Day 3 - to Abingdon

Graham here today.

Our third day, we covered 15 miles on the river, including 7 locks, leaving Eynsham at around 10.30, rowing through Oxford and arriving in Abingdon at 5.30 pm. It rained on and off during the morning, also Vicky and I had steady hip joint/back pain from the previous day’s rowing. To ease the strain of pulling hard on each stroke, we decided to row more gently. Although our had speed dropped to about 4 miles per hour and we had to row for longer, our discomfort was much the same at the end of the day as it was when we started, so we got through the day.

Our boat is not an ultra-lightweight, slender and fast racing boat but a one or two person, coastal rowing type of boat. With  two people and a load of baggage on board, it rows easily at a modest speed but requires a lot of effort to row any faster. 

On this challenge, we have met people who have been incredibly kind and helpful. At our first nights accommodation, this extended to picking us up and taking us back to the river the next morning and giving us a superb breakfast (not normally included), with their delightful family.

Today, a chain of people including two lock keepers and three other people kindly arranged for a secure mooring for the boat in Abingdon and a lift for us and our baggage to get to our accommodation.

Still having trouble uploading photos.