The wind and rain strengthened all night.Trees above us were waving wildy but at least looked young and strong enough to survive and not topple onto us. Despite the three good ropes holding the boat to the bank, Saros bounced around all night, but the crew managed some sleep. Old sea-dog, Cap'n Charlie, of course, slept through it all unconcerned.
After breakfast, the Cap'n gave the crew a good talking to (safety briefing) having assessed the downriver situation and found it to be hazardous.
Just moving out from the mooring was really difficult: the strong southerly wind was opposing the equally strong current in the opposite direction. After several attempts we succeeded in getting past the other moored boats without hitting them or the buildings opposite and got swept downriver by the current. Keeping away from the weirs trying to suck us in, we got into Osney Lock with some relief. The lock-keepers (as always on the Thames) were helpful and friendly and ensured our safety, also noting that Folly Bridge would be dangerously fast flowing.
It was a relief getting out of the narrow confines by Osney Bridge into the river below Osney Lock where the river was much wider. We were still moving at a good rate, but it felt more manageable. Rounding the sharp bend towards Folly Bridge the currents were indeed quite difficult but the buildings at least protected us from the wind. Aiming at the biggest arch under the bridge seemed the best option but even that wasn't easy; the currents pulled us uncomfortably close to a very solid looking stone pier. The crew were no doubt unaware of these difficulties but with a bit of throttle, we swept under the bridge, waving to the canoeists we'd seen yesterday, who were about to brave the wild conditions.
Out into the wide reaches by Christchurch Meadows the navigating was much easier despite the wind so we swung around and found a gentle mooring on the west bank:
The geese recognised a new potential source of food and rapidly congregated around the back of the boat, expecting to be fed:
After lunch we set off through the wild, wet & windy conditions for a tour of some other bits of Oxford that Wanda & George hadn't yet seen: Christchurch College & park, (including deer in the meadow), Corpus Christi College, past the Botanical Gardens, Magdalen College and bridge, and the still cobbled Bear Lane. As ever, Wanda's got lots of great photos but we still don't have any way of getting them into the blog. :-(
Back to the boat and off up-river through Osney Lock again, this time going against the current isn't so dangerous. Under the low Osney Bridge with all its traffic and on past wildy waving trees, threatening at any moment to crash down on us (some clearly already had) and up through the well flooded Port Meadow with grazing cattle and horses, to Godstow Lock, past the Trout (famous from the Morse TV programmes) and under the noisy A43 western bypass to King's Lock where we could turn off the river into the Duke's Cut.
After the near hurricane conditions on the open stretches of Port Meadow, it was a huge relief to get into the sheltered confines of canals again. One shallow lock put us back onto the Oxford Canal again and a few lift bridges and a lock or two later saw us back into Jericho:
The Roman Catholic Church (St Barnabas) in the background is a spectacular building and in common with many churches, it has a good pub nearby: The Old Bookbinders Ale House.
As it was a very short stagger, the girls unwisely allowed the boys a night out on their own in the pub! The pub still has the free peanuts it used to be famous for:
but unlike the old days where it was obligatory to throw the shells on the floor so that the entire floor had a wonderful crunchy coating, now pots are provided for the cast-offs. Presumably the elfs (elf & safety) at work again!
So George found solace in reading the menu, here's a picture of him doing that:
Cheeky!
After breakfast, the Cap'n gave the crew a good talking to (safety briefing) having assessed the downriver situation and found it to be hazardous.
Just moving out from the mooring was really difficult: the strong southerly wind was opposing the equally strong current in the opposite direction. After several attempts we succeeded in getting past the other moored boats without hitting them or the buildings opposite and got swept downriver by the current. Keeping away from the weirs trying to suck us in, we got into Osney Lock with some relief. The lock-keepers (as always on the Thames) were helpful and friendly and ensured our safety, also noting that Folly Bridge would be dangerously fast flowing.
It was a relief getting out of the narrow confines by Osney Bridge into the river below Osney Lock where the river was much wider. We were still moving at a good rate, but it felt more manageable. Rounding the sharp bend towards Folly Bridge the currents were indeed quite difficult but the buildings at least protected us from the wind. Aiming at the biggest arch under the bridge seemed the best option but even that wasn't easy; the currents pulled us uncomfortably close to a very solid looking stone pier. The crew were no doubt unaware of these difficulties but with a bit of throttle, we swept under the bridge, waving to the canoeists we'd seen yesterday, who were about to brave the wild conditions.
Out into the wide reaches by Christchurch Meadows the navigating was much easier despite the wind so we swung around and found a gentle mooring on the west bank:
The geese recognised a new potential source of food and rapidly congregated around the back of the boat, expecting to be fed:
After lunch we set off through the wild, wet & windy conditions for a tour of some other bits of Oxford that Wanda & George hadn't yet seen: Christchurch College & park, (including deer in the meadow), Corpus Christi College, past the Botanical Gardens, Magdalen College and bridge, and the still cobbled Bear Lane. As ever, Wanda's got lots of great photos but we still don't have any way of getting them into the blog. :-(
Back to the boat and off up-river through Osney Lock again, this time going against the current isn't so dangerous. Under the low Osney Bridge with all its traffic and on past wildy waving trees, threatening at any moment to crash down on us (some clearly already had) and up through the well flooded Port Meadow with grazing cattle and horses, to Godstow Lock, past the Trout (famous from the Morse TV programmes) and under the noisy A43 western bypass to King's Lock where we could turn off the river into the Duke's Cut.
After the near hurricane conditions on the open stretches of Port Meadow, it was a huge relief to get into the sheltered confines of canals again. One shallow lock put us back onto the Oxford Canal again and a few lift bridges and a lock or two later saw us back into Jericho:
The Roman Catholic Church (St Barnabas) in the background is a spectacular building and in common with many churches, it has a good pub nearby: The Old Bookbinders Ale House.
As it was a very short stagger, the girls unwisely allowed the boys a night out on their own in the pub! The pub still has the free peanuts it used to be famous for:
So George found solace in reading the menu, here's a picture of him doing that:
Cheeky!
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