We were quite surprised how noisy the trains were last night as we thought we were well away from the line. I think they must have been freight trains.
Last night was cold again but this morning things soon warmed up and soon after setting off we shut the stove down. Northbrook lock was with us, but after that our luck changed. We met one boat between here and Pigeons Lock , but unfortunately not only was that against us, it only had one paddle operational so took for ever to fill. It looks as if CRT have invested in some new bags to cover the faulty
paddles. There are flowers and photos near the lock in memory of a boater who sadly lost his life there last week.
Below the lock the boat that became stranded during the last flood is still on the edge of the towpath, the bows are right on the edge but the centre of the stern is probably about 200mm onto the path.It will be interesting to see how they remove it.
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We didn’t see another boat on the move until we got to Bakers Lock, Diana had just drawn the top paddle on the empty lock when a boat appeared on the river, so she dropped it and went to open the bottom gate. By the time the boat was in the lock there were two more behind it, so I guessed they all squeezed into Shipton Weir Lock. We didn’t meet anyone on the river which was hardly moving but another hire boat was just entering Shipton when we got there. I must say the gates are very heavy on that lock, maybe a drop of grease would help.
Shipton Lift Bridge is another one that has been mechanised with a hydraulic pump on the towpath side, this must make life much easier for single handers.
The stop lock as expected was open and we were into the Thrupp Cruising Club moorings, the canal is unusually wide here. As we approached Aubrey’s Lift Bridge a boater at the services shouted to ask if we were going through and kindly walked up and opened the bridge for us. There were a couple of vacant moorings on the 7 day moorings which have rings, so we pulled into the last spot for the night. Tonight we are meeting friends in The Boat Inn.
Today’s Journey 
6 Miles with 4 locks in 3¼ hours
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