Very busy at Cropredy

We cleaned Derwent6 inside and out. It had a hover and yep the brasses got done! We then walked along to see how busy the village was getting. Well manic is the answer!

Where we are moored, boats keep coming and going so you could be lucky and grab a spot if you turned up at the right time.

We got as far as Broadmoor lock and then decided to walk back using the Cropredy circular footpath which takes you round the back of the stage area. It also takes you through the village of Williamscot and we did get covered in dust by this guy.

We got back 5 miles later to Derwent6 where we had some dinner before getting ready to go out again. We were meeting some friends from Sittingbourne in Kent, Phil and Marlene in the Brasenose at 8.30pm and managed to get there on time. They had a band called The Perfect which is a group of the Ex Pogues. Al manage to get on the mic again as the lead singer sat on her lap. We had another good night in good company and good music... We got back to Derwent6 at about 1.00am. God knows how we're going to keep this up.

A Good Music Day

We had a lazy day today and chilled as you do. Al walked down the shop and picked up a paper while Del tinkered with Derwent6. We played music for the best part of the day and waited for the evening. It has been a day full of showers and the weather didn't know what it wanted to do.We then walked to The Brasenose pub and waited for a new band "Feed Me" to come on. They took a bit of time setting up but Wow was it worth it.

One guy on the guitar looked only seventeen but could make the thing talk and the guy on the drums looked eighteen, who they called the Animal, but he looked and played like a early Roger Taylor from Queen..... And at one point three of them were all playing the bass guitar. Fantastic! Look out for these guys in the future, a really good night!

Only problem was, we forgot the torch again and had to walk home in the dark without spraining an ankle.

We must have needed it

We had one of those lay in's this morning you only dream of (we must have needed it). We didn't get up till 10.30am and ended up having brunch and not breakfast. The day just seemed to fly by because we had got up so late. We did have a walk along and had a look at how the stage was getting on for the Cropredy Festival next week. We then walked down to the pubs and had a look at the Fringe lists for the coming week. You can come to Cropredy and just watch the bands in the pubs. In the evening we just watched a bit of telly and ended up watching a film till 12.00pm which gave the batteries a battering.

We're in at Cropredy

We were up early this morning as we wanted to be first on the waterpoint at Banbury. We were up at 5.30am (yes 5 !!!!! something!) and we set off at 6.10am. We quietly got to the water point by 7.00am. We managed to fill to the brim and do a manual pumpout, but couldn't use Morrrison's due to the fact this massive store didn't open till 8.00am. With the lock in Banbury in our favour we went through town (missing the chimney on the lift bridge this time). We had a quiet run until we hit Slat lock where British Waterways were working on a broken sill. After a twenty minute wait they removed the wooden section of the sill and let us through with care.After talking to the BW men they said there were still a couple of moorings left before Cropredy but they were going fast, so the first one we saw we drifted into.It was right on the bend and we are bound to get clobbered but at least we were in. We managed to set the telly up and also got a good 3G signal.

We then went for a walk into the village and were amazed at how busy it was. There was a small gap in front of us but it was a bit shallow and then there were no moorings right into the village. Five boats were queuing for the water point. We went to the pubs and got their gig lists for the weekend and next week but more about that later. We then went to the village shop (which seems to sell everything) and picked up some more beers before we walked back to Derwent6. After a few beers and the early start it wasn't long before we were crashed out on the bed to catch up with sleep. We woke up at around 6.00pm and had some dinner before watching a DVD in the evening.

Quiet day in Banbury

We had not planned to move today and as we had showers we were glad we weren't. The plan was to walk into Banbury today, but the weather just got worse. The rain seemed to get more persistent and never cleared up till about 2.00pm. We then walked into town and got some things we needed like screws, brushes and white spirit. We also got cards, food and posted a few things. We got some lunch in town before we walked back to Derwent6. We didn't do much after that, bar running the engine and listening to some music. Considering the weather it's been a nice quiet day and it turned into a lovely evening!

To see a fine lady upon a white horse

We loved this mooring we had and couldn't decide whether to stay for the day or not....well it was not in the end as it looked another good cruising day.

