We'd planned a relaxed start to the day, as our aims were very unambitious. We wanted to spend Christmas Eve in Cropredy, which was only a couple of hours away at most. We had considered going to Banbury before turning, but the very short days meant there wasn't really enough time. Even so, we were away from our moorings by 9.30.
The temperature had risen over night, and all the ice had melted. We'd soon dropped down the four locks, and were turning at the winding hole at Cropredy Wharf. We had to wait a few minutes for another boat to fill up with water, before we moved onto the water point.
While the tank was filling, I popped over the the Bridge Stores, to see if they had any coal. They did, although not the usual 25kg bags of Taybrite or Pureheat. The 10kg bags of smokeless fuel from what appeared to be a local coal merchant were also more expensive than usual. But, once we were using it, it seemed like good stuff, seeming to burn much more slowly than either of the more common brands.
Once the tank was full, we went back up Cropredy Lock, and moored just above it.
We were moored up by 12.30, and paid another visit to the shop for some provisions before lunch. Then in the afternoon, we went for a walk around the village and southwards along the canal. The village sign is surprisingly new, and was apparently put up to commemmorate two events which were two years apart, the millennium and the Queen's golden jubilee.
In the evening, we had a good meal at the Red Lion, before going to sleep to the sound of the church bells, which started ringing a good 45 minutes before the 11pm service.
2 miles, 5 locks (20, 22)
Posts
1 comment:
What a nice blog and a wonderfull narrowboat.
We live on an old ship called a luxe motor in Holland and we are now achorred on a lake The Braassemermeer.
It would be nice on the canals in England, but the size of our ship is'nt right.
You can have a look on our blog:
http://anthonetta.blogspot.com,
have a wonderfull new Year,
Carla
Post a Comment