Back to Oxford

A short cruise today from Eynsham Lock to Oxford. The two Environment Agency (EA) employees who had accompanied us in their boat for most of yesterday appeared again this morning as we prepared to go through Eynsham Lock.  They told us the boat was being taken to Henley as part of the EA Henley Regatta preparations.  They also cautioned us to avoid Henley during the regatta.  As they left the lock their parting comment was they might be taking a few detours so not to wait for them at any of the locks.

On reaching Duke’s Cut we realised the purpose of these “detours”.  They were going down the various Thames arms and tributaries to check boats had licenses.

They had already “pinged” one boater when we took this photo.  It appears some boaters slip off the Oxford Canal (CRT waters) and loiter in Duke’s Cut which links the canal and the Thames.

The pay moorings above King’s Lock were full of plastic boats which appeared to be enjoying themselves in the morning sun.  Almost half of them had tables out on the adjacent lawn enjoying a late breakfast.  The smell of bacon on the bbq wafted on the breeze!  The grounds around the lock were in excellent condition.  I guess this is how many of the CRT canal locks looked when they had permanent lock keepers.

Our last lock for the day was Godstow Lock.  Jan went forward to check if there was a lock keeper and I happened to look behind noticing what appeared to be the ruins of a monastery.

Some guessing about the name confirmed these are the ruins of Godstow Abbey.  The abbey used to be sited on an island in the middle of the river but one branch has now disappeared.  It was consecrated in 1139.  It grew in size and wealth later that century as a result of various gifts from King Henry II.  This is attributed to being the burial place of his mistress Rosamund Clifford.  By coincidence I’d recently finished reading a novel about Henry II, which included Rosamund.   You won’t be surprised to read the abbey was supressed in 1539 by Henry VIII who (of course) seized the assets.  The abbey was then converted into a house before being badly damaged during the Civil War.

Downstream from the lock and on the north bank is Port Meadow, a large open space of open common land which has never been ploughed.  In return for their support against the Danes, King Alfred the Great gave the land to the freemen of Oxford for the grazing of cattle and horses.

It was along this stretch of the Thames that the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson started to develop the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 

We had far more practical considerations focusing on avoiding all the rowing crews out practicing on Sunday morning.

Lunch was at the Kite Inn.  Probably our worst Sunday lunch decision to date.  Jan ordered the beef and I chose the lamb.  When it came Jan tasted her meal and said she had the lamb.  We swapped plates.  I couldn’t taste any difference and neither could Jan.  The meat was chewy and full of grizzle.  The carrots came from a tin and the yorkshire puddings from Aunt Bessie (frozen).  I don’t suppose you can win all the time. 

Later in the afternoon a small fibreglass boat moored behind us with some very inebriated young males aboard.  They were very noisy and rolled around on the grass before one took a plunge into the river.  The police then arrived and moved them off before securing the boat.  Several hours later a small dingy with a couple and a dog arrived.  They tied the dingy to the boat and then motored off.  We never quite worked out if the boat had been stolen?

Change of Plan

Another walk around Lechlade yesterday evening and this time it included St John’s Lock where we were able to dispose of our rubbish.  The walk was a circuit which terminated back in Lechlade where I noticed several glass window panes that had the original circles created by the glass blower.

Window glass would have been very expensive (hand made) when this pane was made.  At one point the government of the day imposed a window tax, the consequences of which can sometimes still be seen where there is a window frame which is bricked up.  The glass blower would manufacture a rondel (disc) which would then be cut to produce a square or rectangle, hence the circles in the glass.  By the end of the 18th century a technique known as cylinders was developed.  The cylinders were hand blown and then cut and flattened. 

Our nosey bovine neighbours were back at 5am this morning and one of them attempted to nick our boat pole. They appear to complete a circuit of the field three times daily and on each occasion either lick the boat paint or chew the mooring ropes.  They have a harsh tongue which can reputedly strip paint.  We had a brief boaters meeting and decided to leave Lechlade. I slipped into the village to buy some bread and then we headed downstream.

Old Father Thames just keeps lazing around beside St John’s Lock.

The statue was commissioned in 1854 for the Great Exhibition grounds (the Crystal Palace) in Hyde Park.  After the Crystal Palace burned down in 1936 it was moved to the traditional source of the River Thames at Thames Head.  However it was vandalised and so later moved again to its current location in 1974.

I just had to take a photo of this poster at St John’s Lock.

The lock keeper at Grafton Lock informed me he was a blog reader.  It was such a surprise I failed to ask his name (if you read this please leave a comment).  He told me he’s looking for a narrowboat and has some specific requirements.  We wish him luck in finding the boat he wants at a price he can afford.

