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Overwater marina or Aquaduct


Karl

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Hi all, we are looking at mooring our boat at either Aquaduct or Overwater marina later in the year and may spend a few months there on board on and off. Has anyone any experience with either of these marinas and let me know which they think best. Many thanks.

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They are quite Different.  Both owned and operated by farmers, Overwater is a farm with a marina,  Aqueduct is a marina with a lot of land.

 

 There are far more facilities at Aqueduct and it is much more business orientated.  Both have excellent, customer-oriented staff.

 

I have had an association with one of them, and have used facilities at the other, so I don’t want to go into more details on here. Some people love one, others prefer the alternative. The best thing for you to do is (when you can) visit them both and see which feels more like what you are looking for; other people’s views may be more polarised.

 

Their respective websites will give you a bit of a feel for them.

 

Note spelling of “Aqueduct” when searching.

Edited by dor
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We had our boat blasted and 2-packed by aqueduct in 2011. They did a great job, but at a top price. Polite, helpful staff etc. We visited in around 2017 for a pumpout. Foolishly I didn’t ask the price but it was £25 which was pretty outrageous. So a very professional operation but very expensive.

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How much cruising do you do and do you like to go out regularly for a few days/weekends, or do you do longer trips?

 

The reason i ask is that when you want to go cruising, one is at the bottom of 25 locks (Audlem, Adderley & Tyrley) and if you want to go out for a few days weekends regularly then you're always going to have to do the same route and end up in the same places. Longer trips and that wouldn't be so much of an issue. E.g, an overnight trip out from Overwater would probably get you to Barbridge and thats about it.

 

For that reason alone, my choice would be Aqueduct as it is in the middle of an 'H' pattern. For over night trips you could go to Middlewich, Audlem, Nantwich, Beeston, and all have a winding hole for going back again the next morning. You've also got Anderton, Chester, Wheelock and even Lymm all 2 nights away. Be aware though I've never heard Aqueduct talked about without someone mentioning that everything costs a fortune there.

 

If the marina and it's facilities/environment were most important to me i would choose Overwater which I've never heard a bad word about. If going to the boat and going cruising were most important to me rather than staying in the marina, then I'd choose Aqueduct. 

 

On a more personal to me level, I'd never actually moor in a marina. If i needed a mooring I'd look for an online mooring at Barbridge or Calveley or maybe even Midway Boats as they are nice folk there.

Edited by junior
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W've moored in Overwater a few years ago when we were part of a shared boat, and at Aqueduct for 5 days last year while having some repairs carried out on our boat. Our experience was that both are nice environments to moor in and both have a good cafe', excellent staff, and good facilities.

 

The main difference we found was that Aqueduct can be rather noisy with having the workshops, particularly if you are moored near the back of the marina.

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  • 7 months later...

Having just bought my first boat I am in same position, where do i moor it?  I am in same region and like the look of Overwater.

We will be cruising often, hopefully, rather than static in marina.     

New to boating so not sure of what represents a days cruising.    When leaving Overwater Marina, how long to get to Barbridge ? Am thinking a day?  

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24 minutes ago, Norm55 said:

Having just bought my first boat I am in same position, where do i moor it?  I am in same region and like the look of Overwater.

We will be cruising often, hopefully, rather than static in marina.     

New to boating so not sure of what represents a days cruising.    When leaving Overwater Marina, how long to get to Barbridge ? Am thinking a day?  

It’s half a day (3.5 to 4 hours) to Barbridge. That said there can be queues at Hack Green locks, it depends on the time of day and year.

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49 minutes ago, Norm55 said:

Having just bought my first boat I am in same position, where do i moor it?  I am in same region and like the look of Overwater.

We will be cruising often, hopefully, rather than static in marina.     

New to boating so not sure of what represents a days cruising.    When leaving Overwater Marina, how long to get to Barbridge ? Am thinking a day?  

Have a look at the canalplan website to give you a rough idea of travelling times.

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Still moored at Overwater,coming up to two years now.16 years of owning a boat(from new)& our first marina.Couldn't ask for a nicer,better place.We're really happy there & they've been great during lockdowns-keeping an eye on our boat,topping up electrickery etc.Lovely place.

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We were at Overwater for three or four years with our shareboat. Office staff very helpful, as was Simon in the workshop.

Cruising options are not too bad, we usually either stopped on the embankment at Nantwich first night, or the bottom of the Audlem flight, for the proximity to pubs. Barbridge was do-able, but due to time constraints of when we got onboard with being a share it meant you were quite late to the moorings and most were gone. Not a problem if you don't mind a nice walk after the pub dodging dog eggs on the towpath.

 

if you have a pump-out loo, the machine is timed, so get everything ready before you pop the token in to ensure you get everything done. Think it was £16 a go if memory serves. Working as a team, the wife and i could easily do both loo's on the boat in the allotted time (usually just use one, but both if taking in-laws too) but we have seen folk have to go buy another token due to faffing about.

 

the cafe & wheelyboat mean you can sometimes have quite the audience whilst steering onto the services (two coachloads of grannies was my worst) so bear in mind if you're shy :D 

 

We'd not have a problem moving back

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On 06/12/2020 at 16:24, Norm55 said:

Having just bought my first boat I am in same position, where do i moor it?  I am in same region and like the look of Overwater.

We will be cruising often, hopefully, rather than static in marina.     

New to boating so not sure of what represents a days cruising.    When leaving Overwater Marina, how long to get to Barbridge ? Am thinking a day?  

For me five/six days cruise is about the same distance as an hour in the car. Tend to cruise 6-8 hours a day in Summer & no more than 4 hours a day in Winter. Less is more, no need to rush. If using a Pearson Guide they suggest cruising time duration at the top of each page. It's pretty accurate. I have always used CanalPlanAC to plot journeys. Hope that is of some help. I was at Overwater for three years, moved to Wigrams for three years, have been at Great Haywood for three years. It gives you time to explore a patch in all four seasons.

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  • 1 month later...

We lived at Overwater for 8 years. Its a lovely marina but be wary of the Marina Manager he can take offence at the slighest thing. Be warned it's his way or the highway. We know of lots of moorers who have been given their marching orders for absolutely no reason at all.

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The manager is chap we dealt with.  Very helpful despite not having firm dates for arrival was understanding and flexible. Cant get there now till Easter due to culvert collapse but they said no problem deposit on mooring will be held and dates will only start when we arrive.   So far quite impressed with customer service. 

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We currently moor at Aqueduct and couldn't be happier, also we are right next to the workshops and have never had an issue with noise coming from them as there is a good line of dense trees that seem to shield us for the noise. Some things can be a little pricey but you get what you pay for. Staff a great and always very helpful.

 

As someone pointed out, great options for weekend cruising.

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