Tied to tent pegs!

Getting out of London was more of an adventure that we had planned. The non-adventure plan was to take the tube to Paddington station, and then the train to Oxford where we would pick up our narrowboat. I figured about 2 hours. We had to pick up the boat between 2 and 4. If we left London by 11, we would have lots of time, right?

We got on the tube in Brixton at about 10:45 and changed at Victoria for Paddington. We didn't realize that Saturday is tube maintenance day. Things were not as we had planned. We got stuck at Earl's Court because all the lines north from there were down for maintenance. The crowds were unbelievable. We changed trains and backtracked to Piccadilly, then changed again to the Bakerloo line to get to Paddington. 3 train changes and 2 hours later we made it to Paddington.

Everything was easy once we got to the Rail station. Two tickets to Oxford were £42 (second class – off peak hours). We arrived in Oxford an hour later. The next phase was to get to the narrowboat hire company which was 4 miles out of town. I checked with a cab and he wanted £30. We walked over to the bus stop and the fare was £2, but the driver said we would have to walk a bit. No problems! Anything to save a buck! We “alighted” at Eynsham and walked along the road to the boat hire place. It was very dangerous. There was no sidewalk or path and the cars, trucks and buses were screaming by. Scarey! We arrived at the hire place just after 2 o'clock. I love it when a plan comes together.

Our boat, the Silver Swift, is great. Swift it is not, but booting around the Thames at 4 knots is fast enough. A young fellow came with us to the first lock to show us how to do it, and then we were on our own. This is a very comfortable way to see the English countryside. We headed straight back to Oxford (2 hours and 4 locks away) to pick up groceries and store barge. 

 

Interestingly, you can tie the boats up almost anywhere. There are some signs that prohibit mooring, and there are some areas that are not suitable, but most places are accessible. You just pull the barge over to a flat spot on the bank, pound in a couple big tent pegs, tie yourself to them and there you are.

We are now settled in for a steak dinner and a bottle of good red wine, watching the teams of Oxford U rowers go by, safely tied to tent pegs.