It's Raining...... You Gotta Be Joking.....

Awoke this Friday morn at some ungodly hour, bout 8.30am, to an unfamiliar sound .
After a short interrogation Leonie gave in and admitted it was rain, " you gotta be joking" I said because it doesn't rain in England, not much anyway.
But it was so, that set back the plans we didn't have, we waited until it eased to nothing then set off  toward Thrupp...
The rest of the day was only intermittent light rain and we travelled to our next moorings, about 1.5mls, no sweat..

 

Before we left Oxford we made contact with Elaine & Paul, The Manly Ferry, who were passing through on their  way North.
Couldn't find a reason not to have a beer and so...

Paul parked the boat only a road and a strip of grass width from the bar..
I swear one day Paul will manage to alight from the mighty ship stepping directly into the bar...






At the pub...  The Punter....  OOOHHH it was leaving time that's why the table appears bare of consumables...
Thanks for another great catchup.....


Onto todays mooring outside the Jolly Boatman pub..

FireflyNZ is the second boat. We were moored were the first boat is but I said to Leonie we need to move as we'll get no Exercise walking for a beer....
And I might add just moving the NB and retying the ropes is Hard Yakka..






View from the road......


I told you how hot it was yesterday and  while waiting at Dukes Cut lock this lady and dog and husband  came by so I had a yarn with them...

 

The dog had matching lace head gear to keep the sun at bay...


They were riding brand new electric push bikes. Theyr'e  good for 30 miles on a charge...
"BYE"  we said as they disappeared up the tow path...

"GIDDAY" we said half an hour later...  By Roundham   Bridge lock..
One of the bikes had suffered a puncture.

Blog takes a break.. Just been to the pub with Leonie & Maffi...

They'd already patched the Ol,  but the air was still coming out the side of the patch...

Enter Stage Left...  With my experience as a team mechanic on Tour DE  France with US Postal where we told no lies  this was bread and butter...

Remove the tyre  off the rim and repatch  the tube...

Whatever way you look at it I'm in control...   Finally got it sorted after  a  faulty bike pump  caused us grief...  

They headed off up the tow path again...   Geeee I must have earnt  some  " I love a Kiwi points"...


Nostalgia... past this boat with the OL Seagull out board slung on the rear...

The owner was just stepping off as I took the photo, He said...

Someone smashed me up the arse and the motor's stuffed.... Dammm  so valuable...

Tomorrow.. another day...

Clean those windows.....

Today weather wise was a scorcher in fact by mid day the sun  shining directly on ones back was just too hot so off with the tee shirt and back to the ol'  DB Draught singlet and a top up to the tan...

Leaving the Oxford city area the first part of the navigation is to pass through Isis lock and immediately do a "EW  EEE" on the Thames, the only place large enough to wind, and head back through the lock along the Oxford canal...

If your at the Isis lock end of the canal  plan your NB necessities  wisely  as  College Cruisers boat yard charged us 20 quid for a pump out. There diesel was 1.10 quid a litre  and calor gas 30 quid a 13 kg bottle.....

First was the EW EEE on the Thames..

A third way around...... using the bow rope  tied to the jetty  to hold the front end on the spot.....








Two thirds around looking back at Isis lock...


Then heading back up the canal there's a lot of permanent moorers / liveaboards and some of the NB's are less than desirable but they all have windows, different types of windows...

Cape Cod house style...

Skyscraper type.......

Conservatory  type.....

Anglican type.....

Cunard Liner type.......

Play House type.....

Lead Light type....

Pantry type.....

 Lysergic Acid Diethylamide  type..... 67 era...


















LSD type......   abbreviated ........

 

And just plain SH-T  House type...


Some other  NB,s have....

(1) The seat to steer on top of the letter box so you just know when the postie has been....

(2) The bikes carried with the wheels high enough to hit the bridge.... Ideal  warning system for following boats...

Outboard motor bow thruster... enough power to steer while traversing a weir on the Avon....


I happened by this wicked set of immaculately  kept set of  quality tools...

 

 Snap On  quality and  every drawer has a tool for every type of  mechanical job...





Tim The Toolman has nothing on these....

 

Plus a 230V / 12V fridge to keep the Smoko"s  cool..

Then I stumbled upon this Classic...

A Nissan Figaro......  Looks like a 60s design but was built between 89 & 91...
Mostly steel body but has fiberglass FR, guards & grille surround...

Only painted in 4 factory colours... Topaz Mist, Emerald Green, Pale Aqua, Lapis Grey. They represent the 4 seasons...
Topas Mist was the least popular so a smaller number were painted in that colour...

3 Speed Auto..  trendy factory radio... looked like leather seats.... convertible...

987cc...plus "hair dryer"  turbo-charged..... 106 mph....

I think we should have one....  parked next to a 63 VW splitty..... bloody beauty....

I told you it was hot today...  so hot in fact that the woman in Oxford went....

Topless..... swimming...

Tomorrow rain is forecast. May shelter in Thrupp....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The South West Coast....

We carried on up the Cornwall coast  to Port Isaac home of  Doc  Martin.  A picturesque bay  but once again my ill adjusted camera isn't doing justice to the photos.

As with all these tourist "traps" it's a  pay to park and walk to the  scene..
Each day on the coast the weather was hot and the sea dead flat. Just a typical English summer day..

 

The tide was out and so were several fishing boats with only bouy's  left to mark the spot..


There were walking tours to show the places of Doc Martin interest at 10 quid but we used  forensics to work it out ourself...  If theirs 50 people outside a house taking photos who lived there???...

 

A Port Isaac village street and yes there were 4x4 vehicles etc, driving  amongst the tourists...

 

Looking across the bay and the Doc,s  house is 4th from the right..

 

Looking to the town centre and boat ramp..