We were also told there were three B52 bombers at RAF Brize Norton.  So it wasn’t one aircraft doing circuits.  I wonder if they are planning to spoil someone’s breakfast in Syria or Iraq?

We started meeting small electric and paddle powered boats above Radcot.  Obviously families were enjoying the start of summer.

The top half of the river between Oxford and Lechlade is very twisty with some rather tight bends.  We had our fingers crossed that we wouldn’t meet a plastic cruiser on one of the tight blind corners.  Fortunately that didn’t happen, despite the large number of cruisers going upstream.

Jan took the following photo for her mother.

Yes, they both come from Bournemouth!

We assume Oxford Cruisers has been purchased by Anglo-Welsh.  It seems many of the smaller hire boat companies are being purchased by the major players.

One of the lock keepers told us very few of the hire boats head upstream towards Lechlade. 

At the end of a long day (for us) we are back on the mooring above Eynsham Lock, where we were four days ago.  The plan is to reach Oxford tomorrow in time for a Sunday roast lunch.

Things that go bang and thump in the night!

A heavy bang and thump against the boat woke me at 5am this morning.  Jan investigated, retuning to tell me one of the farmer’s yearlings had fallen into the river between the bank and the boat.  He was also caught on the bow rope.  Eventually he was freed and then had to swim on the outside of the two boats ahead to find a way back onto the bank.  Well that was the excitement for the day.  Actually it wasn’t!  The herd of yearlings have returned twice during the day to eat our mooring ropes.  I guess the dried and aged dog wee makes them particularly tasty.  Mandy (nb Urquhart Castle) had left a comment on yesterday’s blog post warning us about the rope chewing beasts but we didn’t read it until after breakfast.

I went for a walk around Lechlade after dinner yesterday.

Our mooring at Lechlade-on-Thames

Road access to Lechlade from the south is via Halfpenny Bridge which crosses the head of the navigable Thames. 

It’s called Halfpenny Bridge because that was the original toll for pedestrians.  The bridge marks the boundary between Wiltshire and Gloucestershire with the village being on the Gloucestershire side of the river.  You can see the small toll house in the top left corner of the above photo.

Facing the bridge at the village end of the road is The Crown Inn which proudly proclaims it’s contains the first micro brewery in Lechlade.  I doubt the population could support a second brewery!

Another rather attractive pub is situated beside the bridge on the north bank.

For much of the afternoon we were buzzed by a rather large insect.  With my eyesight I thought it had four jet engines and refuelling pods on the end of its wings.  That led to a fruitless search into RAF refuelling aircraft and then NATO aircraft.  It was until I had a close look at the photo Jan had taken that I was able to identify it.

Why was a USAF B52 bomber doing circuits over Gloucestershire?  It’s the first time we’ve ever seen one!

Stalked and the blog reader

We left Oxford by going up the Oxford Canal and then turning onto Duke’s Cut to re-join the Thames.  Turning right, we headed upstream before stopping for the night on a 24 hour mooring immediately in front of the water point above Eynsham Lock.  It was an excellent mooring but there was only room for one boat.

Eynsham Lock

After dinner I went for a local walk across the fields eventually arriving in the village of Eynsham.  It was there that I came upon Eynsham Cross.

I couldn’t find much information, apart from the following.  Eynsham Cross dates from c1350.  It stands in what was once a busy market square in the village of Eynsham.  This isn’t the original cross which had long eroded.  A reconstructed cross was based on drawings dated 1813.  Apparently the cross on the top of the column was replaced by a sun dial.

I walked back to the mooring via the road where I discovered the bridge immediately in front of our mooring is privately owned and a toll bridge.

Swinford Toll Bridge

Some interesting facts about the bridge.  It was opened in 1769 and funded by the Earl of Abingdon.  The bridge has its own Act of Parliament which allows the owners to collect a toll.  The Act also makes it illegal to construct a bridge across the Thames within 3 miles either side of Swinford Bridge.  The owners do not pay tax on the revenue and it’s one of two existing toll bridges on the Thames.  It was sold in 2009 for £1.08 million.

We were heading off to bed at 10.30 when Jan told me the view of the bridge from the side hatch was worth photographing

It didn’t look that good.  The camera has captured more of the light.  Jan was up at 5am and took an early morning photo.

I was up at a more civilized hour

We left the mooring at 9.30 this morning with the intention of completing 3 hours of cruising.  Locks came and went.  Most of them were attended, although Jan doesn’t mind doing them herself.

They are all very picturesque.  At one lock the keeper told us his father was the former lock keeper and lived in the lock cottage.  He had been raised in the cottage and was now the lock keeper.  A family tradition.

