On Monday my husband took me to the hospital for my cancer treatment and blood tests. as we were there sometime discussing my current issues with my Net Nurse we had to rush home as there is about a 30 minutes commute to pick up Lottie (Dog) for her grooming appointment. As you can imagine after taking 2 pokes I was not feeling 100%, however I went with him for the fresh air as I seemed to be lacking the quality of outside air at this moment in time. Walking is an obstacle with my spine and GI issues…….all the fun of being a cancer patient.
Lottie attends a grooming shop in a semi rural area called Hillmorton Locks along side the Oxford Canal. This is one of those times when I kick myself for not exploring the area more in the past. It’s roughly a 5 minute drive from where I live now in Rugby and is only a 5 minute walk from where I previously lived. We get so wrapped up in our lives that we seem to dismiss what is right in front of us. Now that I want to explore, I cant due to my GI symptoms. Hopefully Oncology can get on top of everything so that I can reconnoitre.
The Oxford Canal was completed in 1790 and is 78 miles long in Central England. The canal goes through the counties of Oxfordshire, Northampton and Warwickshire, which connects to the River Thames and the Grand Union Canal. The canal was very important for trade between the Midlands and London, however the canal is more about pleasure today
Oxford Canal Map
Hillmorton Locks saw improvements in August in 1740 to ease the flow on the canal. By improving the locks there was an increase in traffic and a recorded 20,859 vessels passed through the Hillmorton Locks by 1842.
Hillmorton Locks
Alongside the canal edge is the Canalchef Bistro offering a variety of drinks and food. Inside the Bistro is full of canal memorabilia and history.
Full English Breakfast
The buildings next to the canal are early nineteenth century structures of red brick and slate roofs with architectural details.
Blacksmith Cottage
The bridge that links the canal side buildings and Hillmorton Locks.
If you go under the bridge it leads to the boat yard
Boat Yard
A canal boat heading south.
A canal boat moored at Hillmorton Locks.
Painted Canal Ware
An excellent example of British engineering and should be explored not only for a means of travel around the UK but for a possible holiday experience.
zebrakat 
Fab post Kat! Love the English canals and this area looks very nice indeed. Hope they get your symptoms under control soon so that you will be able to explore your surroundings!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, me too 😄
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nice post Kat, the canals are lovely places for walking, we are very lucky to live by the Severn Trent canal
LikeLiked by 2 people
Are you Nottingham way? I wouldn’t mind a property along a canal path. 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stoke-on-Trent, near wedgewood😃
LikeLiked by 2 people
Beautiful, yes I took my mum to the Potteries years ago and she was in china heaven lol 😄
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ll bet!! I’m only an incomer though, but it’s a lovely part of the country😀
LikeLike
You live in a very cool place. I love England. 🙂 I’m sure you will get there when you feel better. That breakfast would take me a week to recover from but if you put it in front of me I cannot promise that I would not eat it. 😛 We moved from New York to with all of it’s attractions to North Carolina. There’s a lot of trees here. ha ha ha!!!! Not much more. I’m still getting used to it. It’s pretty here though. I guess all of this moving makes our lives “interesting”.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ed my husband had toast as well, crazy huge breakfast. 😄 England has so much to offer. Ed we learn so much when moving. I finally get my boxes next Monday. 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s funny. True but if I hope this is the last time! 🙂
I like all of your posts on “local flavor” like the post boxes, phone boxes and canals. Interesting.
I might try to do something like that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That would nice, I would love to learn about your neck of the woods. 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m eating breakfast as I look at your English brekkie thinking I could use a little meat and, my my, there’s so much of it. Lovely post. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you go down the canal to Braunston you can have a huge breakfast on a barge. It’s called Gongoozlers. We’ve eaten there a couple of times, not open until very late but worth the trip!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the tip, we will check it out for sure.
LikeLike