon, when we were joined by three of Mick’s four sisters. Sadly Anne lives a touch too far away for her to have joined us for the evening. Thank you very much to Andrew and Jac for offering to have a get together at their house, it did mean there was plenty of good food to go round (Andrew inherited a bit more of my Mums genes than I did, he also has a bigger cooker).

Lots of presents were exchanged, much wine and salmon consumed and a lot of conversation. Sadly we were all to busy to get a group photo of everyone and the time for Marion and John to leave to catch a train back south caught up with us too soon. A very lovely evening with both our families together.

Sunday was a far more leisurely day. No visitors, time to read the weekends papers and be sat on by Finn and Ziggy, who both seemed to enjoy having new knees to sit on. After a lazy breakfast and returning tables back to where they’d come from Mick and I headed out for a walk across Victoria Park. The last few days I’d been suffering from a twinging calf muscle and by the time we nearly reached the other side of the park it was reminding me I should be taking it easy! However the lure of the Hertford Union Canal was strong, so I hobbled onwards so that we could have a look to see if any boats were on the move.

Over looking the canal by the top lock (one gate left open) there was a boat waiting it’s turn at the next lock as it was being set for one to come up. We loitered for a while, but everything was taking quite a time and it was a touch too chilly to loiter for long. So we slowly walked back across the park between numerous football matches as the sun elongated our shadows across the grass.

This morning we were up in time to say Goodbye to Josh, the first to leave the house this morning. He was heading to school to start on a week of exams, I’m sure we didn’t have exams when I was 12!

Then we had to try to find means of carrying everything back to Banbury and Oleanna. Our siblings have been very generous with presents and we also had a few months worth of post along with a couple of large parcels of our own. I was very glad I’d thought to pop in an Ikea bag, as we left with a very full wheeled holdall, a brimming Ikea bag and another carrier with all our swag. Mick had studied our routes to Marylebone last night trying to find the one with the least amount of walking due to our luggage and my leg. In the end we had a lift from my brother to a bus stop where we caught the No 30 to Baker Street, from where we walked round the corner to the station. We’d allowed plenty of time and managed to get seats all the way back to Banbury where we caught a taxi back to the Wharf.

So they left me. For days and days and days and weeks! They have never left me this long before. My magic food bowl worked very well and provided me with tasty morsels.

But they were away sooo long that I had to eat the bits I’d left in case they never returned. The smell of fresh baking and Hot Cross Buns didn’t help from next door! Along with the lack of food and no shore leave (within the sight of trees and good looking things to climb) they left me with NO heating! They said it would be 18C whilst they were away. It was for about an hour, then it stopped. Good job it isn’t like it was this time last year otherwise they’d have returned to an icicle of a cat! The boiler tried to turn on a couple of times, but that was all, it didn’t succeed. So I was left for a life time in the cold with limited food supplies whilst they were stroking other cats in that London place.

When they came back today I was really pleased that I was given an extra dingding and they put the heating on, but this took ages so I had to sit in a box until it got warm.. Tom swept the chimney and then lit the stove, so it is now getting warm again. I have commandeered the end of the sofa nearest the stove to make up for it, if they think I’m moving then they’ve got another think coming! Well until they give me some more dingding, then I might just move.

The electric post had tripped out again fairly soon after we’d left. The gizmo Mick added to the electrics cupboard means that we can check to see what power is being used and what state the batteries are in from afar. On Saturday Mick asked a chap on a neighbouring boat if he could turn the power back on for us, this he did. But we suspect that our boiler was wanting a bit more power than the post could provide each time it wanted to fire up, so it tripped again almost straight away. This meant there was no point in getting it switched back on again, we just hoped Tilly would survive, she has a fur coat after all.

