HERBIE!

Wow, what a perfect day!  The canal from Heyford to Banbury looked gorgeous in the sunshine and blue skies yesterday.  White blossom of Blackthornin the hedgerows and celendines and dandelions on the bank.  It was a picture

My big bro Graham and siters in law Jackie joined us for their first ever narrowboat trip and now they might think it's always like this.  I think I had better invite them on a nice blustery rainy day to set the record straight.

The locks along here are deep.  Three of them between 10 and 12 feet.  Then you get to Aynho where the lock is just a foot deep, so the lock has to be lozenge shaped to let enough water through to fill the lock below.  Just above the lock, the river Cherwell flows across the canal.  Not over it.  Not under it. Through it at right angles.

Here we are in the lock looking upstream to the weir bridge where the river flows through.  That's Graham leaning on the lock gate with Kath.

Banbury comes as a bit of a shock after all that rural idyll.  The entrance to the town is industrial and somewhat scruffy, although the town centre is nice enough.  As I write this Kath is exploring the Saturday street market.

Cropredy tonight. That'll be pretty.  Rainman is joining us.  I hope his legendary personal rain cloud takes a day off.