Throughout most of the day we were stalked. 

A C17 doing circuits.

I told Jan I thought RAF Brize Norton might be in the general area.  No doubt most UK service men and women are familiar with Brize Norton.  My experience was limited to 1984 when I arrived and departed the UK via the airbase when I participated in a major BAOR exercise in Germany that year.

We passed nb Urquhart Castle moored in a lovely rural setting when the lady popped her head out the side hatch to tell us she had only just finished reading the blog.  I did suggest she should have better things to do with her time!   Sorry we didn’t get your names.  Please leave a comment!

I’ll finish this post by mentioning the comment on yesterday’s post which was left by Dave.  He has given us some additional information on things to look at in Oxford.  We will tray and fit them in on our return journey.

Evening walk around Oxford

Blog reader Dave left us with a comment on our post of two days ago along with a link to further information regarding “that house” I had photographed during our cruise.  This is the property

Now we know it Nuneham House.  Built in 1757 buy the 1st Earl Harcourt and now owned by Oxford University.  The Earl demolished an entire village and rebuilt it some distance away to allow construction of his new home. Lancelot “Capability” Brown designed the gardens.

During WW2 Nuneham House was commandeered by the RAF and used by the Aerial Photo Reconnaissance Interpretation Unit.  It was returned to the Harcourt family in the mid 1950’s who sold it to Oxford University.  Oxford University appears to be rather wealthy.

We have visited Oxford on a number of occasions so the walk yesterday evening was more a case of re-familiarising ourselves.  There was one new shop were were pleased to discover.  A Chinese supermarket not far from our mooring.  Steamed pork dumplings and yum cha for dinner last night!  Pudding was black rice mochi

The mound of Oxford Castle motte and bailey remains along with some ‘more modern’ fortifications.  By the 14th century the castle had lost most of its strategic importance and eventually it became a prison.  The prison closed in 1996 and was converted into a hotel. 

Christ Church is one of the colleges which make up Oxford University.  It was established in 1552 by Cardinal Wolsey using money he had obtained from the dissolution of Wallingford Priory and other minor priories.  It was 75% complete when Wolsey fell from favour and the college was suppressed only to be re-established by Henry VIII the following year.  Henry also established Cambridge University.  Christ Church college includes the smallest cathedral in England.  It also gives its name to Christchurch Cathedral in NZ and the city of Christchurch.

Like Cambridge, Oxford is also known for having punts.  We’ve lost track of the number of TV scenes from Morse or Lewis involving punts.

The Sheldonian Theatre is an interesting building with those surrounding busts.  It’s used for university ceremonies, music concerts and lectures.  Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it was completed in 1668.  It has a capacity of 800-1000. 

I never discovered why it has the busts on the perimeter?

It’s time to move on.

Live Writer

The ability to use Live Writer to write posts offline and publish them in Google Blogger has been restored.  The only function I can find that currently isn’t restored is the ability to link Google Picasa Album photos to a blog post.  However they can be embedded directly into Live Writer.

I’m surprised this problem has been rectified as I suspected Microsoft wasn’t interested in Live Writer.  The last software upgrade was in 2012 and only mentioned Windows 7.  It may have been all the online adverse comments from bloggers that resulted in the problem with the login protocol being rectified.

Yesterday evening we had a well known visitor.

Paul Balmer of Waterway Routes who produces those excellent canal maps and videos.  He’s a busy man having already spent the day with Sue and Vic (nb No Problem) helping them up the Rothersthorpe flight of locks on the Northampton Arm.  Apparently Kevin Too was also there!

We had an enjoyable couple of hours with Paul before he headed back to the railway station to catch a train home to Bristol.  Oh to be young and have all that energy!

The overnight wind didn’t buffet us about that much but we woke to a grey sky.  We’re on a 24 hour mooring so I went for a walk to look at the EA 48 hour moorings north of Sheepwash Channel Junction.  You wouldn’t have recognised them as moorings, except for the sign.  Overgrown and the edge looked shallow. On my return I diverted to looked at the southern end of the Oxford Canal.  It’s a dead end with a 30ft winding hole.  However the very end has CRT 48 hour visitor moorings.  They were all vacant!

We decided to move before there was any serious rain and headed to Sheepwash Channel Junction where we turned right, before going up through Isis Lock and onto the Oxford Canal.  We then reversed Waiouru back down the arm to the visitor moorings.

Jan has checked Google Maps and noticed there is a chinese supermarket just around the corner. That’s one confirmed location to check this afternoon.

