A trip for mum

Banbury pickup

A few days later we were in Banbury to collect mum from the bus station. Tesco came first while we were down by the wood yard. Once the supplies were packed away we moved on to the 'facilities' to get fresh water etc. Then mum arrived on the National Express coach. Once on board we moved up through the lock which Vic had kindly emptied and opened for us. Both boats came up and went on to get diesel at 'Sovereign', still only 49p a litre. Stayed the night past the motorway bridge near the Tesco shop.

Cropredy

Four locks and four miles easily done during a bright sunny day. Surprisingly quickly as we were on our own for a while. Mum posted some cards and looked into the church. The unusual thing to see was the swinging clock pendulum. The river Cherwell was not at all in flood as expected after those earlier days of rain. The rest of the day was spent watching a family video.

Over the top

Another fine sunny day saw us climb up to the summit through the eight locks to Claydon Top. Following several boats and seeing some come down. Mum helped by shutting some of the gates. Stopped at the top, put out the bird feeders and watched various birds arrive to eat. During the course of the next two days we travelled the 21 miles and 9 locks down to Napton. But it was very cold with that chilly east wind. Glad to be down in the shelter of the hill. Had a meal in the 'Folly Pie' pub with its warming wood fire. Eventually got to Braunston by the weekend driving past many old tatty boats on the way in. We went to Banbury with mum on the bus so she could return home on the coach. An enjoyable trip through the countryside on a sunny dry day.