We went through Aynho which was busy with boats getting water. This water point is not marked in the Nicholson's new guide book but it is now, well in ours anyway!!!!!!! We had to queue at most of the locks which is unusual due to the fact that the locks normally spread everyone out. It has been funny watching the hirer's out today and this was a example. We were holding to get on the lock moorings and when the boat in front went in the lock the boat behind moved his boat in the middle of the lock moorings so we still couldn't get in... it gave us a laugh!!! All the hire companies must be doing well this year and it is good to see the canals being used so much.

We carried on up through the lovey countryside of King's Sutton where we passed this lovely vegetable cart. We then went past Adderbury going under the lift bridges and low bridges on the way, without taking the chimney off, like we did last time. We moored in one of our favorite spots just before Banbury. The boat in front of us very kindly moved up to get us in. It has been very shallow all the way (well for us anyway) and we had some trouble mooring up without Derwent6 listing over to one side.

Heyford and beyond

After our restful day yesterday we moved on up through the tight twists and turns of the Oxford canal to Lower Heyford. It really is a beautiful canal and we are really enjoying being back on it. We managed to get on the water point after a twenty minute wait, but it gave us the chance to look around. The station here is right by the canal and the moorings are like rocking horse poo. We used the shop and got rid of our rubbish before moving off. We then passed Chas & Ann on n.b Moore2life and had a quick word as we passed. It was nice to see them. We moved on up through Upper Heyford and on to Somerton where we went through the 12 foot deep lock. Al seemed miles away from the bottom of the lock. When we got to the top we decided to stop at the marshes at Clifton. We had a lovely mooring overlooking just fields. We were going to get to Aynho but never made it... We relaxed in the evening and watched a bit of telly (for a change)

Sunday, a day of rest!

As we were listing over (as it was so shallow) and after a hectic week, we just moved up a lock and moored in the country where we could get a good TV signal. After giving Derwent6 a wipe over we settled down and watched the Grand Prix. We then just chilled for the rest of the day. It was nice to be back in the peace and quiet of the canals.

Crew pick up day

Thomas was going back home today so we found a spot up by the lock with a view over the golf course where there was a track to get a car down. We then waited for Thomas's mum and dad who turned up about 1.00pm. Cliff and Louise came with Jack, Matty, and Ella and we had already got the BBQ lit for their arrival. After a good chat and some grub the kids wanted to do some geocaching, so we walked off the BBQ and found two caches. This made us thirsty so we then found a pub up in the village and had a few drinks in the garden (with some chips) They left at around 9.30pm and Thomas left us with this little present he had made before he came on board. It is a small model of Derwent6 going into a lock, it even had the heart on it. Thanks for all your help Thomas, we had lots of fun and we really enjoyed your stay.

After doing the washing up and having a bit of a tidy we went to bed.

Back on the Oxford Canal

We all had some bits and pieces we wanted to pick up in Oxford so we had a walk into town but got caught up in a film crew filming a new series of Lewis for TV. We got back to Derwent6 around midday and then set off to find a mooring just out of town. Well we went through two locks and tried to moor up just before Duke's cut, but with no success. It was so shallow and rocky there was no way Derwent6 was going to get in there. So we headed up the cut and onto the Oxford canal. Blimey it felt so different.... It was very shallow, narrow and we were cleaning the prop again every two to three miles, but it was good to be back on them. We had forgotten how pretty the Oxford is. We got to Thrupp and we still couldn't find a mooring, everyone must be travelling down to the IWA at Beale Park, and they were all taken.We got a far as Kirtlington before we found one but by this time it was 7.00pm, a long day! We had some dinner in the cratch before settling down for the night.

Al's away, so we had a Museum day

We were woken up by the rowers at 6.00am this morning!! but we had to get up early anyway. Al was going down to Kent because her mum was having her leg put in plaster at the hospital.

Del and Thomas left Al at 10.00am at Oxford station and then made their way to Oxford's biggest museum, the Ashmolean. They were in there till lunchtime when they came out and had a McDonald's. They then went to the Science museum before they checked out some of the universities before heading back to Derwent6. Del and Thomas then waited for Al to return, where we shared the stories of the day.

Thomas did want us to mention that he had made a new friend which he named "Blindy". He was a duck with one eye...