The weather has improved to normal English grey. A quick inspection showed one stake had pulled loose in the storm and we we shifted firmly on to a shallow bar. Now came the reality of some of the toads less than sterling handling habits but without incident we got her free and headed up stream for Oxford.
We passed under Clifton Hampden bridge at Thames mile 79.5 passing the fine Clifton Hampden Hotel and caravan park to port, where moorings situated along a manicured garden were available for those who wished a more refined mooring.
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Mile 84.5 Abington
The rain was now intermittent as we worked our way northward through rolling pastures. By noon we were getting hungry and eager to explore the surrounding towns and pubs.
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There is nothing like a quay side pub with a pint of bitter and a hot lunch to take the chill out of a travelers bones. As we approached the Abington bridge we found the first of many such pubs that we would visit on this journey.
Unfortunately when we returned after a very enjoyable lunch of true English fish and chips and a pint of " the best " we found that Edgar's favorite fishing lure was missing from the rod on the foredeck where he had left it, which should be a warning to travelers "that those who sit and watch the passing boats would also like to avail themselves of some of the equipment at your expense."
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As we progressed north, it was very obvious that we were in a more affluent neighborhood, as the houses became grander and their wharves showed a wonderful variety of antique wooden vessels including rare small live steam launches.
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It is a only a 20 mile run from Days lock to Oxford where the Thames becomes no more than a gently flowing stream with bridges too low to permit our continued progress.
Small boats and punts full of college undergrads romancing their dates dot the way. The flying bridge of the Maid maid it impossible for us to pass under pass under Onsey Bridge Mile 94. Around us were dozens of punts, a true vocation of the young men and their girlfriends of the many colleges that go to make up the University of Oxford.
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We turned and escaped the undersized trap without incident, turning south the way we had come, relieved to find more open water.
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It was growing dark and soon the locks would close and so I began to search for the evenings mooring, hoping to find one that had no stinging nettles or mooring fee collecting farmers to bother us.
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I found a perfect spot just above Sandford lock Mile 90 where I managed to slip the Maid between two overhanging trees, and attaching our lines to their bows, securely holding her several feet from the river bank
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Sunday 31, August,1997
This morning dawned bright and cheery only to be greeted by the growl of a fresh water pump searching for fluid to fill her pipes.
The " telle " was the only outside contact for news and entertainment we had. When we switched it on this morning we heard the shocking news that Princess Diana and Doti Fiez were dead in a car crash. Soon the passing boats began to show their colors at half staff.
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We continued south with a warm sun dispelling the morning mists. Shortly before 13:00 hrs at Mile 84. I brought us along side a sunken aggregate barge where we moored for lunch.
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After lunch we cast off and ran south without event to reach the Madenline Marina at Wallingford by 16:00 hrs, in time to take on water and fuel at the same time getting needed repairs to the leaking roof and watersystem.
Rather than move further today we moored along the high grassy slopes to the east for the night. I know that tomorrow I will be glad of my offshore rain gear.
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