It has been fairly windy over the last few days, and the forecast is for much stronger wind over the next few days. This is apparently the tail end of hurricane Bertha. Because of this we decided to leave early in the morning when the lighter winds would make getting out of the marina easier. So we set off just after 7am. We called in at Soverign Wharf for diesel, but they don’t open until 10:00 and we arrived at about 9:00. A full English breakfast was cooked and consumed while we waited.

Full of diesel (and breakfast ) we pressed on in the increasing wind. Very concious of the fact that the wind might blow us into bushes where the new paintwork could get scratched, we proceeded gingerly through the day to Lower Heyford . The canal was busy with hire boats and private ones, with queues of upto 40mins or so at several locks.