The Thames

A cute spider

A bright but cool morning today, as we prepared to set off heading for Oxford.The spider above was found in the boat and was about 2 feet across. (I might have exaggerated a bit there!)

Our mooring in Thrupp

There were a few boats about but generally it was prettty quiet. We met one boat on a narrow section of canal, and in moving close to the bank to create enough space for it to pass, we went aground. It took quite a bit of time, heaving on poles and all standing on the side of the boat, to refloat Banjo.

Some cute sleepy ducklings

Dan opening a lift bridge

There are loads of lift bridges on the Oxford canal. On the northern section, most of these are left open, but as we got nearer to Oxford, they were generally closed. The bridges are finely balanced and can be opened by lifting the edge of the bridge. As it lifts, the centre of balance moves due to a clever gearing mechanism, and the bridge pulls itself open. To close, you pull on the chain, and the process reverses - simples!

Ducks pursuing the steady stream of bread being thrown from the back of Banjo

We reached the outskirts of Oxford, and stopped to re-fill with water and a spot of minnow catching. The last few miles of the Oxford canal are filled with permanently moored boats which makes for very slow progress. Finally we reached the southernmost end of the canal, and the lock onto the Thames. We negotiated this without incident and pulled out onto the Thames - in front of a trip boat full of tourists. We accelerated to a good 5mph and started looking for somewhere to moor. We found somewhere pretty quickly, just beyond Osney Bridge.

Kaitlyn surrounded by ducks and pidgeons

The mooring below Osney Bridge

An archer's view from the top of the castle

We decided to explore and headed into Oxford. We had a tour of the castle which was fun and included a climb to the top of the tower where we were rewarded with some great views over the city. Tomorrow we set off down the Thames where the large locks are operated by keepers - bliss for the lock crew!