Since we have been moored at
Marston Doles a lone duck makes an appearance whenever I open the side
hatches. It’s obviously a cross breed
but very friendly – it comes even though I have never fed it.
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My friendly duck
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After getting the washing
done first thing on Monday I decided to take a walk across country into
Napton. The village stores have a Post
Office and I have only recently learnt that cheques can be paid into bank
accounts at PO counters so It was an ideal opportunity to get some cheques paid
in.
I picked a circular route
that would take me by the Old Engine House Arm and then down into Napton and
back by the canal towpath.
The first field I came to didn’t
have any crops or livestock so it was safe to let Buddy off for a run.
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Good dog walking field
just across from where we are moored
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I then got a little lost
and ended up in another field where there were a lot butterflies flying around –
mainly tatty Common Blues. Poor old
Buddy didn’t like it as there were a lot of thistles and he was being
incredibly wary.
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The butterfly field
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Underside of a faded male
Common Blue
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I retraced my steps to
find out where I had gone wrong and then found the path again. There was a gap through a hedge with a
footpath sign but it was very overgrown.
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No wonder I missed the
path through the hedge but it's OK for Buddies
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I soon came to the Old
Engine House Arm.
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| Just a stagnant ditch is all that is left now |
In order to supply the
Napton flight of locks with water, a pump house was built at a well head and it began operation
in 1793. Water was pumped into the arm
which ran for about ½ mile before joining the Oxford canal between locks 14 and
15 on the flight. I cannot find
out when it ceased operation but pumping was restarted in 1911 using two traction
engines to raise the water.
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All that remains of the
old pump house
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It seems that it was
converted into a barn or cowshed many years ago with the addition of a lot of
corrugated sheeting. I could only find
one picture on the web and that is relatively recent but at least more of the
building was standing then:
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| Photo courtesy of English Walks |
Boats used to deliver coal
to the pump house and wind in a winding hole at the end of the arm opposite the
pump house..
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All that remains of the
old winding hole. The arm runs along the line of trees
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After popping into the
village stores we walked back along the towpath past all nine locks in the
Napton flight. Jane and Alan (he of
Karen’s team at work) had moored overnight in the flight but Jane had long gone by
the time we walked up. They have the
reverse roles to us – Jane has retired like me and Alan has a short term
contract like Karen. Which reminds me
that Karen has now entered her last six months 😊
Near the top of the flight
we passed the entrance to the Old Engine House arm. A dozen or so boats moor along the first
section which is still navigable. Rather
a nice place to have a permanent mooring as it is away from people as there are
no public rights of way on that side of the canal.
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| Entrance to the Old Engine House arm off the Oxford canal |
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The penultimate lock has
rather a sweet canal workers hut/forge/stable
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I’m not sure if I have
mentioned it before but Buddy is a rescue dog we got from the RSPCA when he was
less than a year old and we weren’t given any background. We soon learnt that he was frightened of
metallic grating sounds. So, for
example, the sound made by floating pontoons when they rise and fall with the
river flow. As we rarely moor at places
like this he doesn’t often get scared.
When we were moored at
Cropredy, several boats bumped into us and each one really freaked him
out. He can now sense boats coming long
before we do – either by sound or the motion in the water. As soon as he is aware of a boat approaching he
wants to get right next to us for comfort.
Obviously, we reassure him but we can’t stop him doing it poor lad ☹
Fortunately he is only like this inside
the boat otherwise he wouldn’t have much fun as a liveaboard boat dog.
We are moored just above
the top lock and a sharp right hand turn has to be made when you are leaving
the lock. It’s fine if you are aware of
it, but if you’re not then it’s easy to get stuck on the side of the
canal. Our mooring gives us rather a
good vantage point. This picture shows a
boat coming out of the lock and you can see the turn that has to be made:
The guy in the picture
above made it without any trouble but the next picture shows a boat that didn’t
and he ended up on the silt. When this
happens, the crew pole the boat off but I didn’t really feel it appropriate to
take pictures of that happening.
I'm not sure what to do today as, contrary to the forecast, it is pouring with rain outside.
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