Sunday 18th July

We set off this morning in cloud which continued most of the day. We went through two locks until we reached the winding (turning) hole just below Lower Heyford where we turned round. The whole point of our short trip up the South Oxford was to complete what is known as the Thames Ring. Last October we had gone north up the Grand Union from Bugbrooke and got as far down the South Oxford as Lower Heyford. To complete the ring we would have had to continue down to the Thames and then up the Grand Union back to Bugbrooke. But we can now say that we have done the Thames Ring albeit with 8 months in between!! We stopped for lunch where we had spent last night. There was a mother duck with her nine rather large babies so I gave them some bread – they all scrabbled for it as if they hadn’t eaten for a week while mother looked on. Sue had left some plums onboard so I cooked them and made a crumble top and then got the urge to make a cake and produced a rather nice (though I say it myself) coffee sponge!!!! We were aiming to get to Thrupp, which is a lovely canalside village, for the evening and managed to get the last space which was more or less right outside the Boat Inn so we had to go in and have a drink which then turned out to be a meal! Very good food but the pub itself really needs updating. Needless to say we didn’t have the plum crumble!

Millie got a bit too brave today and got off while we were waiting at a lock. The engine was still running and we were very surprised that she had braved it. However it didn’t last long as there were people around and she soon got back on. The days of hiding under a chair or under the duvet have now gone – she now sleeps on a chair and seems to pass out completely!