Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

THE LONDON - OXFORD RING : SUMMER 2000

Part 1 : week-ending

WEEKEND 17-18 JUNE

We'd left Felis Catus II at the Black Horse, Great Linford at the end of our last trip).
Click here for information about the boat.

Wendy and I came up from home by train and taxi, and were under way just after noon. A couple of hours later we stopped at Cosgrove sani station to dispose of rubbish, took on water & bought barbecue charcoal at the camp-site shop. N.B. the shop isn't licensed.

We had a good run on the long pound to the foot of Stoke Bruerne locks, and some novice partners (from Switzerland without much English) on a Canaltime boat up the flight . All the top gates were blowing open a lot, which annoyed the boat following us who thought we'd left them. To our surprise, we found a mooring at Stoke Bruerne just after 19:00, and were too tired out (it's been a very hot day) to go to the pub, or to eat a cooked meal.

DAY'S RUN : 11.1 miles 8 locks in 5 hr 54 min

We made an early start before 07:00 to catch the tunnel before the traffic. But visibility in the tunnel was still fairly poor. We stopped at the beginning of the straight before Whilton locks at 12:20 for a barbecue, then went up the locks with a boat from Napton with a couple of efficient Aussies at an early stage of their annual Summer in the UK on the boat.

We passed Norton Junction at 15:45. We'd hoped to moor here between trips, but all the moorings on the main line are 48-hour. We've subsequently heard that there are some 14-day ones on the Leicester line here. So we went on to Braunston, finding quite a bit of traffic in Braunston tunnel, and a queue for the locks. Barry Green's Lily Maud was here and I had a brief chat with him. We shared the locks with another Canaltime boat crewed by Americans - first-timers but learning fast., who stopped at the Nelson.

As we approached Braunston Stop, a large replica of a Braunston Tunnel tug insisted on backing out of the Marina and winding in front of us. We finally moored on the Oxford Canal a little way past Braunston Turn, just before the road bridge, cleared up and walked to the Boatman to get a taxi to the station. The pub was busy, noisy, plastic and not very attractive. Then we had train problems on the way back home!

DAY'S RUN : 20.8 miles, 13 locks in 10 hr 46 min
WEEKEND TOTAL : 31.9 miles, 21 locks in 16 hr 40 min

My next bit of boating was the BCN Marathon Challenge with Jeff Dennison on Coronation (see separate report).

Wendy & I rejoined Felis Catus II, coming up from home by train & taxi on a warm grey day with outbreaks of drizzle. We were under way by 11:15.

Our plan was to cruise the whole length of the Oxford Canal (so that I could photograph it for a talk I planned writing for my repertoire), then go onto the Thames, spend some time on the K&A before heading back towards London for the Three Mills Rally and the "National". For this first stage we had just a single day, and had planned to leave the boat at Ansty, under the eye of Jeff Dennison.

We stopped at Brownsover Wharf to chat with John Chard on Stokie and hear the latest about his differences with Ivor Batchelor. Soon after leaving John, we met Ivor and Mel on Mountbatten and Cedar (or was it Jellicoe by then?) coming the other way. Just after Newbold Tunnel we had a chat with Sean Neill on the towpath. He was getting Laplander ready for next weekend's Braunston show. Roger Murray was nearby doing the same for Monarch.

We were slowed a lot by moored boats and traffic at bridge'oles. Moored at 18:20 right next to the bridge at Ansty, on the 14-day moorings. Rang Jeff and he (a) drove Wendy to where she could by a Lottery ticket, (b) had a couple of drinks with us the Club and (c) drove us to Rugby (as there are no trains from Coventry station today because of engineering work).

DAY'S RUN : 18.4 miles, 3 locks in 6 hr 56 min

We came up again by train & taxi for a rather later start (11:38) than we'd hoped. Saw Jeff taking Josher for a walk and had a chat. This time we had a full weekend. It was slow running, meeting boats at all the tighter bridge'oles & bends.

We passed Hawkesbury junction and joined the Coventry Canal, heading for the Basin. The Coventry is deeper than the North Oxford, and although plastic bags & bottles are very much in evidence, it's a lot less mucky than we remember it being some years ago. Coventry Basin was our lunch stop at 14:38, and we set off again at 16:20, when Wendy did a 99-point turn in the basin, much inhibited by the wind, some canoeists and the man on the boat behind us. There was a nasty encounter with a bunch of kids (near Foleshill) throwing stones at boats & cyclists, then a pleasant encounter with another group of kids whose football we rescued from the reeds on the off side.

