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Hello, thank you very much for watching. Well I’m still heading south on beautiful River
Thames. This time of year is perfect for navigating this waterway because It’s just like a mill pond.
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I had lots of people say, oh you’ve got to be careful, there’s really fast flowing
water. I think they’re referring to when they travelled on it, possibly in the winter,
when the river would be fuller.
But this time of year, late spring, early summer, absolutely beautiful. I’ve moored
up in the sort of, non-urban areas. I’ve been using mooring pins. No issues what so
ever, the ground is nice and firm. I have had some really stunningly hot days. Because
Molly has no tow path to run along, because the river winds back and forth, we’re out
for a quick walk at the moment.
But likewise, you can just relax in the evening and you’ve got these beautiful sunsets and
really nice sun rises and it’s a really nice experience to be fair. I’m going through
and past Oxford, mm probably today, maybe the next day and I’m expecting lots of rowers
between Oxford and Reading. I fully expect it’s further on as well. The rowers all
in training, Universities are all using the Thames as well. It’s a huge river. Plenty
of room for all of us.
I’ve had no issues with any of the locks. A lot of them are automated so you just get
off and press a button. And the locks right at the top are with big wheels. It’s almost
like turning a ship to open the gate paddles. I suppose that’s because of the pressure
of water or it’s just simply the style of how that lock is done. Very impressed with
all the facilities, everything’s very clean. It’s run by the Environment Agency and I’m
thoroughly enjoying it.
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Carrying on east down the River Thames we pass Farmoor Reservoir. This supplies the
Wiltshire town of Swindon and has a capacity of nearly 14 million litres.
Heading in a wide curve past Dukes Cut, where I originally entered the river my journey
takes me south down through the city of Oxford.
I didn’t want to moor in the city or its suburbs, so carried on south, to the east
of Abingdon where I stayed for the night next to a large meadow.
You can moor really close to the reservoir and it’s a nice place to take a walk. However,
dogs are completely banned from the reservoir grounds.
Just as you come towards Godstow Lock are the ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as
Godstow Nunnery. Built in the 12 th century, Henry II’s mistress Rosamund Clifford
was buried here in 1176 but the exact location of her grave is now unknown.
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Most of the locks from here on are hydraulic. At Osney Lock the resident lock keeper was
here to help. If they weren’t however there are guides on each control should you need
to navigate outside the lock keepers’ hours.
Molly, sit.
{Birds singing}
Surrounded on two sides by the River Thames, is the small village of Culham. This village
however is going through some major changes and the locals are campaigning against it.
The Council are planning to build a small town right next to the village and super sizing
it from 170 homes to 3,500. When complete, it’ll have a population of around 10,000
and not only threatens this beautiful countryside, but also Culham Park Motocross Track.
It’s a fully graded track and has been here for 35 years. With each meet drawing nearly
400 motorcycle riders and between 3000 to 5000 spectators, this 2km track is at risk
of closure and the locals would prefer this busy motocross track, than 3,500 new homes.
I moored up just west of the track for the night before continuing south down the river.
Until next time, see ya later.