Actors and smells

Banbury smells! We noticed a strong smell, a sort of cross between roasting coffee and bad drains, as we approached Banbury last night, and the smell was still there this morning! A quick scan of the internet suggests that the smell is not unusual and stems from either a paint factory or a Kraft food factory - either way, we were not disappointed to leave it behind! We forgot to mention yesterday, that we passed a boat which was being driven by someone who looked just like actor Timothy West. It turns out that he and his wife, Prunella Scales, are keen narrowboaters from this part of the country, and so it probably was him, but alas we have no pic to prove it. Before we left Banbury, Kaitlyn did a spot of fishing and caught the above fish - no worries about tea tonight!

 Deep in thought

This morning's weather was rather like yesterday's - grey and cool with spots of rain falling. We set off, passed through a lift bridge and a lock in the centre of Banbury and headed out into the country. It stayed pretty cool but started to brighten up a bit and the rain clouds disappeared.

 Today's cute creature - a pedigree piglet

We came across a rare breed farm with a shop, so we stopped to explore. There were all manner of sheep, chickens, geese, ducks and lots of pigs. The one above had managed to get through a fence and then could not get back and was running up and down squeeling.

 A lock with a very narrow, low bridge on exit

Several of the locks on this stretch of canal are followed by bridges with tiny holes to take the boat through. The walls bear testimony in the form of deep scars, to just how small they are.

 The lock crew in action at Anyho Weir lock

 Anyho Weir Lock

This lock is a complicated affair - the River Cherwell joins the canal briefly, before falling over a weir which is immediately followed by a bridge and then the lock. The lock itself is an odd shape with narrow entrance and exit but is wide in the middle.

 Lunch stop and duck feeding

The weather finally improved in the early afternoon and got quite warm. Alas this didn't last long and the wind got up and it became quite cold.

By about 5pm, it was really chilly and starting to rain, so we decided to stop for the night as soon as we found somewhere with a decent bank to moor up against. We found a spot just before a lock, and tied up for the night. Two minutes later, a narrowboat thumped into us as it struggled to negotiate the bend in the wind - we untied and moved the boat a bit further away from the corner. In the end, we are moored in a lovely spot, and now it is dark, we cannot see a light in any direction - a little different from the centre of Banbury - and no smell!