Michael Tyler

And this is as far North as I go. On the Oxford canal during the course of my cruising year, unless I’m taking a trip further afield, the bottom lock on the Claydon flight is as far as I get.

It’s called Varney’s Lock.

There are pre-roman irrigation trenches in the field, some wild geese which honk (and bite people if you get too close). It’s open country-side and there is no noise. Nothing but the sound of nature and the odd passing boat.

The mobile signal has improved significantly since my last stop over some time ago, April 2023 it seems, looking at the previous post in my blog https://www.michaeltyler.co.uk/easter-in-cropredy/

Solar is reasonable. Parking is 2-3 minutes away. I have to put my walking boots on the walk across the field at the moment. The weather has remained inclement and the cows have meant that parts are muddy and not compatible with work footwear. It’s a small sacrifice.

Shroom-quest

I went looking for mushrooms yesterday. Here’s some I found whilst visiting houses in the Witney area. They were in a common grassed area in a residential cul-de-sac. Very quick to cook and release a mushroomy flavour. Buoyed by this freebie, I attempted to scout the fields for more yesterday. The wet weather has meant the streams are pretty full. You can see where they’ve actually been flooding out into the fields by the mounds of wet leaves they’ve deposited, randomly. The effect of the full streams meant it wasn’t possible to get where I wanted to go, around the edge of a wood, because it wasn’t possible to jump the stream. I’ll have to take a footpath up there rather than make my own way over.

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I’ve finally made it. This is the final northernmost part of my journey on this stretch of the Oxford canal.

Going any further than Varney’s lock, the next stop up, takes you up a flight of locks called Claydon Flight and into Warwickshire.

Above Claydon Flight

The communications are not good, little windey lanes, bad parking. Added to that, the mooring is poor until you get to Fenny Compton which is the first village in Warwickshire.

I don’t like Fenny Compton. It does have some positives, like a marina and pub. The 14 day mooring is often full, meaning you have to go out into the wilds to moor up. Fenny itself is the last stop before you get to Napton, which is a good 8-10 miles away. In between, there is virtually nothing, just fields and HS2. Lovely cruising country. I’m not cruising, I’m living day-to-day. Doing day-to-day stuff, and for that purposes, it’s pretty, and pretty impractical.

For this reason, I don’t go above Claydon as it’s simply a waste of time.

Suits me fine.

Prolonged stay in Banbury

There was a canal fare. I overstayed a little, just one week so I could hang around and go the fare which was staged over Saturday and Sunday 5/6th.

Ventured out in Banbury a few times to sample the nightlife entertainments. Went to this bar place called Ugly Face, or Baby Face, or Mug Face. The guy that owned it had started it with his family and grown it organically from a coffee shop into a bar. Always seemed to be people in there which is more than could be said for a lot of the other, brewery sponsored pubs in Banbury. Definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in town.

The weather

Whilst I was in Banbury was absolutely shocking. Where I’m located is up toward the top end as you’re driving out of town. It’s next to what they used to call the old Alcoa factory, a big employer in times gone by.

Mooring up here, you’re out of town and due to the proximity of the nature reserve and the relative quite of the grazing field on the left and the non-developed industrial land of the old Alcoa factory, it’s pretty quite. If I want to walk into town it might take around 20mins.

The Cherwell is also close and there is a small stream that runs through the woods that feeds it. During the rains, I took these pictures.

And here’s one on the exit stream to the reservoir.

As you can see, the area virtually turned into one big lagoon. And remained that way for some days.

The Cherwell had flooded the area to the South of Spiceball. Lidl carpark was under 4ft of water. Also, the water-point and elsan area.

Remember these people? Under the bridge? All their stuff got flooded. That area under the bridge where you can see them standing was under about 3 foot of water.

I guess all their gear got damaged or ruined. I feel pretty bad for them.

I don’t think I saw them again.

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