Tuesday 16th April
Yesterday we went to Banbury on the bus (Heyfordian 449 £4-40 return) which we caught just over the bridge. I got a handbag for the wedding and a couple of other items and we went to Morrison’s again.
You can always tell you haven’t travelled very far if you are still on the same page in the Nicholson’s as you were the day before! Today we haven’t made it off yesterday’s page having only moved 4 miles and 3 locks from Twyford Wharf to Aynho. We are moored about 1/4 of a mile from Aynho Wharf between bridges 189 and 190.
It was quite windy when we set off (early for us at 8-30 am) but we decided to go early because the wind usually gets worse later in the day (and it did) and it is supposed to be windy all week any way.
On our way to King’s Sutton Lock we passed Penny who had turned round and moved off yesterday before we were even up! She came out and helped me with the lock. We will no doubt meet again when we are on our way back in a couple of weeks.
We went to the chandlery at Aynho Docks to get something to stuff in the gap between the two skins of our chimney as we are still getting a tar problem after which we were going to walk to Clifton to go to The Duke of Cumberland’s Head. It’s only about half a mile but after having wrestled with Aynho Weir Lock, which I found really hard, my back was playing up a bit and I just couldn’t be bothered to walk to Clifton. So we fell into The Great Western and partook of some very nice Old Hooky.
It was really windy by the time we got back to the boat, good job we had travelled early, but it was sunny too and warm. This evening it has calmed down considerably and Ken is fishing for the first time in months! Catching a few too.
Tomorrow we are going to have to get water, do the loo, rubbish etc and we need some coal, so we are going to go to Aynho Wharf, do the necessary and then moor up again. Maybe we’ll get to The Duke Of Cumberland?
