A Canal Walk From Banbury To Cropredy Village..

Canal boats on the Oxford canal.
We got up at 3.30 in the morning and J drove me to Cork airport. 

I caught the plane to Birmingham airport and took a train to Banbury for twenty Pounds.  I was there for five to nine in the morning.

I wasn't meeting my friend and travel companion until three in the afternoon.  I didn't want to hang around all day in the town centre so I decided to follow the canal to Cropredy village.

Of course there was no finger post sign to tell me if I was walking to Oxford or to Cropredy.  Luckily a man on a boat pointed me in the right direction.

It was a very hot day and my loaded rucksack felt heavy and I was wearing my jacket and I began to sweat profusely.

I took photos of some of the narrow boats and it looked people lived permanently on some of them.  

I even saw vegetables and plants growing on them in pots.  I don't  think I could live on a narrowboat permanently, could you? The speed limit is only 4 miles and hour and I wouldn't like to negotiate locks or live on the canal when it freezes.  

I always like walking along the towpaths in England and think of the Irish navvies in particular who dug them with a shovel.  

I saw ducks, fish surfacing, an elegant swan and a heron.  It doesn't take long for nature to make these waters natural habitats for flora and fauna.

The towpath was eroded in places and one part of the canal was very noisy with a motorway and railway line running next to it.

I walked the five miles into Cropredy village and bought a pork pie and a scotch egg and a bottle of water at a grocers and off licence.  

Then I walked up the road to see if I could find our old farmer friend to drop my rucksack off and pitch my tent!

"TENT!"

Where was my tent?  It was missing  from being tied to my rucksack.

I don't know if I had lost it at the airport or on my canal walk. I carried on up the road and of course I could not find the camp site.  So I carried on to the main road and found it very busy to cross.  There was no pavement.  Just overgrown verges and lorries and cars thundered past.

Of course there was no bus stops and I walked three miles along  the main road back to Banbury.

I found a Trespass shop in a shopping centre and bought a tent reduced to forty Pounds from one hundred.  

Then I met my friend in Wetherspoons and bought a pint of cider for 2.74.  Then we walked to the bus station and paid 2 Pounds to go back to Cropredy village.  We found the two Pounds bus fare in many places we visited on this trip.  

We found the old farmers camping site deserted but luckily we found  a campsite for motor homes and  caravans and the owner  allowed us to pitch our tents for the night.  I was very tired and I had began to think my my camping trip was turning into a nightmare.

Next day would be the start of the festival and seeing some good music.  I will tell you more in another post.