"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows.
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| Approaching College Cruisers base in Oxford |
Our ambition (especially Roger's) to experience narrowboating during this holiday arose from our first visit to the UK just over twenty-five years ago.
Ironically we spent more planning than we actually spent onboard.
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| Oxfordshire Narrowboats boatyard and station at Lower Heyford |
The Oxford Canal was completed shortly after Cook encountered and mapped the eastern coastline of Australia. For the next 15 years it became one of the most important and profitable transport links in Britain. Most commercial traffic between London and the Midlands used this route - especially coal from Warwickshire.
Click here to view Oxford Canal in a larger map
As with most of Britain's narrow canal system, there was a rapid decline in freight traffic after WW2 and by the mid-1950s very few narrowboats operated in the southern section. The Big Freeze of 1963 (the severe winter of 1962-1963), finally killed off the remaining narrowboat traffic as frozen canals kept goods icebound on the canals for three months.
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| Oxford Canal in Banbury - frozen solid last winter |
Fortunately, pleasure boating in narrowboats began to grow in popularity and now during summer the Oxford Canal is now one of the most crowded canals on the network.
The term "narrow boat" described the original working boats first built in the 18th century and has been extended to modern "narrowboats" used for recreation (and occasionally as homes). They have a maximum width of just 7 feet and maximum length of about 70 feet (the dimensions of most locks). There are now approximately 25,000 licensed narrowboats on canals and rivers managed by British Waterways.
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| Trinity moored alongside the tow path |
Our cruise commenced at College Cruisers' base and boatyard in the the centre of Oxford and we turned around just above Nell Bridge Lock (near the village of Kings Sutton). (The boatyard featured in The Dead of Jericho - the first episode of the Inspector Morse TV series)
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| Trinity under the command of a proud Aussie |
This is a total distance of 43 miles, 1¾ furlongs (each way) with a total of 28 locks, 22 moveable bridges (12 are left open), 2 small aqueducts and 11 winding holes. Sadly, there are no tunnels in this section of the South Oxford Canal.
After our briefing we set off aboard the 50 foot Trinity with Roger (Commander and Deckhand) on the helm and Helen (lovely Lock Lass, Purser and Cook) ready to scamper ashore at very short notice to operate the numerous locks and lift the bridges.
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| Leaving Somerton Deep Lock |
For the uninitiated, canal locks are a really simple but clever pieces of engineering, creating steps in the channel which raise (or lower) the water level to match the surrounding countryside.
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| Approaching Dashwood's Bridge and Lock |
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| Lock lass opening an upstream gate |
Sequence descending through a lock
(click on each images to enlarge)
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| Step 1 |
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| Step 2 |
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| Step 3 |
We've tried to highlight through our photos in this post that cruising through the Oxfordshire countryside during autumn has an exceptional appeal nothing else can approximate.
Setting off in the still early morning before the mist clears, passing under low stone and masonry bridges.
Gliding beneath overhanging trees, past tiny villages and through green meadows.
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| Aynho Weir - Oxford Canal crosses the River Cherwell |
Greeting fellow bargees as our boats pass just a few feet apart or the wave from villagers taking their dog for a stroll along the tow path.
Admiring the autumn colours reflected in the mirrored stillness of the waterway.
Pulling alongside for a fabulous hot breakfast. Walking the short distance to the nearby traditional English pub for dinner.
As Robert Aickman once penned :
"The waterways are charged with magic, but nothing about them is more magical than the difference made by the few feet of water which separate the boat from the land. Those few feet instantly set the boatman in a world of his own, and his vision of the outer world though which he glides, becomes magically calmer and clearer. Again, this may sound whimsical and improbable: the degree to which it is true can be confirmed only by experience."
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We hope you enjoyed this narrowboat cruise post as much as we enjoyed the experience. As promised, our next strory will cover London (which included a day at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford). In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.
If you're unsure which stories you've missed - look for the Blog Archive near the bottom of the page - it's the best way to select the post you haven't read yet (or want to re-read).
