Winding in or near Banbury

[RAB]

Heading south on the Oxford in a couple of weeks and we will need to wind in or near Banbury. If your mooring in Banbury do you have to go further down to Calthorpe Winding hole or can you wind in Banbury elsewhere? From the map the canal widens just before Banbury lock (Water point), is it wide enough here? Boat is 58ft. Many thanks in advance.

 

PS Is Calthorpe winding hole OK by the way?

[Athy]

1 minute ago, RAB said:

Heading south on the Oxford in a couple of weeks and we will need to wind in or near Banbury. If your mooring in Banbury do you have to go further down to Calthorpe Winding hole or can you wind in Banbury elsewhere? From the map the canal widens just before Banbury lock (Water point), is it wide enough here? Boat is 58ft. Many thanks in advance.

 

PS Is Calthorpe winding hole OK by the way?

There are two -places to wind just before the town, I think they are the two ends of a former loop which was straightened in connection with a new road scheme some years ago. The first just has a concrete wall set back from the main course, the second one has moorings, but your boat should get round. There is, in theory, space to wind at Sovereign Wharf but it's hard to spot, and anyway it's supposed to be for resident moorers only.

   You will NOT get round just before the lock. Our boat, 45 feet long, manages it with literally inches to spare. The water point, by the way, is below the lock. About half a mile further South on the right-hand side is an official winding hole.

   ....and that concludes Your Holes For Today.

   

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, Athy said:

There are two -places to wind just before the town, I think they are the two ends of a former loop which was straightened in connection with a new road scheme some years ago. The first just has a concrete wall set back from the main course, the second one has moorings, but your boat should get round. There is, in theory, space to wind at Sovereign Wharf but it's hard to spot, and anyway it's supposed to be for resident moorers only.

   You will NOT get round just before the lock. Our boat, 45 feet long, manages it with literally inches to spare. The water point, by the way, is below the lock. About half a mile further South on the right-hand side is an official winding hole.

   ....and that concludes Your Holes For Today.

   

But Athy, the water point is above the lock and the services are below the lock.

Winding at Sovereign wharf is frowned upon, it is on a bend and there are moorings there too. The resident does not like it.

[Athy]

11 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

But Athy, the water point is above the lock and the services are below the lock.

Winding at Sovereign wharf is frowned upon, it is on a bend and there are moorings there too. The resident does not like it.

We are both correct. There are water points both above and below the lock. I've never used the former, so I forgot it.

Yes, that's roughly what I said about Sov. Wharf.

Edited May 17, 2021 by Athy

[Proper Charlie]

As I recall, there are water points both above and below the lock.

[magpie patrick]

When I was gatting Lutine ready for her trip down the Thames and onto Bath a regular test run was to do Banbury Lock twice - turn below the lock near The Tramway/Morrisons and above the lock at just south of the new road bridge that Athy mentions. From memory the round trip took around an hour, allowed things to be tested and gave me the enjoyment of single handing the lock twice. 

2 minutes ago, Proper Charlie said:

As I recall, there are water points both above and below the lock.

Indeed there are - I tended to use the one below it that summer

 

[Slim]

16 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

But Athy, the water point is above the lock and the services are below the lock.

Winding at Sovereign wharf is frowned upon, it is on a bend and there are moorings there too. The resident does not like it.

There's a water tap between the lift bridge and the lock. Can confirm that you can't wind a 55 foot there. I've tried

[mrsmelly]

You can wind just as you enter the long term moorings north Banbury into the little arm behind wickes or thereabout, past Tesco corner. The only other point is end of the Tramway moorings as Athy says about half mile through Banbury lock. Water points indeed top and bottom of the lock both on right hand side going downhill.

Is Calthorpe winding bhole at the end of the Tramway as I never call it Calthorpe if it is then you could get a ninety footer round ok.

[Lily Rose]

On 17/05/2021 at 15:35, Athy said:

 

   You will NOT get round just before the lock. Our boat, 45 feet long, manages it with literally inches to spare.

 

 

 

That's interesting (to me). We're a 45-footer as well and I had often wondered if we could turn there. One day, whilst visiting Tooley's, I asked if I would be able to turn above the lock. I was told that we wouldn't and that they had deliberately had their day boat built a bit shorter (42 I think) so that they could turn it.

 

Where exactly do you turn yours and what's your method?

 

On 17/05/2021 at 15:35, Athy said:

   

 

[Tracy D'arth]

43 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

 

That's interesting (to me). We're a 45-footer as well and I had often wondered if we could turn there. One day, whilst visiting Tooley's, I asked if I would be able to turn above the lock. I was told that we wouldn't and that they had deliberately had their day boat built a bit shorter (42 I think) so that they could turn it.

 

Where exactly do you turn yours and what's your method?

 

 

Turn (wind )half a mile  further down after tramway bend past Morrisons and the long term moorings  70 ft winding hole

[Athy]

4 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

 

 

That's interesting (to me). We're a 45-footer as well and I had often wondered if we could turn there. One day, whilst visiting Tooley's, I asked if I would be able to turn above the lock. I was told that we wouldn't and that they had deliberately had their day boat built a bit shorter (42 I think) so that they could turn it.

 

Where exactly do you turn yours and what's your method?

 

 

At the widest point above the lock, where the wall on the shopping centre side dimples in a bit.

Not sure what you mean about "method". We park the bow in the offside wall, engage slow forward and push the tiller over.

We have done it only twice, mind.