0 locks, 0.16 miles, 1 tight squeeze, 1 nudge up, 4 bags coal, 30 litres diesel, 1 gas bottle, 1 empty wee tank, 1 Christmas rose, 2 bottles wine, 4 years, £22 return for both of us, 1 train, 2 tubes, 3 London Leckenbys, 1 fire, 18C more like 5C, 2 warm cats, 3 nights on a sofa bed, 3 nights in the freezing cold, 2 salmon, 600grms sugar, 7 egg whites, 1 wreath, 1 helper, 3 sisters, 10 for dinner, 1 very jolly lovely evening, 1 lazy morning, 1 walk in the park, Back to the Future 2, 1 blue bag not enough for lots of presents, 1 lift, 30 Bus, 1 slow walk, 40 minutes early, 1 train, 1 cab, 1 cold boat and cat, 0 food left, 4 chilly paws now defrosted and hogging the fire, 30%, 1st load of washing in the machine.

https://goo.gl/maps/Bweof8hybgK2

Sneaky Rain. 1st December

Belchers Bridge to Above King Sutton Lock

Needing water soon we need to keep moving towards Banbury. Yes we could have pulled in at Aynho Wharf but with little need for anything they could sell us it would have felt rude to stop, hog their service point and fill up the tank. So the next tap is Banbury.

We got ourselves ready and went out to roll up the covers, aiming for King Sutton Lock or there abouts today. As I unzipped the cratch and stood on the gunnel to roll it back everything was just that bit damp. It was that sneaky rain. If you look out of the corner of your eye you’ll catch it, hanging around in the air waiting for someone to land on. This is the sort of rain that gets you really wet when you’re not looking. We both looked at each other and decided to put off pushing off for an hour, hoping we’d be able to fool the weather.

My completed knitted orders were wrapped and made ready for posting. Back at the wharf there is a post box, but one that looked like it only really liked letters or postcards being fed to it. I could have walked back there to see if my parcels would squidge in but that would mean printing off postage labels and if they didn’t fit then I wouldn’t be able to post them til Monday (you only get til the end of the following day to post things when buying on line)therefore having to pay again. So instead we pottered away the morning, opening up the galley window every now and again to see if the sneaky rain was still there.

Mick had suggested that this mooring would be ‘surprisingly quiet’ considering there are numerous railway lines close by, three in fact. It was quiet considering two were within sight, one above the other, the third one lying behind the other two. Trains still came and went though so a more peaceful mooring was required for tonight. In the end we had our lunch before setting off and luckily the rain had got bored and moved on shortly after we pushed off.

I checked the river level before we filled up the foot of water at Aynho Weir Lock, still in the green. At Nells Bridge Lock the level is important as there is a bridge just before the bottom gates. Here a coloured level marker tells you whether to proceed or not. Above this is also a height gauge, for those who want to chance it.

Passing The Pig Place there was space on the towpath to moor, but their normal visitor moorings have now become winter moorings. NB Tungsten was tied up close to the coal stocks, no going cold there over winter. All the sofas have been removed, along with the caravan that was a bar, suspect there’s little call for alfresco drinking mid winter.

A chap moored on the towpath warned us about bridge 182. The shackles that hold the bridge in the upright position were no longer holding, so he’d had to open the bridge and secure it using one of his mooring spikes pinned through the chain. He said to check the spike was still holding before we went through. As we approached we couldn’t see his spike, but the chain was certainly holding on, so we cruised through in one piece.

Kings Sutton Lock looked full, so I went up to empty it, only to find it full of boat! An unusual sight at the moment. They were just about up and were going to pull in just after the lock as their engine was playing up. Once the top gate was closed I set the lock for us. The sun was just at that wonderful level where it turns things golden, the lock cottage was getting a good dousing of such light.

The wall along the side of the house was being rebuilt when Mick last came through. Today it looked almost finished, work lamps suggested there’d been a few late evenings trying to get it done and capped off before frosts arrive.

As we rose the boat ahead had moored up and it’s noisy dogs were being allowed out one at a time to do the necessaries. All different shapes, colours and sizes their five dogs certainly wanted to be heard! We cruised onwards past them to find a more peaceful mooring, just nicely within ear shot and view of the M40!

