Oldies On Tour

It was now early Sunday afternoon and we set off to find where we could catch the City Tour, Hop-on, Hop-off bus. After consulting Google we headed straight to Oxford Castle as the stop was right outside. Fortunately, on the post was the information we needed, start time, cost etc. The weather had now improved, the sun was shining and it was warm, quite a contrast from this morning so whilst at the castle, it made sense to go and visit it.

It turned out to be a very good place to start our “Oxford Experience”

Oxford Castle

The strategic significance of this place is its defensive position as it was another natural river crossing, but here it was used particularly for Oxon, hence the area was originally called “Oxonford”, now known simply known as “Oxford”. This castle has witnessed 1,000 years of history; stretching from Anglo Saxon times, through the Norman Conquest; Empress Matilda’s base, and King Charles 1 moved his court here after being thrown out of London by the Parliamentarians. At that time it became a brutal prison for captured parliamentarian soldiers.

Hotel now, but was the prison

Following the civil war the castle continued as a prison; through the Victorian age when enforced, meaningless “hard Labour” tasks were performed, until various prison reform acts kicked in and softened their regime. The prison continued until it finally closed as HMP in 1996, and 10-years later the prison it re-opened as the Malmaison Oxford, 5* Hotel.

Obviously Oxford castle is a tourist trap but very well done and presented by “extremely knowledgeable” guides who certainly knew their history. Part of the tour was through the 11^th century crypt chapel

The crypt

(restored 1794). This was built by a rather nasty, sadistic and brutal Norman baron, “Roger d’Ivry” who, after committing many dreadful deeds had a guilt conscience following a dream and not only did he build this chapel, in 1074 he filled it with a number of priests teaching various subjects, and this became a place of learning, the first “Oxford College”; the early beginnings of the University.

Through the early middle ages, the castle had been improved and enlarged but after the Civil war, Oliver Cromwell systematically destroyed castles across the country and Oxford Castle was no

Our guide, who even inspired me!

exception however, for whatever reason they left “St. Georges tower” intact. There are 101 steps to the top; Christine went up them all. She said that not only were they very steep, but it was also very claustrophobic going up, still she enjoyed a great view of Oxford from the top. I elected to remain at the

101 steps that were very clostophobic

bottom. St. Georges Tower is a grade 1-listed building, and the original motte is a Scheduled Monument.  After our visit we enjoyed a fine afternoon tea in the castle grounds.

Back to the boat for an earlyish night as we need to get going in the morning to get our “monies worth” with the tour bus!

We duly arrived at the appointed hour but needn’t have rushed, the bus was late, still we boarded and bought 48-hour passes.   As usual, we decided to do a full circumnavigation of Oxford to get our bearings before deciding what we wanted to see. The tour took a little over an hour to go around but half way through a guide came aboard and took over the commentary and told us he was conducting a short walking

Lovely cafe, with very different food

tour as part of the deal, this we joined though it covered many sites we had done the last time we were in Oxford. Never mind we enjoyed a welcome mid morning coffee and “bun” in the Crypt of “St Mary’s The Virgin” the University Church. This was followed by a visit to “Christ Church College”.

Henry VIII founded Christ church in 1546, and it is one of the largest,

Christchurch University stunning

and the 2^nd wealthiest college of the university. It has the biggest quadrangle in Oxford and the impressive tower at the main entrance was designed Sir Christopher Wren. It is here, in the very beautiful and colourful College grounds that “Oxford Cathedral” is located and this was to be our first stop.

The first thing to strike us was its size, though it may not be as grand

Main entrance and beautiful triangle

or as big as other cathedrals, it is in fact one of the smallest in the UK, it is still pretty large and very impressive. The Cathedral was originally St. Frideswide’s Priory but was changed to a cathedral with Henry VIII’s Charter of 1546. We joined a tour guide and listened to the history, stories and legends appertaining to this cathedral across the centuries, fascinating stuff.   Whist at the college

Inside the Cathedral

we wanted to visit the “Great Hall” but unfortunately it was closed for students’ lunch, so we decided to come back later.

In the course of conversation a few days or so earlier, it came to light Christine hadn’t ever been punting on the river, and therefore this omission just had to

Part of the ceiling and stain glass windows

rectified, and I was the person to do it, and said so whilst we visited Oxford.  Many moons ago I lived in Cambridge and had been punting many times on the River Cam, unfortunately the last time was in 1982, 36-years ago; had I dropped a “big one” thinking I could still do it? Moreover, was I fit enough to do it still?   Had my ego taken over? As we approached the “boats for hire” sign, I couldn’t back out, my pride wouldn’t let me!!

