Kate, Jake, Shaun & Steve arrived from Donington about lunchtime on Wednesday. We had a great afternoon lounging about in the sun drinking Spritz and eating picnic; this consisted of the home-made pies and pickles we had bought from the butcher's in Braunstone - if you have the chance, they are a must to get, absolutely delicious! The picnic gave us a chance to try out our parasol which has been sat on the roof of the boat since we set off at the beginning of May.
To make life better some kind chap from British Waterways cut the grass on the tow path so we had plenty of room without blocking folks' way as they walked by.
An added bonus of the day was Shaun's obsession with cleaning, which saw him lying on the roof of the boat cleaning the brass! Thanks Shaun!
In the evening we went to the Folly Inn for a few pints and a meal. I had the faggots because yesterday they had sold out and I had felt deprived. They were worth the wait! In fact everyone said how good the food was. The Folly Inn is definitely worth a stop, the beer is good, the food excellent, and the landlord is a bit eccentric, who could ask for more? After saying farewell to the troops we retired, happy, full, and tired.
Yesterday saw us head back (after a tricky little manoeuvre which required reversing TM back past half a dozen moored boats so we could spin around in the winding hole) to Napton Marina for a pump out as all the visitors over the last couple of days had had its toll on our poo tank. Then spin around again and up Napton Flight and on to Fenny Compton. All the locks except one were in our favour - who could have asked for more?
At Napton Top Lock we were surprised to see a herd of Buffalo grazing in the field next to the canal. Obviously Oxfordshire is famous for mozzarella!
In the evening we went to the Folly Inn for a few pints and a meal. I had the faggots because yesterday they had sold out and I had felt deprived. They were worth the wait! In fact everyone said how good the food was. The Folly Inn is definitely worth a stop, the beer is good, the food excellent, and the landlord is a bit eccentric, who could ask for more? After saying farewell to the troops we retired, happy, full, and tired.
Yesterday saw us head back (after a tricky little manoeuvre which required reversing TM back past half a dozen moored boats so we could spin around in the winding hole) to Napton Marina for a pump out as all the visitors over the last couple of days had had its toll on our poo tank. Then spin around again and up Napton Flight and on to Fenny Compton. All the locks except one were in our favour - who could have asked for more?
At Napton Top Lock we were surprised to see a herd of Buffalo grazing in the field next to the canal. Obviously Oxfordshire is famous for mozzarella!
The South Oxford canal is a
joy to travel on, it's very rural and very winding. From Napton top lock to
Fenny Compton we saw one farm, no tow path walkers and three boats. We stopped
in the middle of nowhere so that Spot (aka Kiera) could have a walk in a wood
by the canal and we finally arrived at Fenny Compton about 5pm (Jan Quote
"Where the hell are we, Fanny Craddock or something").
Just as the Met Office had predicted the weather turned for
the worst at about 3:30 so we were wet and tired and became very pi**ed off to
find that all the 48h and 14d moorings were occupied. Some of the boats on the
48h moorings looked like they had been there for weeks! We eventually moored on a long term mooring that we were
told had not been occupied all year, as the saying goes "what's good for
the goose is good for the gander", if you can't beat 'em join 'em.
Guess what!
We went to the Wharf Inn last night and had yet another
great meal. If you stop here you have to try the Steak and Stilton Pie with
mash, roast root veg and pickled cabbage -
Fantastic!
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