3 locks, 3.02 miles, 0 sofas, 2 moving boats, 1 spike held bridge, 1 new wall, 5 woofers, 2nd noisy mooring in a row, 0 Saturday newspaper.

https://goo.gl/maps/HfviYDRWBmn

Is That A Badger? 28th November

Somerton Meadows

This morning Mick stopped in his tracks looking out of the galley window and said ‘Is that a badger?’. I looked, it was a suitable size, but the markings didn’t look quite right, it was a touch too brown. Whatever it was was having a good rootle around, hopefully Tilly was alright. Then the creatures head popped up from behind the grass. Not a badger at all, just a German Shorthaired Pointer (I think).

oday we have spent much of the day avoiding the wind and rain. The forecast had suggested that it would be worse than it seemed, but we still hunkered down. Tilly has spent much of the day coming and going, bringing more and more mud indoors and demanding Dreamies on each visit. Well I was told 6 hours and that she wanted to see me at least six times. So I made sure I came home six times in the first hour to get ‘Thank you for coming home’ Dreamies, then I could go off for a long time. Although I’m a little bit concerned as I could see the bottom of the Dreamie pot! Does this mean that my trips into the great outside will end when the pot is empty?! Maybe I’ll stay in for a while and save the last few.

Arrangements with the London Leckenbys for a family Christmas get together were sorted and some Christmas shopping done via the internet.

I then added some decorations for sale to my Etsy shop, yes I know it’s not yet December.

I’m working my way through my orders for knitted things much quicker than I thought, so if you’d like anything making, get in touch.

Some Parsnip and Apple soup was put on the stove to cook away this morning. It was very tasty for lunch and will be for a couple more days too. Then this afternoon I got round to trying out my friends recipe for Beetroot Brownies. I altered the recipe to use gluten free flour and as we don’t have a microwave I cooked the beetroot on the stove for about 40 minutes until they were tender. This however meant I had to let them cool down before I could peel them, so they didn’t melt the chocolate as suggested in the recipe. But my zuzzer certainly chopped everything up and the end result was very tasty indeed. So we now have pudding to last us a few days.

Thoughts turned to next year and where we plan to cruise. We are undecided at the moment. The River Nene followed by the Middle Levels. Or The Kennet and Avon and the Thames up to Lechlade. Both options would mean a lot of new water for all of us and a gold licence.

When we bought Lillian (NB Lillyanne) we picked her up from Woodford Riverside Marina on the Nene. Her Environment Agency Licence had just expired so we felt under pressure to reach C&RT waters, we also only had a week to move her before having to be back at work. On a Saturday in April 2014 we sailed her away from what had been her home and cruised all the day light hours we could to reach Crick Marina. This experience of the Nene wasn’t the best, even though it was very exciting to be moving our first very own narrowboat. Finding moorings was hard with the limited info we had on hand, especially as we were pushing day light hours, the occasional lock landing did get tied to!

So to help us make our minds up which way to head we sat down to watch a DVD that we’d got from Paul, the Waterway Routes DVD of The River Nene. The popular footage DVD picks out highlights of the route from the bottom of the Northampton flight all the way through Peterborough and to the Dog in Doublet Lock. With commentary by Paul it is much like a TV programme, reminiscent of railway journeys. We also had a copy of the Bowcam version. This is a speeded up view of the whole journey. If you enjoyed the All Aboard! Canal Trip of the Kennet and Avon shown on BBC 4 a few years ago, this is very similar, just a lot quicker! Our DVD player can also do double speed with sound, this was very very amusing, the crew working exceptionally hard to get through all the locks.

We enjoyed watching the route we’d done on Lillian and paused the footage when the boat passed Woodford Riverside, only a glimpse on a bend. Certainly we think the river would be worth another visit, the churches look very picturesque standing high above the river. We’d be able to take our time, have much better maps, know about the Friends of the River Nene and their moorings and Sue from No Problem has also done a guide. But which way we go next summer is still undecided.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 bridges, 1 storm, 0 badgers, 2 dogs, 1 C&RT boat, 1 boat seeking shelter, 6 portions of soup, 8 puddings worth of brownies (4 each that is), 1 wrist warmer nearing completion, 1 boat roof cleared, 1 stormy night ahead.