Christine got in the boat first no doubt asking herself if she was doing the right thing and praying I didn’t tip her into the water and probably

My driver! He did very well

still wondering if I could “really” do this “punting” lark.   I followed, brimming with confidence, given the long pole then pushed off the jetty; we were on our own. Firstly we had to manoeuver a 90-degree turn and navigate under a stone bridge, so far so good, we were going well and we even had the confidence to take ‘photos. When we were ½-way into our 1–hour

Enjoying my time on the river

hire, we turned round to head back and that’s when my skill was put to the test. We came across numerous punts full of students who were all well oiled and hadn’t got a clue. They were straddled across the river, going in all directions, and without any cares in the world but thoroughly enjoying themselves after all their exams. Under these extreme conditions I lost my rhythm and had a few hairy moments of my own, still we prevailed, cleared the congestion and got back on track. The remarkable thing was that even with these holdups we were back on the dot, 1-hour later. By now my shoulders, neck, arms and most other parts of my body ached, pain killers for me tonight I think.   Anyway I fulfilled my obligation to Christine.

Back on the Hop-on, Hop-off bus and we returned to Christ Church to

The Halls

visit the Great Hall. This time it was open and as we already had tickets, avoided the queue waiting at the ticket booth. This magnificent Great Hall is accessed up enormous stone steps and has been in existence since the 1520. Today members can eat three meals a day but at the second dinner sitting, everyone has to be in formal dress, i.e. gowns etc. This magnificent hall, with its high table looking down on all the members eating, then “everybody” being watched by all the college deans, from their portraits that hang round the walls is quite a place.

Back onto the bus, it was time to eat so headed for Zizzi’s; though part of a chain, we find their food more than acceptable and they have “Frascati” on the menu!!!!

Monday morning and we watched a film unit setting up their equipment on the other side of the canal. Christine thought she recognised the actor but couldn’t think of his name. We were

Who is this actor? Does anyone know

speculating as to what programme they were filming but were way out, we found out later it was a German film unit making a German TV programme.

We headed back to the Hop-on, Hop-off bus, not only is it a tour bus, but we also use it as a means to get around, and our first stop was “St Mary’s The Virgin”, but only after a quick cuppa in the Crypt Vaults Café, again!!!

There has been a church on this site since Anglo-Saxon times but was adopted by the university in 1252 and it also became a place of teaching and the seat of the university government. Historically it was

Some of the beautiful buildings

also used for lectures and where the degree awards were handed out. This church was also the site of the 1555 trial of the Oxford Martyrs, i.e. Archbishop Crammer, Latimer and Ridley, they were tried for Heresy and burnt at the stake just outside the old city walls.

Next we visited the Sheldonian Theatre built by Christopher Wren between 1664-1669. This is a unique “D” shaped building used is for concert recitals, degree awards, lecturers and much more but the best parts of this theatre the ceiling and the tower. The ceiling is made up of 32 individual hand painted

View from top, amazing

panels by a fellow named “Robert Streater” and they were all done in London before being taken down to Oxford to be fitted, quite magnificent. The Green “Cupola Tower” has amazing 360-degree panoramic views of the spires of Oxford and well worth the 100 or so steps to get to the top. These steps were easier than the castle tower so we both went up; again another excellent visit.

Sheldonian theatre

The Sheldonian Theatre is a grade 1 listed building and has been described as one of architectural jewels of Oxford.

It was time to move on so did a little “top-up” shopping then jumped back onto the

Inside the theatre

HOHO bus back to Meg. We had exhausted our 2 free nights mooring and didn’t want to pay £25 for a subsequent night so cast off and headed north.

For some unknown reason the water in the canal was flowing very fast and worse, the water level was very low so we had to be careful not to go aground. Arriving at the next lock, we had thought things would have changed, but no. We passed “Dukes Cut”, the other channel into the Oxford canal from the Thames and into our third lock; fortunately we found more water then which was comforting.

We eventually moored just north of Kidlington

Old Father Thames sits
On the first lock we entered.