 

 

After the tourists had left there were still two patients in line waiting for  their  medical appointment with the Doc...

A stream in the village flowed under the buildings....

And down the side of the narrow street....

 

The  ques and  mini traffic jams for parkes is depressing so I  used some Kiwi Enginuity,  my words,  and parked on an unmarked plot of dirt in line with all the other parks  and  causeing no obstruction...

When we returned to the car...

There was a 100 quid parking ticket on the screen... for parking in an  unallocated parking bay...

And this is where  the "Penis  Head"  allocating the tickets parked...

On the drive in road obstructing the traffic.... He was 100 metres away dishing out more tickets....DDOOOHHHH...


Next stop was Tintagel, there's a castle there reputed to be  the birth place  of  King Arthur. A nice village  built away from the sea side. We had only  a short stop  to consume another  pastie  and  walk  the  main  drag...

The post office showing  a bit of  a sag... built in the 14th century...

Up the coast we travelled and were going to bed down for the night but pulled into  the  parking  precinct for Clovelly. This  amazing cliff clinging village is all privately owned by the  farming  family of Hamlyn's whos  land  has 6 miles of  coastal frontage.

As it was after 6pm  all the tourists had gone so we  payed  the  4 quid parking fee and were free to go down the  500 foot decent through the village to the  harbour..

It was a good plan as there was no people to push past....




Half way down the main street... it's all cobble stoned..  see the sled  parked, that's how the residents bring all there provisions down from the top they don't pull them up hill..

A lot  of the  cottages are rented to employees... money from tourism goes back into the community..

 

 

 

Stopping for a breather and they were going down hill..

 

two thirds down and the  harbour  wall, its foundation rocks slotted together, no mortar, in the 14th century... tides out... pity canals aren't tidal, would be easy for a spot of maintenance on the hull...

 

Down the bottom  and  one of two pubs. The other is in the row of houses about half way down...

We did sample a brew...

There's quite a rise and fall in the tide...

One lady resident is 82 yrs young and lived here all her life. She walks the hill twice a day...

 

A steep climb  and not easy on the feet...  flip flops not recommended...


Headed back to Oxford  so Pam could catch the bus direct to Heathrow Saturday evening...

 

Last day of lock sharing...  Thanks for  sharing the last seven weeks, we hope you enjoyed the canal life...  (PS remember who won the last card game??)...    Cheers...

Down South....

We hired a rental to visit Cornwall  to  check places out ourselves and to  show  Pam places she'd been before  before she left for NZ. Actually to take her some where she hasn't been before  would involve a trip to Mongolia and the rental Insurance  didn't cover that.
Off we set from Thrupp the latest  Citroen , Sebastion Loeb  rally special, which  refused  to let any one  vechicle pass on freeway or narrow country lane.
Leonie was calling the pace notes, R7,  L3, R6, L5, don't cut corner,  sort of thing but when she called  4P confusion reigned until the  recall was 4 A P then we pulled over to Parc Ferme...

After  four odd hours we  emerged from the wooded hills to view the nice fishing village of  Looe way down South on the Cornwall coast.

The temperature was 26C  which made being  by the sea very pleasant..

The water  Taxi moving  people across the harbor @  50p each...

I didn't notice until a week of  taking photo's that my camera was on a setting for  macro which is for close ups of insects etc so the photo's aren't  great...

Looking up the harbor from the sea end..

Across to  the other side..

The  harbour entrance with sea wall and very sandy beach. ... I thought there was only stones in the UK..

We crossed on the boat....  those kids brought along  a  sail  each  incase the  motor broke down..

It was back in the car and on to Fowey, another port, well after all the trip was to visit fishing ports.
We crossed the harbour  to the village on a car ferry @ 3.50 quid all up...

For all you land lubbers this is called a tall ship.... maybe a survivor from the battle of Trafalgar....

 

 

 

 

Hard to  find a fault on a day like this.....

The narrow village streets had constant traffic squeezing  past  visitors......


The word on the street was that, Paul the Croc man,  was on the Southern coast...


 




So the  locals were ready... a good colour match too...


















Back in the car and on to  Penzance. Not  such a compact  seaside  town and staying to long wasn't an option...

First sight was of  St Michaels Mount a privately owned estate. It was once a monastery type place...
At low tide  it's possible to walk to the island...

Penzance  Harbour....

And salt water baths on the promenade.......

Stayed the night in this  pub B&B at Newbridge,

If in Cornwall do as the Cornwellies do, eat a Cornish pastie... Very filling  and a lot of  fillings to chose from but  no gravy and not as good as a NZ steak, steak and cheese pie...


Headed up the West coast and the scenery was completely different, Awesome it was, with  untamed land and every village and farm building was solid stone .....






Stone walls.....






Land covered with  heather ......

 

 

 

 

 

And ruins of  mines  are common... Tin was the most  common  mineral  extracted....

Narrow roads with high banks and hedge rows... had to stop  and reverse to let vehicles by several times....

Up the coast and next was ST Ives....

Didn't drive to the  centre of town, just a look from the hills......



Next stop was Padstow. This town made famous by Chef Rick Stein. 
As with every town / village pay for parking then walk to see the sights.....

 

A nice pub with the hang'n basket theme...

And another 30 metres up the street....

More pleasure boats than fishing here...

The harbor inside the sea wall was quite small... but circled by shops, cafes, pubs etc.....

And the  tourists were building up to " get out of my face" numbers.....

The reason they come here....

Rick Stein  popularity.....   the power of TV...    His Deli shop...

Deli again..... has bottled ale in the name of  "Chalky" the faithful dog .......

He also has a fish shop, fish & chip shop, Patisserie shop, B&B, a shop shop, never found his actual restaurant.....

So on up the coast but that's  another story.....