As we’re approaching Tooley’s Boatyard in Banbury, it’s time to reflect on our time on Galveston this year.
We’ve come full circle now. In April we took the boat to Banbury for some maintenance work, and on the 1st of May we set off on our 3-month cruise. Along the way we stopped in interesting towns and villages, visited good (and not so good) pubs, dealt with boat and human emergencies, met some lovely people, learnt to live by the rhythm of our bodies, instead of the clock’s, overcame heatwaves and cold snaps, and learnt to love each other and ourselves again. We read poetry each morning, marking our stops in the poetry book so that it became almost a diary in itself.
Like any good holiday, we don’t want this one to end. But that’s a good thing, as we’re already planning next year’s longer journey. And when we get back home, there is family waiting for us, and in a few weeks’ time, adventure number two with our campervan through parts of Europe.
So, where’ve we been, and what have we done?
In a (rather large) nutshell:
From Banbury to Napton up the Oxford canal.
At Napton on the Grand Union all the way to London, with detours up every navigable (and partially navigable) canal on the way. (Northampton, Buckingham, Aylesbury, Wendover and Slough)
At Bulls Bridge, up the Paddington Arm through London, stopping in Paddington for a few days. Then down to Limehouse Basin and up the Limehouse cut past the Olympic stadium to the Lee Navigation.
We’d initially intended to go round the East End of London and back to the Grand Union, to eventually go down the Kennet and Avon Canal. However, the many lock closures and stoppages on the K&A had us worried about getting back home in time. We therefore decided to go up the Rivers Lee and Stort instead. In hindsight this was a much better decision, as it continued our quest to go up all side arms on the way.
So, up the River Lee, turn East at Feilde’s Weir lock and up the Stort to the end. On the return journey we stopped at Royden Marina for nearly three weeks for various family reasons and to arrange an engine service.
A quick foray up the Lee to Ware, where the CRT lock has been closed for the past six months, but a 6-mile round trip to Hertford and back ensured we saw the end of the Lee navigation as well.
Then back down the River Lee, Chris with a broken arm thanks to a rather embarrassing bike accident while back at Oxford.
Back in London, at Sweetwater, down the Hertford Canal, then the Regent’s Canal, back to Paddington for a few days, before getting ready to meet the Thames.
At Brentford we joined the tidal Thames up to Teddington, then onwards towards Oxford. From Kingston to Oxford we followed in the footsteps of Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, stopping at churches, monuments and pubs he mentioned in the book.
We still had time to spare, so at Weybridge we went South on the River Wey to Godalming. Unfortunately the Basingstoke Canal was closed and we would have run out of time in any case, so that’s something else to look forward to in future.
At Oxford we joined the Oxford Canal via Duke’s Cut, and here we are, back in Banbury.
In total, we’ve been away for 81 days, and cruised about 60 of them. We covered 440 miles of waterways, went through 351 locks, which took roughly 260 hours of cruising.
We’re not quite done yet, as we need to take the boat back to Oxford once Tooley’s are finished with her. Then it’s on to adventures new, driving the highways and byways of Europe.
What went before, and what will follow are anecdotes, impressions and bits of history about all the places we’ve travelled.
Towpaths and Turnpikes 
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