- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Sep 28, 2022, 10:30 AM
- ☀️ 11 °C
- Altitude: 128 ft
- EnglandSouth Oxfordshire DistrictBenson51°36’59” N 1°6’56” W
Power the locks
September 28, 2022 in England ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
Just as Chris is making breakfast he sees a familiar figure walking towards the Wallingford Bridge on the town-side towpath. The town council charge an ever increasing fee {now £12) for overnight Moorings on 'their stretch' of the river. We don't mind paying, as at least on the north stretch the Moorings are kept in reasonable condition. If only more was done to make the southern end more boater friendly, then a similar income could be made there.
We set off for Benson, aiming to navigate just as far as Abingdon today. At the lock the 'Self Service' sign is showing and Jo heads up the steps from the landing-stage to find a man wearing a life-jacket whom she mistakes for the lock-keeper. Then the true lock-keeper appears and whilst she opens the gates for us, the canoeist, in life-jacket, explains that he's just paddled down from Day's Lock where the paddles and gates had to be worked manually - all power to the automated system is seemingly out.
After finishing with this lock, our keeper of multiple locks assures us she'll soon be at Day's Lock, where "the fusing has probably tripped", so we have no need to worry about heavy manual operation of it when we finally arrive. As we set off again in Pelangi, so the lock-keeper sets off in her car to fix the mechanical breakdown lying behind at least one river user and ahead of two others... funny old world innit!
Lots of sun breaking through the cloudscapes every five minutes over the next few miles, which is great as the river now turns northwest towards Shillingford and Lower Wittenham. Thus we are always in sight of the prominent local landmark: Wittenham Clumps!
"The Clumps" are two outcrop hills, both tree-covered, that dominate not only the south view from the Thames here, but the surrounding landscape for many miles too. The higher of the hills had an Iron-age fort built atop it, which we've visited a couple of times over the years - the first time on a wild herbs discovery walk with our wonderful Herbalist friend, Ania.
On a clear, sunny day, the near 180 degrees view of the glistening, snaking Thames below is truly breathtaking.
Today, probably due to being sunnier and a little less breezy, has brought out the 'fishing fleet', and Chris sees first some sudden ripples in the river ahead, followed by a rocketing, vivid blue and orange small bird taking off from the water and passing between us and the riverbank trees, into which the kingfisher disappears. After another mile we cut the engine and both see another flitting between trees covering the west bank as we drift quietly by.
Then there's a large adult cormorant just ahead of us, fearlessly diving over and over within yards of Pelangi cruising at normal speed. The cormorant has special oil glands in its skin, which constantly 'waterproof' its jet-black feathers to prevent it becoming waterlogged - they spend an incredible proportion of their day immersed and hunting.
Clifton Lock next, near the village of Clifton Hampden, and a volunteer gardener has been busy landscaping the lock-keeper's cottage garden with beautiful flower-beds and pot plants, full of colour, and tall sunflowers still looking grand even this late in the season!
It is here that the man-made Clifton Cut diverted the Thames a little north of, and a lot straighter than, its former convoluted flow past Long Wittenham. Boaters can still navigate south as far as the village's wonderful Plough Inn, but must turn and retrace the old course back to the main river afterwards. Providing they haven't had too many jars, that is!Read more
Carol Forbes Loving the blog and the pics. Looks gorgeous. What a great way to move!! Where do you think you'll be around the 15th October? Xx