Up the canal to Banbury, and a boat rescue!

It was a bright morning again when we had had breakfast, and so we were happy to set off in the dry to Banbury.  The boat was moored in an internet dead spot, so we had to hope that our original expectations of the weather as being only showery were met.  We did have the pleasure of conferring over breakfast about the cuckoo we had heard a little while before we had early morning tea! It must have been pretty close to the boat.

Much of canal was rural today, and it was quite a surprise to see these cows in the water.

They didn't seem to fussed to see us!  Looking at this picture that I took from further back, I thought there was a building on the skyline among the hedgerow trees, but enlarging the picture it is clear that they are just a few unleafed trees which look as though they ought to be a tower of some sort!

A very bucolic scene! 

We had to cross the Cherwell again today, and there was quite a lot of water passing over the weir, but it didn't have too much of an effect on the boat as we went along.

We had to do 5 locks today, but they were very spaced out with a few lifting bridges thrown in too. We passed several other boats at the locks, and at one, the boat driver explained that there was a service boat for CRT which had come unpinned at the back and was floating about the middle of the canal.  In due course we came up to it, and it was completely blocking the entrance to a place where a lifting bridge had once been.  

So we drove up to the boat and hooked our front rope over the back pin of the CRT vessel and then reversed our boat pulling the unattached end round. 

That pulled the boat back towards the side of the canal, and Chris was able to get aboard it and discover that there was a pin tied to a rope hanging in the water.  I expect a boat had gone by rather fast and pulled it out.  The ground was so soft, Chris barely needed the hammer to knock the pin into the soil.  It might not have lasted long, but we had at least done our bit.

These cows were in another field close to Banbury, and were very determined to get into the really soft wet bit near the canal. We moored up in Banbury at the same mooring we had used 10 days ago which felt very appropriately familiar.  We had a short explore, visiting the Museum again and then walking up to the Horse Fair and the main road that goes through Banbury.  No blog of Banbury would be complete without a photo of the Cross and the 'white horse' - in this case it's black!

Turning back towards the canal it was clear that there was a rather significant black cloud in front of us, so we walked purposefully back to the boat for a cup of tea.  We are now about to go and do a trip to Lidl which is the closest supermarket to here to buy necessary provisions! 

Tomorrow our guests and Chris are going to get some trains to take them back to Aldermaston and Kintbury on the Kennet and Avon Canal where the cars are located.  Then they will drive back here.  The trains are not working on Wednesday so Tuesday it has to be! Chris is then going to visit his brother and sister on Thursday to celebrate his brother's 70th in Hereford, so I shall have some time to do things in Banbury whilst he is away.  Then we will move the car to Northampton to be waiting for us when we get the boat back to the boatyard at Gayton! All very complicated, but part of the fun of planning trips like this!!