Above Napton Lock 11 (Oxford Canal) – Tuesday 22nd September

Monday - There is no blog from yesterday as it was such a dreadful day and we didn’t do a thing :-(  I caught up with my blog reading (I’m up to date now) and played a lot of games on the internet!  Richard did do the stove top and chimney and they look really good but now the whole stove needs doing!  For us, as summer cruisers, this is a winter job.

Tuesday – A slightly better morning but it’s still raining from time to time.  Richard put his full wet weather gear on and we set off.  We had to call in to Wigrams as we had forgotten to pick up our spare boat keys on Sunday. 

I had thought that we would stop below the Napton flight for the night but the skipper had other ideas.  We was planning on getting water but as we rounded the bend both taps were occupied.  I suggested moving on and getting water at the top of the flight and even said that if we ran out of water it would be my fault!!  I was 99% sure we wouldn’t!

We dumped rubbish and toilet and I got milk from the Folly shop and then we set off up the flight.  We were following a hire boat with four Americans on who had no idea at all.  One person stood on the top gate directing the boat in (these are narrow locks!) and then once they were up they happily cruised away without shutting the top gates – extra work for me!  I had suggested stopping between locks 11 and 12 and as we got to 11 is started to rain, we pulled over and moored up and then it poured down – just in time :-)

(These two photos have been borrowed from the internet)

We are finding our pram cover so useful this year.  Richard has got the raising and lowering of it down to a fine art now.  We can hang our wet coats up in there, have the doors open when I am cooking (reverse layout with the kitchen at the stern) and Richard likes to sit up there with his book – all when it is pouring with rain outside!

I was reading a blog this afternoon where someone had said that there mobile broadband had run out and they didn’t understand why.  This was the second blog where I had read the same thing and it had happened to us at the end of July.  So what is going on I wonder?  Something must be running in the background that we don’t realise.  I have turned Skype off and the second blogger had too and it can’t be anything to do with Windows 10 as I upgraded after I had run out.  If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

6.22 miles

4 locks