Marinas/Boatyards/Hire bases with easy rail access

[Neil2]

I forgot I agreed to start a thread on this. 

 

It came up on another thread where a hire boater was asking about hire bases easily accessible by railway.  I thought it might be useful to gather together information from members not just on hire bases, but yards and marinas eg where boats could be left/collected, that have easy access by rail.   As far as I know there's nowhere where such data is readily available.

 

By "easy" let's say within a mile of a railway station but feel free to propose any that are a practical proposition to get to by train. 

 

Depending on the response I'll collate the information for easy reference.    

[hughc]

Langley Mill Boatyard is within 1/4 mile of the railway station.

[Hudds Lad]

Llangollen basin  

[booke23]

ABC boats at Aldermaston wharf on the Kennet and Avon is literally 200 yards from Aldermaston railway station. They also have full boatyard services including crane out.

[JamesWoolcock]

Canal Cruising Co in Stone is 10/15mins walk from the railway station but as I understand it, these nice people will collect you by car.

[pearley]

ABC at Alvechurch only a short walk.

Or if you want adventurous, Bridge Boats at Ely.

[cuthound]

Heart of England boat hire at Glascote Basin is 1 mile from Tamworth Railway  Station.

[Richard T]

Redhill Marina on the Soar/Trent, Sileby Mill on the Soar, Beeston Marina and castle marina on the Trent. Mercia at Willington and Jannel on the T&M. Newark Marina and plenty more.

[Col_T]

Frouds Bridge Marina, on the K & A, just about fits within the distance limit as it's about a mile from Aldermaston station.

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, Richard T said:

Redhill Marina on the Soar/Trent, Sileby Mill on the Soar, Beeston Marina and castle marina on the Trent. Mercia at Willington and Jannel on the T&M. Newark Marina and plenty more.

 

Newark marina is a long from the railway station,

Kings marina (Newark) is only a few 100 yards. from the Nottingham-Lincoln station and about 1 mile from the London mainline station.

[northern]

Wrenbury train station to ABC boat hire at Wrenbury Mill is just under a mile

[nbfiresprite]

Foxes on the Middle Level is about mile and a half from March station, 10 minuites by bike, 40 minuite walk, average cab fare £4.70. Direct trains to Stanstead Airport, Liverpool, Birmingham. Norwich, Ipswich, for London change at Peterborough or Ely.

Edited September 24, 2021 by nbfiresprite

[howardang]

8 hours ago, Neil2 said:

I forgot I agreed to start a thread on this. 

 

It came up on another thread where a hire boater was asking about hire bases easily accessible by railway.  I thought it might be useful to gather together information from members not just on hire bases, but yards and marinas eg where boats could be left/collected, that have easy access by rail.   As far as I know there's nowhere where such data is readily available.

 

By "easy" let's say within a mile of a railway station but feel free to propose any that are a practical proposition to get to by train. 

 

Depending on the response I'll collate the information for easy reference.    

Hull Marina, boatyard and chandlery is around 0.5 miles from a mainline rail terminus (Hull Paragon).The marina is located in a city centre location with access to all the facilities of a large city.

 

Howard

[PD1964]

2 hours ago, howardang said:

Hull Marina, boatyard and chandlery is around 0.5 miles from a mainline rail terminus (Hull Paragon).The marina is located in a city centre location with access to all the facilities of a large city.

 

Howard

But unfortunately not the easiest place to get to by canal or Narrowboat.

[Alan de Enfield]

6 hours ago, PD1964 said:

But unfortunately not the easiest place to get to by canal or Narrowboat.

 

Some manage it, both NB's and 'Fat-NBs' can be seen.

[Bacchus]

If you want to do the Thames thing, Le Boat run out of Penton Hook Marina - it's quite a hike from the station if you were walking, but there are frequent buses to Thorpe Park (good luck with that) or it would be about £5-10 in a cab (not so many cabs hanging around post-covid, but there is a taxi-firm based at the station, and there's always uber).

[howardang]

7 hours ago, PD1964 said:

But unfortunately not the easiest place to get to by canal or Narrowboat.

True. However, up to quite recently it was part of the BWML group of marinas and as Alan points out it is accessible by by both narrow and wide beam boats. As the OP is aiming to draw up a comprehensive list I think it should certainly be included. This may be debatable, but compare ease of access with the Ribble link/Lancaster, or indeed the Trent or Yorkshire Ouse and the Severy, and they also have their issues but are accessed by the more adventurous boaters.

 

Howard

Edited September 25, 2021 by howardang

[BEngo]

Wyvern Shipping at Leighton Buzzard are within walking distance of the station

The hire boats at Lower Heyford on the Oxford are also near Heyford Station.

N

[Col_T]

Other marinas on the K & A that are close to railway stations:

 

Greenham Lock Marina, Newbury Marina and Newbury Boat Company - all within about about a mile of Newbury station.

Bradford on Avon Marina (Sally Boats) is about a mile from Bradford on Avon station.

[PD1964]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Some manage it, both NB's and 'Fat-NBs' can be seen.

Where? Not really a Narrowboat destination, maybe you can spot one in their web pic, maybe there’s a special little secluded mooring for NB’s not shown in their photo. Yes maybe near a train station as the Post title, but more offshore then inland.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by PD1964

[Tim Lewis]

18 hours ago, hughc said:

Langley Mill Boatyard is within 1/4 mile of the railway station.

 

Not a lot of hire boats there though.

 

 

ABC at Alvechurch is right next to the station

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Tim Lewis

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

Where? Not really a Narrowboat destination, maybe you can spot one in their web pic, maybe there’s a special little secluded mooring for NB’s not shown in their photo.

 

 

 

 

Having had a mooring in Hull marina for a couple of years I'd suggest I know a little more about what boats were there than you.

 

That picture only shows one of the basins (docks) but the Wbs and NBs were moored on the hammerheads due to their length.

 

That picture doesn't show the Big "Border Control" vessels that operate of of the marina, so maybe they don't exist either !

 

 

 

 

Have a look on CAIN NARROWBOATS webiste / facebook page to see videos of them making the trip from Hull marina to a number of places.

 

Built at Hull marina and delivered by water (the Humber)

 

 

 

 

We constantly have a build in progress at Hull Marina throughout the year. Visits are welcomed at any stage. Please note, at Hull Marina there is not direct access to our build locations, so please call or email or call to arrbook an appoinment and arrange a viewing, we are happy to accommodate your schedule where ever possible.

 

At Cain Narrowboats we're so sure of our boats
that we test them on the River Humber.

 

 

[PD1964]

Yes she build boats and sails them out of Hull to more suitable inland locations, I doubt there are many Narrowboats that visit the place, as I say more suited to offshore then inland. 

[fatmanblue]

Oxfordshire Narrowboats at both Lower Heyford and Bradford on Avon.

 

Difficult to imagine a hire base closer to the railway than at Lower Heyford.

[Neil2]

This is great stuff guys.  

 

Just to be clear, it's not limited to hire boat locations, or even marinas.   I'm thinking of a situation that I've personally experienced where you suddenly have to leave the boat for a few days, or a couple of weeks, and get home somehow.  So you could broaden it out to long stay moorings or safe locations.