A Wet Day

It rained overnight but we woke to a dry and blustery day.  Jan made her weekly call home whilst I carried on examining the inside of my eyelids for another 30 minutes.  Eventually we were reading to head upstream  and headed towards Abingdon Lock.  Jan put on a load of laundry in anticipation of topping up the water tank above the lock.  She had already made some dough so we could have freshly baked bread for lunch.

We knew the lock would be on self-service this early but then realised the lower gates were open and a boat was waiting for us in the lock.  It was nb Ploddin’ Along with John and Louise.  They claim they passed us at 6pm the previous day and no one was aboard.  We think they sneaked past! :-)

We wanted water and they wanted a pump-out and water.  It’s not often you get a photo of someone smiling whilst they do this job! 

The grey matter has received a work-out since we left Reading.  We’ve previously cruised this part of the Thames and the memories of that earlier trip are flooding back.  I remember this large building but haven’t yet identified its purpose or name.

An ominous black cloud appeared overhead but it hadn't rained by the time we reached Iffley Lock.  I'm fairly certain last time we were here the lock cottage gardens were in better condition.  Perhaps a change of owner?

Looking Back

By now I had remembered the large number of rowing clubs on the right (east) bank. We guess they belong to various Oxford University colleges. 

The heavens opened as we were passing under Folly Bridge.  Jan made it inside the cabin whilst I managed to get my raincoat on over my life jacket. We met a boat as we made the hard right turn after Grandpont Bridge.  The other boater was caught out by our appearance and was incorrectly positioned to make the turn.  I was already passing him to starboard when he stuck out his arm indicating he wanted me to pass on the opposite side (port).  Too late mate! 

The Thames almost looks like a canal along the last stretch to Osney Lock. We stopped on the 24 hour moorings above the lock and tucked into a lunch of tomato sandwiches made with freshly baked bread <yum>! 

John & Louise passed us about an hour later.  Their plan was to keep going and get onto the Oxford Canal.  We plan to head north later in the year and might just see them again.

It rained on and off for much of the afternoon so we lit the stove and stayed inside for the remainder of the day.  

Mrs Tiggy and the Hell Fire Club

Wow, that comment proved to be very interesting!

Mrs Tiggy left a comment on blog post “Night and Day”  in which she mentions one of the photos we took on 27 May appears to be of Medmenham Abbey and mentions “Mad Monks” and “Hell fire Club”.  Did that ever get me interested.

This is the photo and I can confirm it is Medmenham Abbey.

The original Cistercian abbey was built in the 12th century.  It was given to the Moore family during the dissolution of the monasteries (that guy Henry VIII again) before being sold on to the Duffields.  Apparently the latter were only interested in the land and the abbey gradually fell into ruin.

In 1755 Sir Francis Dashwood acquired the property and set about renovating and expanding it as a base for his “Hell Fire Club”.  Dashwood’s Hellfire Club was one of a number in England and it went on to become the most famous infamous.  The purpose of a Hell Fire Club was to establish a club for high society ‘rakes’ where they could meet and take part in immoral acts.  The members were often very involved in politics.  Dashwood established his club in 1746 and named it  The Order of the Knights of St Francis.  When the club moved to Medmenham Abbey it was renamed the Monks or Friars of Medmenham.  The members reputedly conducted pagan practices poking fun at Christianity.  They enjoyed a reputation for drunkenness and debauchery.  Eventually the activities of the club at Medmenham became too notorious and Dashwood moved it to a cave he had on his property at West Wycombe.  These were subsequently known as Hell Fire Caves.

Meanwhile, back in Abingdon it was time for the usual Sunday roast lunch.  Luck was smiling on us today because we happened to selected a pub which provided the best Sunday roast we've had since arriving in the UK.  We went to the Brewery Tap in Ock St.  The pub doesn't have much character, but the food was great.  Actually it was better than great!

Jan had the beef and I chose the pork.  They were both delicious and the vegetables were also tasty.  On the way back I stopped to take a photo of the buildings in Stratton Way. 

My eye had been attracted to the building on the left with it’s multiple gables on a curve.   Jan stopped to admire a pair of shoes in a shop window display.  She thinks Diane (nb Ferndale) might like them having seen the black and white pair Diane had bought a few weeks ago.

Abingdon County Hall Museum is situated on the southern side of the town square. 

Built in in 1683, It’s Grade I listed and constructed in the Baroque style.  Originally it was a court house where serious criminal cases were heard.  The open underneath area was used for markets and other public functions.  The museum on the upper floor opened in 1919 and in 2011 the last MG Roadster off the production line in Abingdon was placed there on display.  Approximately 9000 MGB Roaders were produced in Australia from CKD kits (completely knocked down) between 1963 and 1972.

On our way back to Waiouru Jan noticed this rather attractive setting and wanted a photo.