On Thursday (26/08/2021) we got ready to leave Cropredy Marina and while Steve cycled to the Bridge Store for milk and eggs, Hilary went to the office to get a refund on her unused laundry tokens (needed to use the washing machine and dryer in the Utility Block).
The man in the office said it was above his pay grade and there was no Castle Marina procedure for issuing refunds. “If you bought £40 of diesel and only used £20 worth you wouldn’t expect a refund”, he said. “That’s hardly the same”, Hilary replied and left with the two tokens which were “as rare as hen’s teeth” according to the lady in the office that sold them to Hilary in the first place.
She told them that she would be complaining to Castle Marina head office about the lack of empowerment for their staff.
As we began to leave the marina there was a shout and the chap from the office met us at the swing bridge at the marina entrance and handed over 4 pound coins in exchange for our 2 laundry tokens. “I called head office and sorted it” he explained. “Now it has been flagged up they will hopefully put a procedure in place”, he said as we turned left back onto the Oxford Canal.
We had 8 locks to go through today, including the 5 of the Claydon flight.
Bridges varied from new concrete road bridges to historic old iron bridges.
We stopped for the night at Fenny Bentley. The Duke is the last boat in this line of moored boats.
We made a visit to The Wharf Inn, to find a much improved pub with a small shop, but the laundromat had closed for good.
Steve got the bike out and cycled to Fenny Bentley Co-op, which was 1.1 miles according to Google.
On board we watched and would recommend “The Chair” on Netflix. Set in a major American university, the first woman of colour to become chair tries to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department. Starring: Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Jay Duplass and Holland Taylor.
Steve and Vera went back to the Wharf Inn in the evening and tried some draft craft ale.
Boar d’Eau is a blonde bitter brewed with 100% lager malt to produce a clean taste and a bright very pale colour and long hoppy finish. The Slaughterhouse Brewery is an award winning 4 barrel micro-brewery located in historic Warwick.
On Friday (27/08/2021) we moved on through 2 locks at Marston Doles and 7 locks of the Napton flight.
By bridge 128 we traversed the building site where HS2 will cross the Oxford Canal.
Hilary shed a tear at the destruction of the countryside for an unnecessary project.
There seemed to be a wide area of devastation for a railway line. According to the government High Speed 2 (HS2) is an under-construction high-speed railway network for England. It will be the country's second high-speed line, the first being High Speed 1 (HS1) which connects London to the Channel Tunnel.
With a "Y"-shaped network of track and a design speed of 400 km/h (250 mph), the new railway will link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
Phase One is 140 miles of dedicated high speed railway with four brand new stations at Euston; Old Oak Common in northwest London; Interchange station east of Birmingham; and Curzon Street in Birmingham.
High speed trains will deliver shorter journeys with more seats as they travel through more than 32 miles of tunnels and across 10 miles of viaducts. Phase One also links to the existing railway to provide direct onward services to northern England and Scotland and will open between 2029 and 2033.
Pill boxes along the route testified to the role of The Oxford Canal in the Second World War. It was designated as a stop line to be defended in the case of an invasion.
We passed a glamping site that didn’t seem that alluring under a grey cloudy sky. Hill Farm Glamping is billed as a true family affair at this 450 acre farm where son Hugh has picked up the glamping bug from his parents, creating a camp of fabulous Lotus Belle tents and an innovative shipping container kitchen.
We also passed this narrowboat that seems to have been planted in a field.
Our friend Nigel from Napton Bottom Lock Cottage (with Stables holiday let on AirBnB https://abnb.me/ZUVZtxqo5ib if you want to explore this area) met us at Napton top lock armed with his windlass to whisk us through the locks. There was quite a bit of traffic in both directions. We filled up with water at the top lock.
We followed holiday boats through the locks. Most of them were aiming to moor near the Folly Inn, poised to chug back to their holiday base at Napton Narrowboats on Saturday morning, where they were due back in at the end of their holiday before 09:00 hrs. We were ascending to the summit of the Oxford Canal at Napton with it’s iconic windmill.
Napton Windmill is a red brick tower mill with batter, built about 1835. It had a dome cap, windows, acorn finial, three pairs of stones and originally had two common and two spring sails. Around 1900 it ceased to be worked with sails and was converted to steam, which powered it until about 1909.
The mill lay derelict until about 1972 when it was restored, converted into a house and fitted with four patent sails. In January 1976 two of the sails blew off in a gale and were later restored. Sadly now the windmill is screened by trees and you can only see the tip of one sail as you go through the Napton Locks.
We managed to get on a 48 hour mooring just before Napton Bottom Lock, which was handy for visits to Nigel’s cottage, the Ferry Inn, Napton Cidery and the Post Office Village Store.
We had a cup of tea in the kitchen of Nigel’s charming heritage lock cottage and then we walked into Napton.
Steve claimed his free pint as a member of Napton Cidery Club on our return from the P.O. & Village Store.
In the evening we went to the Folly Inn where we sat at a picnic table by a fire pit and enjoyed Napton cider.
The main choice of drinks was cider from Napton Cidery. The pub was totally geared to operating outside, with even temporary toilets so that nobody could go inside the building to risk catching or spreading COVID-19.
The Potting Shed was developing into a pub of it“s own, with bar, kitchen, lounge area and stage for bands. It started just as an outdoor shelter. Lampshades were made of flower pots, door handles from trowels and forks and chandeliers made from cartwheels and barrel hoops. Nigel introduced us the the owner, an affable fellow with a curly Wing Commander moustache.
A good time was had by all. The pub seemed to be a village community hub with lots of local characters, including the current Lord of Shuckburgh.
The Shuckburgh Baronetcy, of Shuckburgh in the County of Warwick, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 25 June 1660 for John Shuckburgh, the eldest son of Sir Richard Shuckburgh, (1594–1656) Member of Parliament for Warwickshire and a supporter of the Royalist cause in the Civil War, who was knighted before the Battle of Edgehill by Charles I.
We went back to Napton Lock Cottage where Nigel prepared us a nice meal of salmon with panzanella. We retired to bed with full stomachs.
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