Loads of moaning but it's no problem

This was the sky last night.  Rather a pretty one don’t you think?

So time to leave Kings Sutton, it’s been a lovely mooring for the Bridge Hoppers that we have been this weekend.

No boats, no people, we like moorings like this.

We left pretty early heading off towards Banbury, we wanted water there and it was bound to be busy.  

I just love it when we go under motorways, I think to myself how many of those busy bees would rather be down here on the canal….

Going under the M40

This is the meadows to the south of Banbury, you may remember that we had a Rude Awakening here back in April      HERE

The work does not look terribly much further on these months later.  I wonder what it will be like next year, if we come back this way.

Into Banbury, the canal seemed pretty quiet, the water point was not however.  Two boats on the bottom water point and as we approached, the boat exiting the lock made his intensions clear that he wanted water too.  Easy decision for us to go through the lock and water at the top side.

As we completed the lock there was a smaller boat on the water point, fine, we will wait.  As I approached the boat, it was clear that it was not filling up, there wasn’t a hose which was a clue.   I walked to the lady and said that we wanted water and had she finished…?  Oh I am just doing a bit of boat washing and painting!!!!!!!

Water points, excellent place for boat painting!!!!

On the corner of edging, Wal getting scrapped.

I was a little surprised at this answer and said well are you mooring here then, we want water.  

Oh you should be able to get in behind she said.  Well she was kind enough to pull her boat forward so that we could almost fit on, all concrete walls here and as the the lock went on to empty and fill there was quite a bit of movement, or scrapes I might call it.  

But in her head this was perfectly acceptable.  She had a permanent mooring in the boat yard there but today was a school visit.  Tooleys Historic Boatyard were taking the school children out in their Dayboat so she had had to move her boat to allow this.  So washing her boat and painting she was, on the water point.

Finally  the water was done, a newspaper fetched, we were off again.  There were spaces in the centre of Banbury as it was about 10am-ish, but still in these places that many people want to moor in do boaters leave these ANNOYING gaps.  We always moor button to button in the summer, in busy places.  

Why don’t others?

Nice big spaces left in-between boats

Now we knew that NB No Problem   HERE     was on the move this morning, we had hoped to see them and as always it was on a bend with no room to stop.  But we did stop on the very next place we could and biked back to visit them. 

They are both looking very well and pleased to be on the move hot footing it down to The Thames to meet up with family.

Glad we got chance for a chin wag both.

We were headed for Cropredy, but as we got within range there was a nice stretch of Armco with only one boat on it.  Bish bash bosh and we had moored on it, got out those trusty chairs and we did what I just love doing in the summer months of reading in the sun, then watching a whole bunch of boats moor up in quick succession in front and behind us.

Cows make us feel at home.

Supper was a skinny supper of Thai fish cakes with salad.