Safe arrival in Oxford

We’ve had another good day on the Thames.  It was warmer than yesterday, although last night was very cold and we woke up to a heavy frost.  If we’d been on a canal we’d have had ice to contend with.   Anyway, as the water point was only yards behind our mooring, we topped up and got on our way by 10:30.

We had a generally uneventful journey (compared to yesterday!), and it was great to just make a bit of headway against the flow and look at everything this great river has to offer.

This is the boathouse to Nuneham House just before Sandford on Thames.

You get “two for the price of of one” here!

We had to operate a couple of the locks ourselves today but approaching the landing jetty at Iffley Lock we hit our second sandbank! There was no warning of it and it must have built up during the recent floods. Surprisingly,the lock keeper knew about it!

Here we are heading up the straight into Oxford – lots of college rowing club houses on the right.

Looking across Christchurch Meadow – some of the “dreaming spires” in the distance.

Approaching Folly Bridge.

We safely managed to get off the swift flowing river above Osney Lock and into the short Sheepwash Channel which brought us to the start of the Oxford Canal.  Here’s ‘Chance’ on the landing jetty for the Isis Lock and the canal. Doug went to see if ‘our’ moorings were available (the ones we used for ten days last October when we were waiting for the Thames to come off red boards) – and they were.

We reversed down the 1/4 mile of dead end arm (miraculously and successfully).  This was James’ view at the stern as we approached ‘our’ moorings. 

This is us this evening on the canal arm with one of the Isis backwaters on the other side of the path.  Hopefully Bob and June on nb ‘Autumn Myst’ will arrive tomorrow and then we plan to be away again pretty quickly as the forecast is for rain mid week and we want to be back in Reading and off the river as The Thames may be back on red boards later this week we’re told!