We decided to head back today, we were away by 9.30am but no sign of the farmer who collects the moorings, so a free night! We meandered along the river, but this time we were not fighting the current, we made far better progress, in fact instead of stopping at the Trout Inn again, we actually made Eynsham Lock. We did the normal, filled up with water, we spoke to a young trainee lock keeper, who was thoroughly enjoying his new job, and wished him well, and we spent the night here. In the morning before we left, we did the rubbish and the looe, then headed off. When we arrived at the first lock, there were two other boats so we joined

Me working the locks on the Thames.

them, and low and behold our trainee lock keeper was at this lock today, such a lovely friendly fella. We travelled on, to next Lock where we were told not to attempt to go in together, so I worked the locks for the other two boats, only to find the simple push button did not work, so I was left turning a wheel by hand, another young lad felt sorry for me and came and helped me and we finally were on our way.
We reached our entrance into Sheepwash Channel,and turned into it,

Another low bridge

it was a very narrow channel, with low bridges, I wondered if we were doing the right thing! Apparently this cut through to the Oxford Canal was only done 60 years after the Oxford Canal was opened. The channel is less than a mile, and we quickly turned and into the first lock, where we moored to explore Oxford.

Lovely view as we entered the Oxford Canal.

Being so close to the lock we didn’t dawdle this morning so off we went, through the lock and under Swinford Toll Bridge, one of the two that cross the Thames.

Swinford Bridge, where a toll is charged at 5p

This toll bridge is unique; it was privately funded by the Earl of Abingdon and opened in 1769 after numerous people drowned crossing this stretch of the river in the local ferry. The bridge is governed by its own act of Parliament and it allows the bridge owner to collect tolls. The act also makes building of bridges three miles either way from Swinford Bridge illegal; it also states that all owners are exempt from income tax liability in perpetuity. Today cars pay 0.05 pence to cross, and because there are no other crossings for at least 3 miles either way, this single lane road gets extremely busy, exacerbated by the time it takes to collect all the 0.05 pence tolls. Apparently there have been numerous attempts to have the tolls removed but to no avail and because of the extra mileage to go around, drivers have to suffer.

Oxford was the last major conurbation; from now on it is small villages and hamlets, the majority of “civilisation” we came across either

Flat boring scenery, with lots of horse flies that bite!

centered around pubs or locks. As the river wound its way upstream the countryside changed to agriculture, fields were growing nicely in preparation for haymaking; cows were grazing quietly in the fields and we noted several herds of bullocks being fattened up ready for the table!!!

The cows in a long line just watching us!

Tonight we stopped on the private mooring at the Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge. The mooring was empty, except for a canoe right in the middle, but it was convenient and it was a nice sunny evening so we made a management decision to dine there as well; excellent fish and chip with a very good selection of real ales; it turned out to be a “Gastropub”.

We met the owners of the canoe and they were canoeing from Lechlade to Teddington, funnily enough we had been debating if people did that, strange or what!

Tadpole bridge

One nice thing heading up this part of the Thames are the bridges, not many modern concrete monstrosities built today, but mostly built in local stone and very old; Tadpole Bridge for example, built in 1784 and now a Grade II listed building.

Meandering into the “higher reaches” of the Thames, the river became narrower and extremely twisty, I don’t think I would be very happy steering a 72-footer up here. The banks were generally lined with trees and overgrown bushes and there was an abundance and variety of flying insects around; Christine was bitten in some very annoying places!!! We observed several shapes, colours and varieties of geese, many with babies. Swans were in abundance and of course ducks everywhere, again many with babies of all shapes and sizes.

One reason I particularly wanted to boat up the Thames was to visit a couple of old haunts I frequented, again during periods of my miss-spent youth. Firstly I was looking forward to returning to “The Swan”, a pub adjacent to Radcot Bridge. Incidentally Radcot Bridge is

The Swan

reputedly the oldest bridge across the Thames, built around 1200 and secondly the “Trout Inn” at Lechlade. Unfortunately we couldn’t find anywhere to moor at the Swan, so missed out on this visit.

With 3 locks to go we joined up with a couple in a similar narrow boat to ours and a couple with a vary short boat so we all fitted into the locks together, this made things easier on the “self service” lock, and we were through the locks where there was a “lock keeper in attendance” very quickly.

We arrived at Lechlade, the furthest navigable point we could get to,

View from our mooring

and having been there, turned round. Smaller craft can go as far as Cricklade, 11-miles further on and the actual source is another 12.3-miles. Just up from Lechlade is the old access to the Thames and Severn Canal, opened in 1789, closed in 1933. There has been a “Cotswold Charitable Trust” set up to raise the funds and bring this old canal back into use, alas probably not in our lifetime.

