29th June 2011 - Oxford and Beyond

Plan A is to spend the day in Oxford and leave tomorrow. So off we go and book a walking tour at the visitor information centre. Around we go, the architecture is stunning, the guide is very knowledgeable but I go into history overload fairly early on. We got a look into the dining hall and chapel at Jesus college and there was some do going on which was giving the Italian PM a bullshit degree of some sort! Everyone was poncing about in posh togs and weird gowns and stuff.

Some shots of the stunning architecture:

Then the tour finished and I said to Penny "What are we going to do now?" The reply was "lets go to Abingdon" Ah! Plan B then! So a stop at the pie shop in the market to collect a turkey, ham and stuffing pie, which we ate on the boat and was totally delicious! This done, off we go, down Isis lock and onto the Thames. Penny likes the Thames, you get a nice man to do all the work at the locks! I find it a tad more challenging as you have to get the boat stopped fairly accurately so as we can get the ropes around the bollards! Down Osney, Iffley and Sandford locks we go, a near miss with a punt at Folly Bridge and on down a very peaceful river to Abingdon lock. We decide to stop on the moorings at the top, they were empty, unusual for the Thames.

Iffley Lock:

Today's wildlife:

Looks like the search for a cottage is over:

Oncoming traffic is more interesting:

Today:     8.5 miles -     4 locks -  3.5 hours
So Far: 290.5 miles - 266 locks - 153 hours