Oh boy, hot, hot, hot

We moved slowly to Fenny Compton before it got hot. The Wharf Inn has a tap outside so we took on water. Then we noticed a Launderette. The Inn also has a small shop inside which sells milk, bread and other items useful for boaters and the campsite. Much of our winter kit, clothes and bedding, have now been washed, dried and packed away. “We do of course have our own washing machine but the big commercial unit took it all in one go for £6.”

The five locks at Claydon are open between 10 and 5 each day. We got there to join a queue of two going down. Several boats were on the way up, which made for an easy trip. There are a further three to get down to Cropredy but with no other boats it took longer. Four hours travelling is enough for us so we settled for the first set of ‘visitor moorings’. “Not ideal with a soft edge and rocks below!” BW issued a ‘Customer Service Standards’ document a few years back but as yet have not been able to achieve it. Perhaps C & R T will refer to it for guidance. It is unreasonable to assign a visitor mooring where a boat cannot stop without problems.

After relaxing over a late lunch we were able to move on to better mooring when a few boats had moved away.

We walked down to the local Spar shop for provisions. We are sad to report that the Post Office at Cropredy has closed. The next is at Banbury.