[Lily Rose]

Thanks, that is what I meant by method. I watched a very long narrowboat turn with inches to spare at East St, Oxford on the the Thames a few years ago and he basically did it back to front and mainly using the bow line from the bank with occasional assistance from someone at the tiller. I wondered if you did similar as I've never tried to turn with only inches to spare.

[Athy]

35 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

Thanks, that is what I meant by method. I watched a very long narrowboat turn with inches to spare at East St, Oxford on the the Thames a few years ago and he basically did it back to front and mainly using the bow line from the bank with occasional assistance from someone at the tiller. I wondered if you did similar as I've never tried to turn with only inches to spare.

Now that you mention it, I think that on one of those occasions Mrs. Athy did get off and pull the bow in by the bow rope. We may have lifted the front button clear to save a few inches, too.

[Lily Rose]

4 minutes ago, Athy said:

Now that you mention it, I think that on one of those occasions Mrs. Athy did get off and pull the bow in by the bow rope. We may have lifted the front button clear to save a few inches, too.

The fact that you have a concrete edge and, I assume, deep water both sides at that point would help.

 

Also being able to get someone on  to the bank either side as well.

 

At the moment I would normally want to go down to Morrisons anyway but when the new Aldi (?) opens it may be useful to be able to turn there.

 

Does anyone know when Aldi (or is it Lidl?) is due to open at CQ2?

 

[Athy]

3 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

 

Does anyone know when Aldi (or is it Lidl?) is due to open at CQ2?

 

I didn't know there was going to be one, but that's good news, even if it is going to be one of the grotties. Castle Quays must have been unique in being a large town-centre shopping centre completely bereft of a food shop (I think there was one but it must have closed about ten years ago). A few times in the last few years I've walked through the centre and noticed that the number of shops selling things which people actually need to buy could be counted on the fingers of one hand by a three-toed sloth.

[Lily Rose]

Well it did have a handy food hall in M&S, albeit a bit pricey for a full weekly shop, but that's gone since we were last there. The new no-frills supermarket (grotty is a bit harsh!) will be on the other side near where the flower-lined foot bridge used to be. I'm not sure exactly where because building hadn't started last time we were there 2 years ago.

[Athy]

7 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 The new no-frills supermarket (grotty is a bit harsh!)

I say as I find. There's one (not sure which it is, I refer to both as "Aldidl") in Wisbech. Its layout is cramped and stocked with brands we've never heard of, and there isn't even a decent space to fill your bags at the check-outs. When we have ventured in there it's usually been fairly empty and I can see why. It reminds me of a supermarket called Kwik-Save, probably long gone now, which my parents always called "The dirty shop". So, I stand by "grotties".

[Lily Rose]

I guess they vary. A new Lidl opened in Abingdon about 3 weeks ago and it's far from grotty or cramped. I don't do my full weekly shop there as I've found with Aldi (which I'm more familiar with) that their fruit & veg tends to go off quicker. Maybe Lidl will be better. However, lots of the "unknown brand" stuff is really good and often a lot cheaper than the big supermarket stuff.

 

I tend to go just after 8am when it's very quiet. By late morning it's really busy.

 

I remember the Kwik Save at Cowley Centre in Oxford, the new Lidl is definitely far superior, at least to that particular Kwik Save. 

[Rob-M]

When we were in Banbury last year we walked through to Waitrose which isn't very far.

[IanM]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

and there isn't even a decent space to fill your bags at the check-outs. 

The idea is that you just lump your shopping back in the trolley and, then after you’ve paid, move to the shelf at the back and fill your bags there at your leisure. 

[Athy]

23 minutes ago, IanM said:

The idea is that you just lump your shopping back in the trolley and, then after you’ve paid, move to the shelf at the back and fill your bags there at your leisure. 

If that is indeed the idea, it's a logistically poor one.

[Debby]

5 minutes ago, Athy said:

If that is indeed the idea, it's a logistically poor one.

It works extremely well in every Aldi I've been in, and I shop in Aldi every week. The idea is to avoid long queues at the checkouts caused by people packing bags there. At the start of Covid, people with cars were asked to take their trolleys to their cars and pack there, leaving more space at the packing shelf for non car drivers. That was what a lot of people were doing before Covid, and are continuing to do.

[Tony Brooks]

I always put open bags in the trolley when I have filled the belt so the stuff goes straight into bags. Its not difficult in Lidl or Alde because they specialise in creating till queues. I find the feel of the place varies very much from store to store but in general prefer shopping at Lidl. It somehow feels less crowded and hemmed in by the fixtures. Some of the own brand stuff seems to me to be more to what is probably the German taste, gammon and tinned past products to name two. I find the shelf life of fruit and veg from either seem to be sorter than from the UK supermarkets.

[Lily Rose]

I think it works well although I tend to have either boxes or very large carrier bags ready in the trolley so most of it gets quickly packed. If I get a bit behind occasionally (as they scan items really fast) then the last 20% goes in on top and gets sorted at the shelf or in the car. It's pretty efficient.

[Nightwatch]

Lidl in Banbury is advertised as opening Summer 2021.  When we last saw the store the building seemed complete, but the fit out wasnt. I doubt it will take to long to get the store open now with round the clock fit out teams going hell for leather. We like Aldi (beyond Tesco’s) and indeed Lidl. If there are either nearby where we are then they are first choice. Other mainline supermarkets for favourite items.

 

The water point above the lock is much quicker than below. The winding holes are as described by others above.

 

For those who have not visited Banbury inthe last 18 months or so are in for a surprise regarding the building that has gone on eith side of the canal in the centre.