This is the view opposite - heaven for a day!
We went into town to get a few bits and pieces and then found a nice place for lunch. We'd passed some nice pubs but then we went up past the cross (as in Banbury...) and I spotted the Church House bar and restaurant, and it looked interesting, the menu sounded OK so in we went.
Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me but took some nice interior shots on my phone (which I haven't downloaded onto here as yet) but if you're a friend on Facebook, you'll have seen them!
The place inside was amazing and we asked about the history of it all and they had a folder with old photos and press cuttings about it all. It had been built by public subscription to give the Church somewhere to hold meetings etc. We were in a huge room that had a barrel roof and housed the most enormous old wooden bar that was far to tall for anyone to reach the higher shelves without a stepladder. It wouldn't have looked out of place in some of the old bars we went in whilst we were in Canada and Alaska last year.
We got back and had a lazy hour or so and then I decided that it would be a good idea to go back to the market to see if I could get any fruit and veg cheap while they were packing up. Somehow I ended up in BHS and Debenhams as well but it's an easy mistake to make.
I got back to the boat to find Darren and Michelle had come over for a surprise visit! It was SO lovely to see them, we hadn't seen them since we were on the Grand Union 2 years ago, so we had quite a bit of catching up to do. As well as that we've started to make plans to go over to France and hire a boat to cruise on the Midi canal next summer. It promises to be great fun and I think we'll make a good foursome.
Today we decided that we'd had enough of town and so set off again just to put a few miles under us.
This was Banbury moorings on Saturday afternoon, having been told by several people that on Wed and Thursday it was impossible to moor not only here but also in the moorings further out from the centre. Strange.
Its hard to get the perspective on this, but it's a field where the grass has bleached to white and there are islands of pink flowers, we think campions, and John especially was really taken with it. The M40 is in the background. I took this at the top of one of the locks.
We went into Cropredy Marina for a pumpout and to get a new bottle of gas. It's amazingly spacious but although the position is great they don't do residential moorings so can't tempt us, plus they have no bridge over to the towpath so the only way to get to the village is down the road, which isn't very pedestrian friendly and is quite a distance.
Here's Cropredy from the inside!
It's the annual folk festival in a fortnight and the canal is already full to the brim of moored boats all the way through and below and above the village. Apparently they totally ignore the 48 hour mooring signs and those that are moored there will stay until after the festival. Great for those of us passing through.
We have moored above Varney's lock, about a mile north of the village and it's been manic here since we moored at about 4.00 this afternoon, about 6 boats down for every one going up. Heaven knows where they're going to moor!
I managed to totally forget that I'd done some washing on the way up here and finally remembered and got it out after the Archers. I'd best get it in when I've finished this, but I don't hold much hope for it being dry. Tumble drier on tomorrow I think.
I also decided that I wanted to cook meat pies with a roast today, and it was hot. Why can't I do a roast on cold days?
It's also been the day that the flying ants have emerged and the canal is full of dead ants....so is the boat actually. Still presumably enough survive to make it all worthwhile.
Tomorrow the summit and mooring out in the depths - that's the plan.
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