[Loud smashing, crashing sound]
Woken up at err
quarter to 2 in the morning.
Banging on the roof or something, don't know what it is, Shaun's gone up.
[Two short beeps]
He's turning the alarm off.
[Colin whispers] Be careful,
[Colin whispers] Be careful.
[Colin] What is it?
[Shaun] Nothing.
[Colin] It's got to be something.
[Shaun] Chairs.
[Colin] Urgghh!
[Shaun] They fell over.
[Colin sighing]
[Shaun] Ufff!
We thought somebody was breaking into the boat.
Jesus.
What time is it?
2am.
10 to 2
It sounding somebody was
banging on the boat
and we were only saying when we got here, how nice it was wasn't we?
[Laughs]
It turns out it was just, what is it, just a patio chair?
Yeah, it';s just fell over in there,
along with the the extra water jerrycan that we have.
It's just a patio chair and it's just slid because,
it's just slid over in the front.
God, it scared me to death.
It did me as well.
Back to bed, goodnight.
Bye.
Good morning
Morning.
and welcome back to Thrupp.
[Laughs]
What?
It's a good word.
[Colin] It's really lovely here.
[Shaun] Yes I like it.
[Colin] It was lovely and sunny on the day we arrived
and we've been here what, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Five days we've been here
and the weather turned a little bit. We've had a bit of rain, bit of wind, it's been a bit chilly.
[Shaun] and very thundery.
But the sun's back out this morning, so we're going to take advantage of that and move on towards Oxford.
It is really nice here isn't it?
I love it.
On the corner where the services are and the electronic lift bridge,
that was nearly a junction years and years ago.
There were plans to build another canal from the junction from the corner
down to London, it would have been called the London and Western Canal.
It's got a ring to it.
That's a nice name.
and it would have competed with the Grand Union, but never got off the ground,
or cut into the ground.
Cut into, do you get it?
You're clever.
and all the investors got about six pence back for every pound they invested.
Oooooh!
I bet they felt a bit Thrupped.
A bit Thrupped [Laughing]
But it is really nice, it's one of these villages that popped up when they built the canal
and it hasn't really changed much in over 200 years.
There's not a lot here is there?
No, there's a British Waterways yard or there used to be a British Waterways yard,
which is now offices and a really lovely tearoom
and it's just, listen.
[Sound of birdsong]
Birdsong, that's all.
it's just really nice and quiet,
but we're moving on today.
So we're up towards Oxford,
I wonder where we're going to go from there.
Ufffff, I don't think we should tell em.
Alright, you'll have to wait and see.
[Music playing]
The cottages just by the side of the canal were built by the canal company donkey's years ago
and originally they used to keep salt in them, that's why it was called Salt Row.
[Music playing]
The Jolly Boatman by Bridge 223, that's a popular pub.
It's a bit early for that though,
[Laughs] that's why it's closed.
And that's changed a lot over the years, as you can see.
[Music playing]
Did you see the silver boat?
It's Sister Fox, do you remember Sister Fox?
Go right back to our early vlogs and you might catch a glimpse of her.
Yeah, Amberlin.
She was actually built before Silver Fox
and that's boat that we really modelled this one on.
This is better isn't it?
[Laughs] Don't tell Brian.
Don't tell Brian that.
[Laughing]
[Music playing]
Just coming up to the first lock of four that we're doing today,
this is Roundham Lock.
We've also got two boats coming up behind us
and they're going the same way we are.
Oh we haven't told you where that is yet, have we?
Not sure what Shaun's doing.
I think they might have some little ducklings in the lock.
[Laughing]
[Music playing]
When we pulled into the loch, there was a couple of people on the bridge, Roundham Bridge
and they're waving trying to get our attention
and a little duckling had, I don't know how, had manage to get
over the other side of the lock into the lower pound.
Mum and the other ducklings were in the upper pound above the lock.
So we've been frantically trying to rescue the single little duckling
to reunite him with his Mum and brothers and sisters up at the top,
because if he stayed at the bottom of the lock while we're emptying it,
he'd have got washed away and drowned, the poor little thing.
So we had to rescue a little duckling.
[Music playing]
[Crunching sound] [Music playing]
Bridge 228,
very low,
as our internet aerial will tell you.
[Laughs]
It's a good job it's on a pole that is designed to collapse if it hit something,
so no damage done,
but yeah, bridge 228.
[Music playing]
Just at the other side of these trees is the Flit Solar Farm,
there's 41,000 solar modules
spread across about 43 acres of land
and they generate 10.6 megawatt hours of power a year.
So 10.6 megawatt is about
33,000 times what narrowboat Silver Fox's solar setup produces a year.
WOW!
That'd power what's in my secret cupboard wouldn't it?
[Laughs]
[Music playing]
Bridge 231 is Drinkwater's Lift Bridge,
looks like a work in progress doesn't it?
It's getting very dark in here.
Oooooh!
When the de-watered the canal to work on the bridge the canal wall collapsed.
So it turned like a medium-sized job
into a faff!
[Laughs] A faff!
that's still going on.
[Music playing]
Come on then.
[Laughing]
[Colin] What you got?
We are full of water again.
YAYYY!
[Laughing]
and the washing machine's going.
Have you notice every time we switch the camera on the washer goes into a spin cycle,
Yeah it does, yeah.
even if we haven't got any washing in there, or turned it on.
