The Fairport Convention at Cropredy

[The Black Jack]

We are on a one week holiday from Napton the same week as the Fairport Convention on the South Oxford Canal. We are not interested in visiting the festival. Does anyone know how much this festival impacts on cruising towards Oxford and back?

[dmr]

Every possible mooring spot a mile or so either side of Cropredy will be taken and the Cropredy pubs will be very busy with all sorts of events. For a couple of days after the festival there will be a huge traffic jam at every lock.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, dmr said:

Every possible mooring spot a mile or so either side of Cropredy will be taken and the Cropredy pubs will be very busy with all sorts of events. For a couple of days after the festival there will be a huge traffic jam at every lock.

 

DURING the festival however, I suspect the traffic flows (fairly) freely. 

 

 

[The Black Jack]

9 hours ago, dmr said:

Every possible mooring spot a mile or so either side of Cropredy will be taken and the Cropredy pubs will be very busy with all sorts of events. For a couple of days after the festival there will be a huge traffic jam at every lock.

Thanks for the reply. I have backup routes planned up towards the Ashby or towards Stratford upon Avon.

[Tracy D'arth]

Its never a problem, the hire boats go through OK.   Just do not expect to moor anywhere close though. The services get busy before, during and after so top up the water and sort out the loo somewhere else.

Most boats leave on the Monday and Tuesday following the festival weekend so it is busy. Water shortage on the summit at Wormleighton can be the deciding factor some years.

[Scholar Gypsy]

I went through this summer, in the middle of the festival. It was very fine. I spent about two hours filling my water tank, and having a nice long lunch stop. A procession of boaters kept arriving, and I let them fill their portable drinking water containers  ....

 

... and I bought a nice belt as I went past this boat ...

Edited November 28, 2023 by Scholar Gypsy

[The Black Jack]

19 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

I went through this summer, in the middle of the festival. It was very fine. I spent about two hours filling my water tank, and having a nice long lunch stop. A procession of boaters kept arriving, and I let them fill their portable drinking water containers  ....

 

... and I bought a nice belt as I went past this boat ...

Looks great! I'm sure we'll do the South Oxford one day but I have in mind the Ashby Canal if the weather is too bad for us to want to tackle all those locks to Stratford. If we do the Stratford route I would like to get as far as the Edstone Aqueduct before turning back to Napton.