All Oak Wood Sunday 29 December 2019

Day : Sunday
Date : 29 December 2019
Start : 1045
Finish : All Oaks, N Oxford 1530

A much brighter day today and looking at the sky this evening I am hopeful for tomorrow as well.
Before setting of a short walk round the basin and a visit to the food shop that specialises in eastern European thing. I have never had dry smoked squid before and then we were off. One of the bridges has some interesting art work, I can't call it graffiti as it was commissioned. What did surprise me were the yellow and blue wheelie bins right by the canal, form the labels they contain oil spill clean up kits and no one has set fire to them yet. Further along on the off side there is a complete wall made from old shipping containers standing 3 high.
You can't come down the Coventry Arm and not take a photo of the concrete sofa, no one has thrown this one in the cut yet. Talking of throwing things in the cut I have never seen this branch so clear of floating rubbish, on one trip down the weedhatch in the whole 10 miles.
When we reached Hawkesbury Junction I had to wait for a boat to come out from the Oxford before we could swing under the footbridge to the lock. A group of moorers just beyond the lock look as if they had a joyful Christmas.
Just beyond bridge 44 the fields are well flooded, I wonder if the pylon will grow a few inches with its roots in water.

We carried on and as the sky's cleared and the sun popped out again very low in to the horizon it started to feel a bit cooler, a kind boater taking water at Rose Narrowboats opened the swing bridge for us which was most appreciated as we carried to moor for the night on the rings just before All Oaks corner. We have met quite a few boats today, probably more than we have seen moving all week until today, the first being on the Coventry Arm followed by a couple at Sutton Stop.

Today's Journey14½ Miles 1 Lock in 4¾ hours.

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