[Laughing] It's doing it now.
Just coming towards Dukes Lock and Dukes Bridge,
it's a junction and we've got a choice to make.
[Colin] We can either go straight on to the end of the Oxford Canal.
[Shaun] Oh I like Oxford.
[Colin] which is a couple of miles further down,
but if we do that we can't turn around and come back
the place where you can turn is a lock,
but you can only turn a 50-foot boat round.
Oh that's not good for us.
I don't fancy reversing all the way back up.
So we don't fancy that.
But we could go down the Oxford Canal and then go through a lock
onto the Thames and go down towards Reading.
Toward the Kennet and Avon?
That's about 40 miles away.
Or,
we could go through Reading on towards London, that's 90 to 100 miles away.
Oooh that's far.
Fancy that?
Mmmm.
Or,
we could do a right, here at this lock
through Dukes Lock and go on to the Upper Thames towards Lechlade.
Isn't Leche, Spanish for milk?
It is.
That's where a little bell should go off.
Ding!
[Sound of a bell] There you go.
Ufff, what will we do?
[Laughs]
What will we do?
[Music playing]
We went.
are you sure?
Our right.
Yeah.
We went right, but that's their left,
but we went right.
Sorry, Horse Fly.
Urgghhh!
Errr, we went right.
We did.
I know that's not your right,
I'm right.
My right, I'm right!
[Laughing]
We went onto Dukes Cut,
which connects the Oxford Canal
to the River Thames.
but we could still go left or right on the River Thames couldn't we?
Yes we could.
Because we're not in the Thames yet, this is Wolverines Mill Stream.
Argghh, Horse Flies.
Wolvercote.
Sorry, Wolvercote Mill Stream.
Come on, Wolverine Mill Stream sounds so much cooler doesn't it?
No.
It was built by the Duke of Marlborough,
opened in 1789
and he connects the River Thames to the Oxford Canal, but he built it
so that he could get traffic down to his mill.
He had a paper mill, well it used to make corn, but then it was paper,
then it was corn, then it was paper.
I used to have a paper round.
There you go, there's the link.
[Laughs]
So the Mill Stream is like the link between the Oxford Canal and the River Thames.
Remember when you used to go in the off-license and ask for 20 Marlborough?
and a bottle of White Lightning?
[Laughs] A bottle of White Lightning?
How old are you, son?
Errr
17
[Laughing]
[Laughing] Alright, I'll have a packet of Rainbow Drops and some Kia Ora [Laughing]
[Music playing]
It's strange.
[Laughs] We're on a River.
I always imagine the River Thames,
whichever part of it, to be like what you see outside the Houses of Parliament.
[Laughs]
Do you know what I mean like really muddy Brown,
really bad currents and strong and waves and things.
And it isn't, it's just like a big canal.
Absolutely beautiful.
And we do light river cruising,
the River Aire, River Calder back up in Yorkshire.
Maybe not so much the River Ribble.
I did.
That's a different story.
We were looking for a mooring and we've found this,
it looks like it's 57 feet
cut out of the banking
and the boat just fits in it perfectly doesn't it?
Yes.
It's as if it was made for Silver Fox.
And Dillon's loving all this pasture land.
Oh it's amazing, just views as far as you can see.
The internet's good.
We're right under the flight path for what we think is London Oxford airport
which is good because, plane geek.
PLAAAANES!
[Laughing]
And, most importantly,
Oooh what?
It said.
Urggghh!
Horse Flies.
Horse Flies, I've already been bitten once.
It said in the book two hours 48
Yeah.
and we've done it in four hours.
That's not too bad then.
It's not too bad is it.
You've got something on your head.
Probably a fly.
For now though, time to go get lunch
and adapt to where we are.
Adapt?
Mmmm I haven't done any research on where we are it looks really nice.
It is, it's err
there's a big forest over there.
Dillon's having a roll about,
might go and have an explorer on my bike.
I can't go and explore on foot, because
I could never be a tiller girl.
It'll never heal up.
[Laughs]
We hope you've enjoyed our little journey with us.
I have.
From Thrupp to the Thames.
Yes.
I can't believe we're on the Thames.
[Laughs]
If you liked this vlog and you'd like to see more,
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Hit the thumbs up button to give the video a like and then hit the
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Most importantly you can help us to support this channel,
you wouldn't believe how much it takes, I know, Horseflies everywhere.
You wouldn't believe how much we spend on horsefly repellent.
I know.
So if you'd like to support the channel,
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1: Is to hit the 'join' button,
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and we really appreciate everybody that supports us, don't we?
We do.
We're off for some dinner and a rest.
Next time you see us we're going to head further up the Thames,
westwards towards Lechlade.
We hope you'll join us for that, till next time take care, see you late, bye.
Ta-rah.
[Music playing]
[Laughing]
If you don't stop, you're going in the canal as well. [Laughs]
[Laughs]
We'll do it again.
Shhhh, shouting.
Don't look at the screen
whatever you do.
Why are canals curved? It's inconvenient video-making.
[Laughing]
Just over the other side
are these trees, why did I nearly call em fire engines?
So when was the exact moment you realised you'd fallen in love with the
exceptionally well proportioned and handsome and rich Colin Dobson-Fox?
[Laughing]
Don't get excited though, we're not going to London.
Not going to London.
[Music pays to the end]