Wormleighton

Our cruise today was simply to get services at the nearest wharf, which happened to be in the village of Fenny Compton. This was about six miles away by the wiggliest section of canal we have yet travelled. As the crow flies it's a distance of about three miles. However we did not want to get to far ahead of ourselves, so this morning we set off with the intention of winding (turning) and heading back towards Priors Harwick once we had used the services. On the outskirts of Fenny Compton we stopped for water at a particularly busy bottleneck, which consisted of a water point, winding hole, public house, bridge, coal boat and visitor moorings, all within 50 yards of canal. Needless to say we observed some interesting boating manoeuvres whilst we waited. Then it was on to Fenny Compton wharf. We winded in the marina entrance which was quite tight, cheating a bit with generous use of the bow thruster. After our pump out we were off again on a return journey. We had seen a spot near the village of Wormleighton on the way, and this was where we were aiming for. We arrived just after lunchtime and secured the boat.

       

As can be seen in the photo the towpath is wide and grassy and the four legged crew member decided to sit outside for a while.

       

When we arrived at this spot we had it to ourselves. But we have found on our travels that as soon as one boat moors it seems to attract others so we were not alone for long.

       

The view from our side hatch across the Warwickshire countryside. This summit section of the Oxford Canal is very rural, quite and unspoiled, currently. The dreaded HS2 high speed railway is due to carve up this tranquil haven sometime in the future.

We will only stay one night here then continue our journey. The nearest winding hole is back at the Napton locks so we have to go all the way there first, before heading back this way to continue on towards Cropredy and possibly Banbury.

Totals 8 Miles

Running total 560 Miles 257 Locks 19 Tunnels