Cold night, fine day.

The roof thermometer was showing 4.7°C this morning at 6 o’clock. That must be the coldest night since Spring, and you could tell inside as well as out. Ten degrees warmer, but still chilly.

But with the clear skies there was no point in lighting the fire, as soon as the sun got up the temperature rose rapidly.

Rather better than when we arrived yesterday..

I think we woke Maffi up as we tooted, passing NB Milly M. A tousled head appeared at the side hatch…

Morning Maffi!

We passed a single hander as we approached Shipton Weir Lock, he was getting ready to move so I said I’d wait for him at the lock. Although the canal is classified as narrow, this lock will accommodate two narrow boats, so long as neither is full length.

Two in the diamond shaped Shipton Weir Lock

The boater had not been this way before and assumed that we’d be able to share the locks for the day. He was soon disabused of this mad notion when we reached Bakers Lock, a conventionally shaped chamber.

The Cherwell was behaving itself this morning, just a bit of flow making it easier round the bends upstream than down.

Little remains of the cement works near the river, the most prominent feature is the tall chimney.

It’s final operators were the Blue Circle Industries.

It’s attractive to those who like to explore derelict sites…

Going up Bakers.

I’m sure the dishes at The Satellite Earth Station have multiplied!
There’s nothing exciting about this group of dishes, from Ofcom’s website -
A Satellite Earth Station is a type of radio equipment used to communicate with a space station (satellite) from the Earths surface. They are typically used to provide telephony, data, backhaul, broadcast feeder links and two-way business/consume broadband or corporate type communications.

As usual it’s a bit of a slalom through Enslow and past the Rock of Gibraltar, boats moored both sides restricting the channel.

Pigeon Lock was occupied by a boat coming down when we arrived, and two more were waiting behind, so we had assisted passage up. Our intention was to stop above Dashwood Lock, but we decided to pull in past the Kirtlington Quarry moorings, but before Old Brighton Bridge. There’s some pleasant stretches of piled bank along here, and it was quiet enough on the towpath for me to get some of the woodpile sliced and diced.

Moored north of Kirtlington.

We were alone here at midday, now in the evening there are half a dozen boats moored here.

Locks 3, miles 4