Eventually, at 3.00 p.m.on Wednesday, April 16th, we set off and are free until Monday, April 28th, when we have to return to Braunston to have the Whispergen commissioned. We got as far as The Napton Bridge pub, but were very strong and ate on board! We did succumb and go for a drink there afterwards. The weather has been glorious today.

Thursday. April 17th
We set off at 10.00 a.m. in yet more glorious weather. We stopped for lunch just above Napton top lock and slept for several hours, well, it's hard work, all this canal boating, and we'd just done seven locks! We continued on and moored up between bridges 129 & 130, by a huge radio or tv mast. We had good tv reception that night. We're miles from anywhere, or so it seems, right by ourselves in the country.

Friday, April 18th
We set off at about 11.00 a.m. and did the six Claydon locks. The Oxford canal is a contour canal, which means it winds and twists its way round the hills, rather than using locks to go up and down. You can travel for miles and have just gone round and round the same bit of countryside! The countryside is beautiful. A pair of ducks brought their thirteen babies to see us!We moored at Cropredy for the night, and ate at The Red Lion.

Saturday, April 19th
We set off for the water point just below Cropredy. There was a very strong wind blowing which made for difficult steering, since when the wind hits the side of the boat, the boat just goes with it, and we couldn't get in to the water point, so We filled up with water at Banbury, but found it all busy and rather threatening. A fellow boater told us that he had had his boat untied there during the night, and we were glad to move on. We moored at some swing bridges, south of Banbury.

Sunday, April 20th
Today is Easter Sunday, and I got an Easter egg--I can't remember the last time I had one! We moved a short distance and moored up at King's Sutton and stayed there all day.

Monday, 21st April
We decided to turn round to start the return to Braunston, and so went down to the winding hole at Nell's Bridge, below King's Sutton. Trev did really well; turning a 70' boat is not easy, and the entrance to the winding hole was surrounded by BW boats, making it really difficult to get a good angle in to the hole. It took us three hours to get back to our start point! Life on the cut is definitely in the slow lane. We moored up at Cropredy where we had moored on the way down.

Tuesday, April 22nd
Today is a glorious day and so we decided to stay put. We did quite a few chores, organising where we would put things, cleaning the boat etc. In the evening we went to the other pub in Cropredy, The Brasenose Arms where we had a good meal.

Wednesday, April 23rd
We're heading for Fenny Compton today, as the w.c. needs a pump out! For the uninitiated, our w.c.has a holding tank for waste and a flushing tank with clean water. When the holding tank gets full, a light comes on and it has to be pumped out at a suitable place. It can cost anything from UKP5 to UKP15.
Whilst there is a light to tell us it's full, there is no warning that it is going to be full soon! So, the gauge shows empty, low, mid and high, and we have to keep watching to see if it's gone from medium to high. The moment it goes to high, we have to stop using it. Now that's not awfully convenient. We might be miles from a pump out station, as we were this time when it happened. I will leave the rest to your imagination. We carried on to The Wharf Pub at Fenny Compton and mored up for the night. The pub looks very nice and I hope we shall eat there one day.

Thursday, April 24th
We carried on towards Braunston, but it Started to pour with rain, So we've moored up for the night, in the same place as we moored on April 17th, by the mast. The solid fuel stove is keeping us warm, Trev has the snooker to watch and I have a website to write, so here we are!

Friday, April 25th
We had a long day today, and travelled eight miles and did nine locks. When you want to work out how long a journey on the canal might take you, you allow three miles or three locks per hour. So eight miles + nine locks = 17 divided by 3 = 5.66 hours. We moored up at The Napton Bridge Inn, and met some friends. Six of us ate at The Bridge, and we had a good evening. It was great to see friends again--we haven't seen anyone for a month!

Saturday, April 26th Today, we turned on to The Grand Union Canal, at Wigram's Turn, just past Napton Marina.This is the first time we've been on the GU, up to now we've been on the Oxford. It's surprising how different it is. For a start, the locks are double width, and longer than the Oxford. This means that you try to share a lock with another boat, whenever possible, to save water. The banks are also in much better condition, making it easier to moor, and the canal is wider. We moored up between locks 12 & 13, close to bridge 24. (I have a nautical friend who wants to plot our route and has asked for map references!)

So, you all want to know, what do I think about it all? Well, it's a steep learning curve, to say the least. I'm coping OK with living in a tunnel measuring 70' x 6'9". We have plenty of space for all of the things we wanted to bring on board. We have all of the electrical appliances we could wish for, and a good gas hob, oven and grill, which I very much enjoy using. We enjoy our own company AZND we meet interesting people along the way. I love the outdoor life (though I know we've been lucky with the weather). The bed is most comfortable, though a tad short for Trev. Yes, you say, but are you enjoying it Angela? By and large I am. There are major adjustments to be made, like not having a car to hand, not being able to use the phone unless there is reception, and leaving our lovely bungalow at Norton Lindsey! Some times I feel a bit cut off from things. I've wanted to buy some polish for the sides of the boat for a fortnight, and not been able to get to a shop which would sellS it. But we see a heron nearly every day, swooping along in front of us, standing on the side and then moving on again as we approach. We saw a snake swimming across the canal, swans put their heads in the side hatches for bread, lambs gambol and frolic in the fields along the sides I can even hear the sheep munching the grass! Trev is very happy and looking so well. He has really taken to it like a duck to water! He does all of the steering and he's very good. So, yes, we're very happy and count ourselves very lucky that we are able to do it. Except that the person who is gping to commission the Whispergen is now not expected to come on Monday the 28th after all........That isn't really a surprise to us. He only comes back from holiday the day before so it didn't seem very likely to us that he would rush hotfoot down from Cheshire to commission our generator. It's really rather annoying, as we've paid a fortune for this bit of kit, and haven't been able to use it yet. We have to use the engine to generate our power, which means that we have to keep it running, even when we're moored. The power is stored in to batteries, but they drain fairly quickly. And now we've just had a phone call to say the engineer will come on May 2nd. Well, I suppose at least we know when he's coming....