Perfect Or Bad Timing. 27th November

Muddy Slipper to Somerton Meadow

We were up at normal time and wanting to be making a move. Somerton Meadows was only two and a half hours away according to Waterways Routes and that is where we wanted to be able to hunker down for the strong winds and rain that were going to arrive this afternoon. Our aim was to reach there before lunchtime and be all settled before the elements took over.

Coming into Lower Heyford we decided that we’d give over a proportion of our lives and fill with water. Slowing past the moored boats we could see a boat coming through the bridge towards us, an unusual sight at the moment. It soon became obvious that it was NB Dusty the local coal boat, Katy Jock and Billy were all at the back having a chat to someone waiting for us to clear the way ahead for them. It looked like they were stocked up with coal, hopefully diesel too.

Stoppages on the Oxford have meant that they haven’t been able to do their normal runs down to Oxford and up to Fenny Compton for a few weeks. But they had decided to do a mini run to stock up boats in between the stoppages near their home mooring. They were just making their way back from Aynho where they’d stocked up, perfect timing for us. They had diesel and were happy to pull over to fill our tank having a chat as it filled. If we’d have thought about it we’d have pulled up closer to the water point and got the tap dribbling into Oleanna’s tank whilst we did this, but hey.

As they pulled away from us it started to rain, only a drizzly bit, but this wasn’t meant to happen until 2pm! We pulled forward and started the tap, Mick walked up to the recycling bins and then onto the shop at the hire base to see if they had some eggs. We hadn’t calculated how many we’d need for kedgeree and a spot of baking. Luckily Mick returned with some so I can try out a Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil recipe I’ve been wanting to have a go at for sometime, photos tomorrow if it turns out well.

By now the rain had started in earnest, but being very close to the railway we decided to get wet and push on to Somerton. Both a bit soggy around the edges we worked our way through the lift bridge and up two more locks, pausing to close the offside cratch cover in the last one. I then left Mick to battle on whilst I went inside to heat up some soup for lunch. By 13:40 we were pulling in at the meadows, the rain (which started early) now being joined by the gusting wind. Luckily this helped push Oleanna into the side, easing mooring.

The remainder of the day we hunkered down listening to the gales and sideways rain as Tilly made the most of being allowed out, returning to leave her muddy paw prints over everything!

3 locks, 4.77 miles, 1 boat moving, 6 bags excell, 90 litres diesel, 1 full tank, 6 eggs, 2 early to rain, spot on to moor, 1 blustery soggy day, 0 cows that way, 0 cow the other way, 4 muddy paws.

https://goo.gl/maps/1AiDxet7SMs

Here’s one I Poohed In Yesterday. 24th November

Caution This Is A Toilet Post!

Thrupp

Today we have been on a bus trip. The S4 picked us up from Thrupp Turn, a short walk away, winding it’s way around villagers taking us to Banbury. I picked up a parcel from the Post Office, more wool and handed over another with finished woolly things inside. M&S supplied us with lunch before we headed to Tooleys Boatyard.

Kate Saffin and Colin Ives were running a workshop on composting toilets this afternoon. Recently on a facebook group Composting Toilets for Boats and Off-Grid Living Mick had made a comment about the installation of our set up. We have a Separett Villa which doesn’t come with a collection tank for your yellow water, we had one built in under the floor and have a pump to empty it. Kate asked if Mick could write something to add to the files on the groups page and then invited us to join in at the workshop. As it was a free event we decided to go along and see if we could learn anymore about waterless toilets.

