A trundle through Banbury

Saturday 30^th May; Nadkey Bridge to Spiceball Park  

We didn’t plan on going far today so didn’t rush to set off.  Between our mooring and Banbury are two lift bridges, which like many on the Oxford are ‘normally left open’ – we have never, as far as we can remember, had to operate any of them.  But today was different.

Shouldn’t Haynes’ lift bridge be open?

You can just see the bright blue of the rope which had been used to keep it closed – I couldn’t work out how, and neither could I shift it to open the bridge.  I tried pulling the rope on the offside but I wasn't heavy enough.  Luckily this is a popular dog walk from the housing estates and two people soon arrived to help. 

This lovely chap helped, the other walker encouraged us!

They confirmed it was normally open.  When we came past last week we had seen a cyclist trying to operate them from the offside, so we wondered if it was someone local.  Between us we got it closed again but I couldn’t work out how to ‘latch’ it.

The deck is badly warped.

I called the CRT emergency line as it looked so dodgy and soon had a call back.  The chap I spoke to said it was probably the farmer who had closed it – it’s his access to the fields that are otherwise cut off by the motorway – and as the fields are so large that is probably why we hadn’t spotted him.  He was pleased I had called, as that will enable them to bring the planned engineering check a bit closer.  The other lift bridge, Foxes, is due to be automated (presumably for windlass operation) later this year.  I’m sure that will delight the locals who otherwise have to go right down to Nadkey to get to the towpath.  On the way to moor at Tramway we passed the remains of the tree which had closed the navigation for 8 hours over a week ago.

8 hours is a whole day’s cruise for hirers, no wonder they were all rushing to catch up!

I popped over to Morrison’s for some shopping and the paper.  It was too early for lunch so we moved on – or tried to!  Forward gear had failed, but at least I managed to get back onto the bank with a rope and moor us up again.  It’s done this before, so Dave knew how to fix it - he unscrewed the panel, freed the red clutch button which had jammed and refitted the control handle over the cog.  It had come loose and needed re-tightening with an Allen key.  It didn’t take long and we were soon on the move again.  A boat was on the water point below the lock, so we went up the lock and used the water point above it.  The Milly M was closed up so we didn’t see Maffi or  Susan.  There was space to moor just past Tooley’s boatyard, just past the venerable Hardy which has been moored (or sunk) here for some years.

While Dave went to Lidl for the rest of the shopping I talked to one of the three men who were pumping some of the water out of Hardy. 

The last round of fundraising raised enough to buy some planking to replace the rotten patches, and soon they hope to take her into the dry dock to fit them – but more fundraising will, of course, be needed.  We noted that the donations box at the Thrupp book exchange was for the Tooley’s charity. 

Dave returned with the nice bread for lunch and we debated whether to stay where we were.  There is little footfall here – pedestrians have to cross the footbridge to get further along the canal – but with the fast-food places and other entertainment venues the potential for noise on a Saturday evening is considerable, so we moved up to Spiceball park.  The mooring wasn’t quite as good as last time, being a bit closer to the Fine Lady bread factory, but still good, and shady too – the sun was out and it was hot again.  Dave went up to B&Q and found a suitable bolt to replace the broken one on the side hatch, and a new fitting for the hose reel which leaks all over the well deck when in use.  It didn’t fit of course, but Dave used the washer to replace the original which had perished.

2½ miles, 2 lift bridges, 1 lock.