We left the mooring above Cropedy at 8:00 and had a very straightforward run to Banbury. Needing water we stopped at the water point between the lifting bridge and the Town Lock - the last on the canal with mitred bottom gates. The 14 day mooring (with rings) near the path to the station road was vacant so here we are! The Environment Agency in still showing red and yellow boards including a no go at Osney, so we would be unable to get on the Thames there. If then by mid next week the Thames is open we can continue. If not its plan B.
Pat had discovered a small problem with my work on the calorifier. There was no cold water in the shower. I had not tested it obviously. Investigation revealed that the cold supply to the shower cubicle was not even connected and there was no obvious point at which this could be done. A new pipe run would have to be established, however, all my spares had been taken home, believing the work done. I needed a new set of connectors. At Cropedy I had established (or so I thought) that there was a Screwfix store near at hand, so organised a "click and collect" order. In Banbury I discovered that it was a 26 minute walk away. Google maps gave me the route, so I set off. Before long I found myself on a major arterial road with no pavement, only grass verges and in places protruding bushes. The only way to cross the road was to scale the dividing barrier, traffic roaring past at 50-60 mph. Not a pleasant experience at all. Then to my dismay, the store, shown on the map as being on this dual carriageway actually had no access except from side roads accessible by a half mile detour. So it was through the bushes, scale a wooden fence and bingo. On the way back I found the cycle path through Spiceball park, even so I had to traverse the fence and dual carriageway, half expecting a police car to pull over any moment. Back at the boat, using push fit plastic it only took a few minutes to actually do the job. No need to drain anything if the ready assembles pipework could be connected it to the supply quickly. It could.
Very few boats have passed us today, but all mostly at speed, so the mooring will have to be attended to tomorrow.
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