Along the Canal / 27th December 2019

Well, I didn't intend to let the festive period interfere with the regular Friday blog posts.

I did however plan to spend rather more of the Friday outside than turned out to be possible.

Plan A was a quick drive from Oxford to Surrey, then back to Oxford for lunch and an afternoon walk - trouble was that I'd rather overlooked the fact that the entire population of the UK (slightly exaggerated for effect) also wanted to use the M25 or the M40 (or to sit in the queue at Beaconsfield Services).

The drive south was OK, but when I checked the traffic to pick a return route, every option was showing long delays.  This didn't really fit with my plan to get an Oxford walk, so I opted to get a wee fix of fresh air along the towpath of the (partially open, I think) Basingstoke Canal before heading north.

This was a very peaceful - and good head-clearing - way to spend a bit of time.  And, of course, it was peaceful (everyone else was already on the M25).

Having cleared my head, and tracked down a further fix of coffee - I headed to the motorways.  I'm sure it has taken longer to get from Surrey to Oxford, but at this point I just can't quite remember when.

Note to future self: 27th December is not a good day for travelling!