We have been tootling along the Oxford Canals this week. It has been a little disappointing because we have had to turn around before reaching our destination.
We had hoped to make it to Oxford, city of dreaming spires. It is a beautiful town and a lovely route to get there through canal history in Banbury, Aynho and Thrupp. We would have been able to catch up with our friends Martin & Saskia and my Aunt Dorothy. I was really looking forward to it.
Unfortunately there is a drought in this part of the country. There has been very little rain since February and the Canal & River Trust (CRT) are really struggling to maintain water levels so that boats can continue to navigate the canals.
The photo above shows one “pound” between two locks where we completely grounded this week, and had to wait for a CRT chap to let water down to us before we could continue with our journey.
We have seen more and more notices from CRT about lock openings being restricted and canals closed because of lack of water. I am pretty confident we would have made it down to Oxford but the big risk was that the South Oxford Canal, already 30cm down, would be closed for months and we would not be able to get back.
So at Fenny Compton we winded the boat (turned it around) and are now heading back to the Midlands, hoping that we will not be held up too much. I reckon if we can get through the Atherstone flight of locks in a few days time, we will be OK.
I am well aware that such inconveniences from Climate Change are nothing compared with people losing their livelihoods and even lives in fires and floods. But it is a reminder in our little bubble that the world is changing.
On a brighter note we did see one solution to dry canals:this week.
We saw this narrowboat landlocked in a field. The owner has cut a small canal into his land, moved his boat into it and then filled the canal in behind him. This means he can live on the boat near the canal without paying a licence to CRT. He even has his own greenhouse to grow food. It is not what I boat for. I love the travelling. But it is one way to deal with droughts!
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