25th April '11

After a 7.30am start - yes that is right - not a typo SEVEN THIRTY - we cruised for an hour or so and then stopped to have breakfast. The reason being that we were moored against a stone ridge and it was making nasty graunching sounds - that is the one problem with the Oxford - at least the Northern part of it - it appears to be lined with stone and much of it is at a 45% angle - not good for boats. There are places where there are pilings (such as where we are now moored) but these are few and far between.



A generally peaceful day with no real hiccups - stone again where we moored for lunch - and we got stuck on some mud waiting for a boat to go past with moored boats on the bank at a narrow section. Resulted in both of us swinging off the side of the boat in unison to get it moving off the boat - watched by 2 young teenagers who were having breakfast on the front of their boat - nice to cause amusement to others I always feel.



We have travelled about 13 miles and am now moored just before Hawksesbury Junction - an interesting place. It is the join between the Oxford and the Coventry canals and there is a difference in water level of about 1' so it has the shallowest lock in the world to get through. The interesting bit comes straight afterwards as you have to turn 180% in a very small basin in front of a busy pub!!! The wind is in the wrong direction at present and the pub is heaving so we are going to do that bit in the morning well before the drinkers emerge and hopefully the wind will have calmed down a bit.



We have come through the Newbold Tunnel - only 250yds long and so hardly a tunnel at all really but John has mended the light so we were legal this time - even though we could clearly see the end and there are lights in there in any case. Why can't they put lights in the long tunnel that needs it heaven only knows!



We were going to stop for some provisions but because of the timing and the fact that it's a bank holiday we didn't and will probably stop in Nuneaton tomorrow instead.

No pictures today but I shall take some of the junction tomorrow!