Kate Saffin (Alarum Theatre Company and doyen of waterless toilets) talked everyone through the basics of how a composting toilet works. The name ‘Composting Toilet’ is a bit of a misnomer. In the early days of boaters buying into this type of toilet the companies selling them suggested that the contents would compost, some saying within 6 weeks, the contents of the solids buckets could then be used as compost. This was never the case. If you are a vegan your deposits might be composted down after 4-6 months, a meat eater 12 months. No matter what diet you have all the bugs in the solids will have died off within 100 days.

We were talked through the differing types of waterless toilets, how people tend to use them. Kate had brought with her her three buckets. A single lady living on her own she tends to have a bucket in use, one stored away doing its secondary composting and a third either empty waiting to be used or fully composted down ready to be returned to the earth. Today she showed us a new bucket which she was preparing for use (wood cat litter pellets are her preferred base layer), a bucket that had been on her roof doing it’s stuff about eight months old and her third bucket which she had finished using yesterday. My out of focus photo is of her 8 month bucket and the one she’d been using for the last four months. The photo isn’t out of focus due to aroma as there was absolutely none.

Conversations were had about what cover to use in your buckets, whether to leave toilet paper in the mix, any concerns about being on medication, just about every question you could possibly think of was covered by the workshop.

Colin of Kildwick and The Little House Company started about four years ago, building himself and family a composting toilet to use on their boat. A family of four quickly filled up their cassette toilet and walking up a steep hill to the elsan was becoming a very regular thing. Colin designed and built his first toilet and then looked at how to improve it with a better separator etc. Other boaters asked if he’d make them one too. Over the years Kildwick has expanded and now they have difficulty keeping up with the demand. The Little House Company are now the UK stockists for Separett Toilets.

There were several of Colin’s toilets to have a look at, including one with, what has become known as, a glitter shitter. This is a separator that is glittered and has become very popular. I think that if we’d been aware of Kildwick when Oleanna was being built we’d most probably have gone with one of their toilets. Having said that we are very happy with our toilet and would never go back to a pump out. Having been in a house for almost a month doing panto, I was appalled at the amount of water being wasted every time I flushed.

We were already converts and our approach is very standard. However we seem to fill our solids bucket a little bit too quickly. Colin and Kate recon that we might be using a bit too much cover material, so we will try a bit less in future. We’d also been wanting to see options that people use for the secondary composting stage on boats. If we had a home mooring we’d be able to carry on the composting process on land, but we don’t. We came away with a few more ideas which need thinking about a touch more before we go for it. A very interesting afternoon.

By the time we got back to the boat we wanted something to eat so headed over to The Boat. The menu seemed to have changed since we last visited, but the chips were still not as good as they could be and most of our food wasn’t that hot. I say most, as my BBQ chicken bacon and cheese pot was bubbling away, but our peas were decidedly cold. Next time we’re in Thrupp we’ll try the Jolly Boatman instead.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 2 parcels exchanged, 3 balls of yarn, 2 jacket potatoes, 2 cups of tea, 1st visit to Tooleys, 2 poo experts, 3 toilets, 3 buckets, 8 months old pooh, 4 months old pooh, yesterdays pooh, 1 glitter shitter, 1 gammon, 1 cheese pot, 1 pint, 1 glass wine, 1 very very very very bored cat!

So Close, Yet Miles Away. 23rd November

Kidlington Green Lock to Thrupp

We’d hoped to be able to find a handy sneak through to the main road in Kidlington by the lock. A big Sainsburys sits within half a mile (as the crow flies) from our mooring and we’d hoped to be able to do a big shop as well as have transport links. Mick had a walk around and could only find paths that led to locked gates from the lock. Following the canal northwards you can cross at Yarnton Road Bridge and then wiggle your way around the houses. This route however was more than a mile and a half away, not close enough for a big shop. So we decided to move on.

The two work boats moored in front of us were on the move this morning, heading down to Dukes Lock to start work on Monday. We moved off ourselves after our breakfast and made our way up the lock. Not far to Thrupp today where we hoped there would be space for us between the permanent moorings and the winter moorers.

