There were plenty of locks to keep us busy today and here we are at Kings Sutton lock. Most of the locks have single gates both top and bottom which the captain finds easier to operate. However, they are all fairly deep.
Not sure how that happened but the captain nipped on board leaving me to work the bottom gate.
We pressed on with the occasional bit of drizzle and a very cold following wind and arrived at the Pig Place just in time for lunch.
But... it was closed!!! Apparently the field had been flooded and this put the kibosh on the business. Shame.
So, push on through Nell Bridge lock.
Ha, ha, this time I managed to get on board first. But there was a reason for that.
No.1 It's a tight squeeze under the bridge and No. 2 You have to get back into the bank to pick up your crew.
Having said that, the captain decided to walk to the next lock instead.
At the end of this short stretch the River Cherwell crosses the canal.
There are strategically placed boards to ensure that you don't get dragged into the arches when the river is flowing strongly. Today it was all very calm.
Aynho lock is an odd shape. It's octagonal. The reason is to take down as much water as possible each time the lock is used.
Sky getting dark so push on to Aynho Wharf.
And just in time too! 5 minutes of heavy rain just after we tied up.
We decided to stop for the night and go to the Great Western Arms for supper. Better than carrying on and getting soaked. (Guess what - it didn't rain after the initial downpour)
Priorities right - drink first, food after.
I've been told off in the past for too many pictures of food but, tough, here we go.
A starter for the captain of Lamb Kofta.
And mine was a Crispy Duck Salad.
Followed by Red Wild Bream.
And a flat iron steak.
We rounded off with a mini desert each and tea and coffee.
After all that we staggered back to the boat for a good night's sleep. 💤
PS in the pub there is much memorabilia of the Great Western Railway, hence GWR in the blog title.
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