Well we soon put our shorts away and chopped wood to light the fire as it has turned nippy again. it soon brightened up again, but not quite the shorts kind of temperatures yet though! We thought we would wander off via the footpaths across the fields to investigate what was left of the canal pumping station at the end of the old Engine Arm. All the fields were full of expectant sheep, although some already had their lambs with them. There was one ewe over by the hedge standing near a lifeless looking lamb stretched out on the grass, how sad we thought.
Anyway we eventually came to the site of the engine house to find that only a few grassy bumps with scattered bricks were all that was left of it. We returned over the stiles across the fields to find to our delight that the little lamb we thought had snuffed it was standing wagging it’s tail next to it’s mother.
As the Folly Inn has now re-opened under new management we thought we would venture in to see what it was like. It seems to be brighter and more welcoming than before and as it is a family run business it has a much more friendly atmosphere. They serve Hook Norton Beers and the menu changes daily depending on the local foods they have been able to source. Bottle had steak and cheese pie and I had chicken croc, both were served with peas and exquisitely scrunchy chips, yum. I wandered around the village and up to the church at the top of the hill, which has lovely far reaching views across the landscape. We are surrounded by fields full of sheep, lambs and Water Buffalo.
On Saturday I got a few supplies from the PO Stores up the hill, they sell Buffalo ice-cream which is delicious. We also had a walk up to see if the farm was serving their cream teas that were advertised by the lock. No luck there as they don’t start until next weekend,(this weekend now). It has been extremely busy here with at least fifty boats ascending Napton Locks, but only a few coming down. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon people and boat watching, while we sipped our rosé wine.
Sunday was a walk round the village time and there are several nice thatched cottages, we particularly liked this lovely porch. The tiny Christadelphian Meeting Room stands on the crossroads. It has no date stone but on the notice it says meetings will take place at 4pm and 6pm on Sundays, God Willing!
There are four pubs around Napton. This is the Old Bakery that stands near the Crown Inn. The church on the top of the hill has some nice colourful stained glass. The churchyard is kept very neat and tidy and part of it was carpeted in primroses. There is a marvellous view to ponder over from various seats along the way. It was an extremely busy weekend with around 75 boats going south and about 25 heading north.
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