We moored alongside a big field with a large herd of extremely inquisitive heifers that fancied eating, or trying to eat, anything they could get to on or off the boat. Fortunately we had been pre-warned about this happening and moored with lose lines so they couldn’t

Looking for food!

reach us! After dinner we wandered over to the “Trout Inn” to see if my adolescence memory of a fantastic restaurant was justified, yes the old beamed bar looked very much the same and the restaurant appeared as I remembered, but the menu, oh no, there was only one Trout dish, back in the day (late 50’s) they specialized as the name suggests, “trout” and there were numerous “trout” dishes. My memories of this place are either misguided or more probably, they now cater for the masses, as the pub is owned by a large London investment Company. I wanted to re-visit this area and had promised Christine this wonderful meal, only to be let down. We had a drink and left, we did not book a table for the following day.

We had a rude, early morning awakening with a bang on the boat’s

So tame!

roof; it was the “rent collector”, he wanted his dues for parking on the public mooring, which is owned by one of the Oxford University Colleges, still £5 well spent.

We wandered around Lechlade, did some shopping, had a couple of pints and

One of the old toll booths on the bridges

decided there was nothing much to see here and agreed to leave next morning and re-trace our steps back to Oxford.

One of the old pubs!

We joined the Thames just east of Teddington lock and have travelled 207 river miles, been through 45-locks and the river has risen 71-meters (234 ft.) from the tidal part of the Thames. One thing we noted were the number of WW2 Pill Boxes lining the Thames, perhaps I will try and count them on the return journey!!!

5 June 2018

Today was interesting, I went down and spoke to the Iffley Lock-keeper, and he told me that Osney was still on Red Alert, I then met another couple of ladies, who had just arrived back from there in their narrowboat, and although they said the river was still high, people were going back and forth, so we decided to go for it, we could always come back if there was a problem.

We only had two miles to do, and the current was very strong, but we

Young lads got through, now it’s our turn

made the lock, just in time to see two lads going in, so we chatted to them, and then the Lock-keeper came along and gave us an official warning saying we leave the lock at our own risk, as they were still on red alert, which we accepted, but he then said we would be fine, but remove the hose pipe from roof, and keep to the right to avoid the weir, before attempting

Very tight! Still we made it.

Osney bridge. We said to the young lads they could go first through the bridge, and they gave us the thumbs up, when they were through, it was very tight, and I understand why they were on red alert, still we made it just! I think the gap today seemed about 6 inches, maybe even less, between the bridge and boat.

We meandered along a very twisty part of

Very different countryside

the Thames, the scenery is completely different, very open fields, not many buildings, or villages on the river. We followed the lads and joined them in two more locks, (these locks are no longer electronic,

Back to Manuel locks

they are manual, )before we arrived at Eynsham, where we had to do some emptying of facilities, as it is a very chilly day, we decided to stop here for the night.

Pretty little village

St.Leonards Church Eynsham

After lunch, we walked into Eynsham, very tiny village, with the old fashion butcher, hardware shop, and a small
Co-op, so we topped up with food, walked back, stopping for a pint on route.

1st June 2018

We were up and away by 8am, I wanted to get through the lock and use the facilities and as we have a massive water tank, it takes forever to fill up. The lock was on Self service so I pressed the buttons and we went through, found the water pipe, and quickly attached it, we then had a leisurely breakfast whilst filling the tank, Geoff did all the other jobs, then we were ready to go. Abingdon to Oxford is not far about eight miles, so a lazy day.

Our first lock was Sandford Lock, which was on self service, so I went and did the business, pressed a few buttons and we were away again, we are amazed with all the volunteers around, who are trained by

Geese looking on

DEFRA to do the locks, but are only allowed to help when there is a qualified Lock-keeper on duty, yet we are able to use the machines, without any training, there is a shortage of lock keepers, so a lot of them are unmanned, I guess if there was a problem they could be faced with a big insurance claim.

We were making very slow progress, as after the storm last night

My favourite picture, mother and baby swan

apparently they had over 33mm of rain, the river is flooded, so are parts of Oxford itself. At times it felt as if we were standing still, as we have a very small engine 43hp! But the scenery is very pretty, and it is a pleasure to meander, and watch all the wild life, I caught a glimpse of a kingfisher which pleased me, Geoff managed to photo a swan carrying her baby on her back, so lovely.

Iffley Lock keepers house

Eventually we arrived at Iffley, where we were told the River was on red alert, and we would not get pass Osney, and probably find difficulties in mooring so we decided to stay here, we found a nice mooring, with the added bonus of not having to pay because of the red alert.

After lunch we wondered into the local village, and collected some odds and ends from the little community shop, and then we walked to the local

Local community shop

church of St.Mary’s Virgin, this church was built in 1160, and extended in the 1200, it is the oldest preserved Norman church in

Church with vicarage, very pretty

England.