Hawkesbury junction was passed again at 18:12 and we re-joined the Oxford Canal. We decided on an early (18:35) stop at the Elephant & Castle at Tusses Bridge. We suspected a slight leak somewhere in the engine cooling system, so want to reach Napton Marina (or somewhere) for them to sort it out before our next trip. I tried the pub - very noisy but an excellent pint of Mild. Didn't seem to be doing food.

DAY'S RUN : 15.3 miles, 2 locks in 5 hr 15 min

The engine cooling water was about ½" down overnight, confirming a slow leak. Wendy started off at 05:28 while I was still getting dressed. A bit later I cooked breakfast which we ate on the move. The weather forecast was heavy weather followed by showers. So far the weather is grey with occasional drizzle.

By bridge 75 at 11:15 the engine boiled and cut out. A little difficulty getting to a decent bit of bank to moor, not helped by another boat whose person gave us all sorts of obvious advice, but didn't offer to take a rope, which would have helped. Eventually he moved off the one good piece of bank and we managed to tie up (after several attempts when passing boats uprooted the pins). It appeared that a cooling hose had given up the ghost.

We were under way again at 12:11, now under tow by Piscean Lady, to whom we gave the traditional bottle of wine. I 'phoned Braunston Marina who agreed to do the repair before our next trip in a couple of weeks.. Just before Braunston, Piscean Lady's dog went for an involuntary dip, but was got out without harm. It happened as he was exchanging rudery with another dog on the towpath. PL's dog had already hurled abuse at assorted sheep and cattle.

We were towed into Braunston Marina at 14:30 through the moorings for the Working Boat Show. Our tow dropped us by the service berth temporarily. I went to the office to see where they wanted us, then we poled round the corner (with a bit of help from Sadie Dean) to the mooring they'd given us outboard of Bruin.

Quite a lot of the Cutweb crowd were there - I saw Guy, Connie, Sean, Dave H, Drew & a few others, plus David Blagrove, Martin Jiggens and Rupert & Allison Smedley. The Beer Tent had run out of decent beer. By now it was raining very heavily. Tim Coghlan rang for a taxi to take us to the station, once we'd sorted out a list of repair jobs we want him to do.

DAY'S RUN : 21.7 miles, 3 locks in 8 hr 6 min
WEEKEND TOTAL : 37.0 miles, 5 locks in 13 hr 21 min

While we were away, all the engine hoses had been replaced & quite a few other things about the engine checked to see that the boiling hadn't damaged them. A new temperature gauge had been fitted. The boat had been moved to the far end of the Marina, almost level with the bottom lock.

We set off at 13:47. Wendy had difficulty backing to the entrance because of the cross-wind, and not being used to slightly different throttle settings. Through Braunston Turn, we headed into the Southern Oxford for the first time in 12 years. The low-revs judder we had been suffering from seemed to have been cured. I wondered how long it will last this time!

At 16:15 we paused at Napton Junction because the engine was running at about 90°. Then up Napton locks in procession, but with some boats coming towards us to help. Passed the time of day with Mike & Krystina Wooding on Draco at their mooring. Guy Morgan's Thorn was also there. We moored just past the top of Marston Doles at 18:53.

DAY'S RUN : 9.6 miles, 9 locks in 5hr 6 min

We set off at 9:35 and had a pleasant run, arriving at Fenny Compton Marina at 12:32, where we stopped for pump-out & some bits & pieces at the Chandlery. Had to wait a while to get to the pump-out point. Met Mike & Jacquie Cobb from Touch & Tell (whose boat we'd passed moored up a little way back). As local moorers they were able to tell us where the 14-day moorings at Cropredy were. The engine seemed to have settled to running at about 82°, which is OK.

Setting off again at 13:28, once again we were in a procession down the locks, but with a number of boats coming the other way to make things a bit easier (if not always as conveniently timed as things could have been. We reached Cropredy lock at 17:02 and found a space on the 14-day moorings a little above the lock and about 5 or 6 minutes walk from the bridge to the village. A quick pint of Hook Norton in the Red Lion, then we were off to Banbury station by taxi.

DAY'S RUN : 13.5 miles, 8 locks in 6 hr 31 min
WEEKEND TOTAL : 23.1 miles, 17 locks