Up high in a tree sat a bird of prey quite well hidden by it’s nest, it’s squawking gave away it’s location as we passed. Not sure what it was, maybe a Red Kite.

After Roundham Lock we pulled in near the water point at Langford Lane so that I could head up to the handy Co-op for a few bits and bobs. Then we carried onwards to Thrupp. A gap was waiting for us ideally positioned opposite a house for sale. This would mean we could get a delivery and spent much of the rest of the day thinking of things we wanted to buy. Possibly the biggest shop we’ve done, but then prices have gone up since we first started shopping this way and it is very convenient. Over the next week we will only see the occasional place to buy the odd thing, so we needed to stock up.

During the afternoon and evening I spent what felt like a life time weaving in ends and sewing seams on a large order of knitted items destined for foreign climes. I’ve been working on this order for ages but tomorrow we’d be near a post office and it really needed to be on it’s way. Another episode of Inspector Morse helped while away the time.

2 locks, 2.25 miles, 1 noisy bird, 2 bananas, 1 head brocolli, £4.62 spent on Black Friday, 2 ears, 1 ideal mooring, 6 boxes ordered, 6 pairs completed, 132 ends, 1 Morse, 0 shore leave!

https://goo.gl/maps/bMJPhwnshvB2

Through Dukes. 22nd November

Aristotle Bridge to Kidlington Green Lock

Someone last night seemed to have moved a street light! I woke up several times with the chink in the curtains glaring light down on my head. The someone was Tilly, having a good old peer out of the window as the almost full moon came into view and took it’s time to move across the sky. No matter how many times we ask Tilly to close the curtains when she’s finished she just ignores us!

We woke to quite a frost and the first thing to do was to hunt out the padded trousers from under the bed. With extra layers on and a bowl of porridge each in our tummies we were ready to push off. The canal was so clear you could see right to the bottom, all those leaves settling down there amongst the bikes.

Another load of washing was done before we reached the first water point where we stopped and filled the tank, emptied the yellow water tank and disposed of the contents of our bin, box and bucket, all of them. With everything empty or full we were ready again. I decided to walk on ahead, as some thoughtful person hadn’t picked up after their furry friend. This meant I could set the next lock and bridges ahead.

Today it would be two locks and three lift bridges, the locks would be easy, but the bridges?

There is a chap who seems to always be hanging around the first of the bridges. He most probably loiters for some conversation with passing boaters, not many of them around at the moment. Today he watched me unlock the bridge and then haul it up to sit on the beam. On closing it he said it looked like the lock was on it’s way out again, then asked how far we were heading. Our plan was to reach Kidlington Green today, ‘Well you won’t be going much further!’ said the voice of doom. I enquired why. ‘Well Shipton Weir Lock is closed, and will be for a while yet’. We were aware of the closure for works and had been planning our cruising accordingly. However yesterday we had a notice come through from C&RT saying that they were pleased to inform us that the lock had opened two days earlier than planned. Somewhere along the line we’d missed them moving the opening date by a week to accommodate works at Dukes Lock, never mind the two days! So I could inform Mr Doom and Gloom that the way ahead was actually open for us all the way to Banbury. His reply was that they’d be putting the licence fee up now! Jolly soul.

The next bridge was the hard one Wolvercote Lift Bridge. Walking towards it there seemed to be a cyclist loitering, maybe I could enlist his help, but he moved onwards before I got within ear shot. When last I came through here there had been a long chain added to the off side beams, this should help me pull the beam down. Except the chain was no longer there! Would I be able to manage? I was certainly going to give it a go.

I hooked my hands over the furthest part of the beam that I could reach, ‘Give me a leaver and a fulcrum and I’ll move the world’ (F. Matthews), going through my head. The beam started to come down, but I knew I’d have difficulty changing my grip to get my weight above it. So I changed tactic, I walked my hands along the beam to increase my advantage over the weight, as it came lower I moved along and along until I was in a suitable position to change my grip. I quickly sat on the beam, Success!!!