Saturday 2 June 2018

We went to see the lock-keeper to be told we could go no further, as Osney is still on red alert, and they were

Bridge leading to the lock

crowded with boats up there, so we decided to do some jobs. When we bought the boat, there was a bicycle on the back which we have never even looked at, so we decided to strip it down, well it was a foldaway with very tiny wheels, and we both decided that we would never use it, so Geoff pushed it towards the rubbish bin, it was not long before a young girl came along and took it,

Cleaning the boat

Geoff called out to her, and she stopped and chatted, but her face was a picture, she was so chuffed with her new possession, and she quickly cycled off with two flat tyres.
Next we decided to clean the boat, I climbed on the roof, whilst Geoff was able to reach from the towpath, between us we scrubbed and

Geoff doing his pied piper bit.

polished, and Megan is looking very good again. In the afternoon we walked to the nearest TESCO Express where we stocked up with some booze and bacon, ready for Andrew tomorrow.

Sunday 3 June 2018

A lovely day, sun is shinning, and Andrew and Fiona arrived, it was great seeing Andrew again, we have not seen each other since before Xmas. As we couldn’t go forward, we decided to go back to Sandford Lock, where there was a Chef and Brewer pub, we meandered down the river again, the weather couldn’t have been better, we went beyond the

Sunbathing on the roof

Lock, then turned and made our way back, it is still very slow as the water is still running very fast. We moored outside the pub, and went in, Fiona had her two little dogs with her, so we sat in the garden, which was lovely, and although the service was really bad, the food was good, lots of catch up on news etc., before returning to boat, and another slow meander up the river, we watched people swimming, and messing around in their dinghy’s. We had a great day, and it was lovely to meet Fiona, let’s hope it lasts. Back at the lock, we went our separate ways, let’s hope we see them soon.

Monday 4 June 2018

Still stuck here, it is lovely, but we want to get on our way now, we

Isis club house (Oxford College) is close by

enjoy watching the canoeists in training, you have the lot here, from the eights down to the single rowers, they are all shouted at from the trainers on the towpath, there is a rowing club very near us.

We stopped overnight under reading bridge; well it was free, and it was surprisingly quiet for a public thoroughfare!!! Today we headed west buying Diesel along the way and enjoying the sights as we meandered along the Thames on this glorious sunny day; wow we have been so lucky with the weather. Washing was a priority and the first launderette we could find was in Pangbourne, so this was our

Lovely village

destination. The weather now changed and the rain came down but we arrived and moored alongside a field about ¼ mile from the town. We found the Launderette then wandered around the town until the washing was ready. Pangbourne has also become a centre for high-end sports cars with a Lamborghini and Aston Martin dealership in the town.  We stayed overnight listening to the patter of the rain.

Next morning we headed off again, Wallingford was our target for

No problems mooring this time

tonight. We arrived early afternoon and moored just past the Pub where we had had a meal with Andrew a couple of years ago whilst travelling the Thames in Dave and Leisha’s boat, “Foggy’s Notion”. It was encouraging to note, Wallingford council welcomed boaters, (unlike some places we’ve to) and set aside visitor moorings, though for a fee of course!

Pretty cottages near our mooring

Wallingford again has a history that surprised me. Firstly it became an important Thames crossing point and was fortified back in early Saxon times, and particularly by Alfred the Great, to protect Wessex from the Vikings. There are also the remains of the castle built by the Normans;

Ye olde castle

this castle was the also last stronghold of the Empress Matilda against her Cousin Stephen, later “King Stephen” (1135 – 1154), this time in

Town Hall

History is sometimes known as the first English Civil war. Wallingford was also important during the “Civil War“; it was the royalists’ last stronghold in Berkshire (nowadays Oxfordshire) and after a 65-day siege they abandoned the town and Cromwell set about destroying the castle; much of the stone was used to build the clock tower of St. Mary-

St. Mary -Le-More church

le-More, the historic church in Wallingford.

After securing our overnight mooring spot we wandered around this very quaint and pretty historical town, though it wasn’t raining, it was very overcast and cold. Next morning Christine dashed over to Waitrose before we left and headed towards our next stop, Abingdon.

We had an uneventful run up to Abingdon, moored up alongside the town park but as it was raining stayed on board. We had “done” Abingdon on our previous travels. Around 2100hrs the rain suddenly increased and this continued well into the night, the sound was amplified as it hit the roof and the thunder and lightening felt as if it was just above us. Here we are in steel box with an aerial poking up from the roof, perfect conditions for a strike!!!!! Eventually we got off to sleep wondering what everything will be like in the morning.