When we returned from a lovely evening in Oxford last night we wanted a good night's rest in readiness for today's stretch to Lechlade. However this wasn't to be, at about 11pm we heard some noise outside - roadworks! Thames Water were digging up the road right alongside where we were moored. Plenty of noisy machinery and men shouting above the noise in order to make themselves heard. The last I remember of it was someone using an angle grinder at about 3:30, thanks chaps!
It was raining when we got up, not what we needed considering we had to remove the canopy and lower the windscreen. It doesn't take long but it's not nice doing it in the rain.
By 9:00 we were underway and soon under Osney Bridge! There was plenty of clearance thank goodness.
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| Osney Bridge |
Soon after we arrived at Godstow Lock where the lock-keeper warned us about the next bridge, Godstow. It's not as low but has 2 narrow arches and it isn't perpendicular to the river so you have to go through at quite an angle. To make it more interesting today there was a floating pontoon with a digger on heading towards us and trying to get underneath, being pushed by a tug - it was too tall! By the time we arrived they'd given up and were heading back upstream.
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| Godstow Bridge |
We got through the skewed arch OK, then passed under the A34 and followed the pontoon/tug combo for a while until they waved us by ahead of Kings Lock. After Kings Lock we put the windscreen up and folded the canopy a bit tidier as we'd decided to leave it off now the rain had stopped.
Kings Lock was manned as was Eynsham. Pinkhill and Northmoor were on self-service though and both took as a while to get through - first one because the narrow-boaters ahead of us closed the gates as we approached even though there was plenty of room meaning we had to wait for a full cycle before we could pass through. The second delay was while we waited for the same narrowboat to catch up and come through the lock with us (they were very slow and we passed them between the locks). I couldn't just go through on my own knowing they weren't that far behind, if only everyone was so thoughtful.
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| Swinford Toll Bridge |
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| Pinkhill Lock |
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| Pinkhill Lock |
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| Newbridge |
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| Tadpole Bridge |
Shifford and Rushey Locks were both manned, then Radcot and Grafton were on self-service. Whoever went through Grafton ahead of us left it full, with the upstream gates and sluices open (supposed to be left empty with all gates and sluices closed), so this one also took us a bit longer to get through than it should have.
We realised we were pushing our luck a bit to get to Lechlade in daylight so just after 18:00 we were tied to the bank near Kelmscot Manor. After putting the wet canopy back up we made tea and crashed out, knackered!
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