Dukes Lock was full and a boat was sitting in Dukes Cut Lock facing the canal. The chap on board spotted me as I walked past to set the lock for us, he didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Dukes Lock closes on Monday for an emergency closure so we were glad to be through it. The next pound was a touch low, possibly to do with the badly leaking top cill at the lock, but we managed to make our way with one more lift bridge to open before we’d reach our destination for the day.

Up ahead a Kingfisher showed us the way through the mist that now surrounded us. As we approached Kidlington Green lock it look like we’d be joining other moored boats. As we got closer we could see that it was actually two C&RT work boats, most probably heading from Shipton Weir to Dukes Lock. We pulled in, the second attempt getting us close to the side. My fields here have green tufts in them. I’m not sure whether they needed any digging, but I did some just in case the farmer hadn’t done enough. I have to say my towels on the boat are not as white as they once were, must have a word with the crew about that!

2 locks, 3.42 miles, 3 lift bridges, 1 straight, 1 mass of net, 1 Matthews mantra, 1 chilly day, 1 field well and truly tillied, 2 brown towels once white!

https://goo.gl/maps/amtGKdD1uD62

Bugs, Bees and Bones. 21st November

Aristotle Bridge

The weather wasn’t conducive for a return visit to Blenheim today, we’d only be allowed into the park anyway as Christmas displays were being installed. So instead we decided to head back to the Natural History Museum we’d only glanced at yesterday. The walk there was bloomin’ chilly and we were glad of the small amount of heat once inside.

We suspect the museum has been updated from it’s original Victorian self. Here is where in 1860 representatives of both the church and science debated the subject of evolution. Stone carved scientists look down on the exhibits and those viewing them, making sure all is in order.

There are still display cases of insects, birds etc, but the contents have been modernised. The large displays, dinosaur skeletons and other bones sit in the main aisles on the ground floor with stuffed birds and fossils on display around them.

On the first floor there are displays of insects and bugs.

Here a Bacteria exhibition gets you to match the good with the bad and see which ones would win in your gut. An artist took everyday objects and pressed them onto petri dishes to see what bacteria would grow. From these she has then crocheted in minute detail the results. It took a while for me to realise that they were made up of the tiniest of stitches, it’s amazing what a pretty result a plastic unicorn gave.

Also on the first floor is a bee hive. Not your normal type, but one built for display. A large glazed area means that you can see straight into the hive. Today those bees near the top, seemed (we hope) to be asleep. But those nearer the bottom and the outside world were more active, a constant movement from these could be seen, enough to make you back squirm. The display case sits on top of a perspex tunnel that leads to the outside world where they plan to add a roof top garden for the bees. Through the tube you can (on a normal warm day) watch the bees heading off and returning with pollen on their hind legs.

Other living displays sit in glass cases around the gallery. Stick insects and spiders, although one spider did seem very absent. Tilly would have liked this floor, but I suspect these spiders would have fought harder than the normal eight legged friends she finds!

Several things stood out from the collection.

An Argonauta nodosa shell collected in 1786 was stunning. It is the shell of a pelagic octopus and must have been about 10 cm long. Isn’t nature amazing when it produces something so beautiful.

Butterflies with their incredible markings.

Dragonflies that have lost their colouring through the centuries and one for Tilly, Mayflies Yo-yo flies!

We’d maybe seen the more interesting bits yesterday, but the building kept giving more angles to view itself.

The individual pillars of British stone continue upstairs, these originally cost £5 to have made. It was hard to choose which was our favourite and astounding that so many similar stones in name could look so different.

We had arrived later in the day, so as the sun started to set the lights inside brought out new details and emphasised the soaring arches above our heads. The building was upstaging all of the exhibits.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 bridges, 2nd visit, 1 guided tour of Pitt Rivers, 2 many words, 45367 bees, 128 rocks, 192 capitals, £5 each in 1850, 0 Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula, 1 freezing day, 3% of Antarctic glacier ice is made from Penguin urine!

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna