Can anyone give me any advice on these Marinas/Moorings??

[junior]

Over the course of the weekend im planning a round trip of all these marinas in my local area. I'm looking at the facilities and the location/setting. One of the other important things to me is what the residential community feel is like (if any).

 

I shall be purchasing my first boat in January with time from now until then being used for finding the perfect location. I will be spending one week ON my boat and one week OFF it, the week off being spent abroad working. If i take a few weeks leave/holiday i could end up on the boat for a couple of weeks at a time, however i would probably go crusing in this time.

 

Things that are important for me are the obvious. Electric, water and elsan disposal/pump out, fuel and a secure parking space close-by. Also security of the boat for the weeks that i am off it. Desirable things are laundry, shower/toilet block, telephone hook up or bloody good 3G coverage (i work online sometimes) and a nice friendly community (even if small) spirit.

 

I'm making this move to lead a quieter more relaxed life during my time off so i'm taking that into account when looking, although i am going to view a few of the very big marinas just to get a feel. I have a heathy budget but not quite Limehouse/Packet Boat prices.

 

These are the marinas i am going to view this weekend;

 

Beeston Marina, Nottinghamshire.

Long Eaton, Leics.

Braunston.

Billing, Northamptonshire.

Pillings Lock, Leics.

Trinity Marina, Leics i think.

Zouch marina, Leics.

Leicester marina, Leics.

Nottingham (castle?) marina, Notts.

Sawley marina, Notts.

Kingfisher wharf, Notts.

Farndon marina, Notts?

Kings (bwml) marina, Notts.

Sileby, Leics. (on google earth it looks lovely and is 5 mins from where i live on land at the moment.

 

If anyone has any knowledge of any of the above i'd be greatfull of you would share it. It could save me having to go and view it if it wouldnt fit in with my plans/criteria. Also, if anyone knows of any in that area i have forgotten?

I've chosen these based on them being in the area i already live in and have friends in. I will be doing the same thing next weekend down in London looking at a selection of marinas in the other area i have chosen. Grand Union southern section/slough arm/paddington arm. High line, willow tree, engineers wharf etc.

 

Thanks in advance!!

Edited November 22, 2012 by junior

[mrsmelly]

Over the course of the weekend im planning a round trip of all these marinas in my local area. I'm looking at the facilities and the location/setting. One of the other important things to me is what the residential community feel is like (if any).

 

I shall be purchasing my first boat in January with time from now until then being used for finding the perfect location. I will be spending one week ON my boat and one week OFF it, the week off being spent abroad working. If i take a few weeks leave/holiday i could end up on the boat for a couple of weeks at a time, however i would probably go crusing in this time.

 

Things that are important for me are the obvious. Electric, water and elsan disposal/pump out, fuel and a secure parking space close-by. Also security of the boat for the weeks that i am off it. Desirable things are laundry, shower/toilet block, telephone hook up or bloody good 3G coverage (i work online sometimes) and a nice friendly community (even if small) spirit.

 

I'm making this move to lead a quieter more relaxed life during my time off so i'm taking that into account when looking, although i am going to view a few of the very big marinas just to get a feel. I have a heathy budget but not quite Limehouse/Packet Boat prices.

 

These are the marinas i am going to view this weekend;

 

Beeston Marina, Nottinghamshire.

Long Eaton, Leics.

Braunston.

Billing, Northamptonshire.

Pillings Lock, Leics.

Trinity Marina, Leics i think.

Zouch marina, Leics.

Leicester marina, Leics.

Nottingham (castle?) marina, Notts.

Sawley marina, Notts.

Kingfisher wharf, Notts.

Farndon marina, Notts?

Kings (bwml) marina, Notts.

Sileby, Leics. (on google earth it looks lovely and is 5 mins from where i live on land at the moment.

 

If anyone has any knowledge of any of the above i'd be greatfull of you would share it. It could save me having to go and view it if it wouldnt fit in with my plans/criteria. Also, if anyone knows of any in that area i have forgotten?

I've chosen these based on them being in the area i already live in and have friends in. I will be doing the same thing next weekend down in London looking at a selection of marinas in the other area i have chosen. Grand Union southern section/slough arm/paddington arm. High line, willow tree, engineers wharf etc.

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Hi

 

I am at sawley. We have all of your requirements and some good pubs/restaurants very close by. Electricity is very very cheap and you have the added luxury of the river on both sides which on days like today will be very entertaining

 

Tim

[adam1uk]

Well Billing is currently being evacuated because the Nene is flooding. I'd guess the water levels at Sileby and the others on the Soar are likely to be a pretty high at the moment too.

 

If you're going to Braunston, you might as well go to Crick and Yelvertoft too.

[Guest]

Don't rule out Mercia Marina - not that far from Sawley and very well run, very secure too.

 

Yes it's big but the layout makes it appear much smaller where you actually moor.

 

Worth a visit.

[junior]

Well Billing is currently being evacuated because the Nene is flooding. I'd guess the water levels at Sileby and the others on the Soar are likely to be a pretty high at the moment too.

 

If you're going to Braunston, you might as well go to Crick and Yelvertoft too.

 

 

I did think that i might find a few of them going through this situation. If that's the case when i arrive i'll not bother them as i'm sure they have more important things to be concentrating on. BBC East Midlands Today has just been on the TV with a video of people being evacuated off narrowboats by dingy somewhere in the region.

[frangar]

Although lacking a shower block/toilets at the mo...although they are on the cards....you might like to look at Debdale Wharf too.

 

http://www.debdalewharf.co.uk

 

Nice and rural with a choice of lock free cruising for a day or two and centrally placed for longer trips.

 

Came for a winter in 1998....been here ever since!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

 

 

edited to fix link!

Edited November 22, 2012 by frangar

[junior]

Don't rule out Mercia Marina - not that far from Sawley and very well run, very secure too.

 

Yes it's big but the layout makes it appear much smaller where you actually moor.

 

Worth a visit.

 

 

Wow, mercia looks fantastic from it's website. Its slightly outside the boundaries i'd chosen but i will certainly add it to my list to go and view.

[Guest]

Getting hemmed in by flooding is something you need to consider.

 

Whilst it's less likely to happen on a marina connected to a canal it's clearly not impossible.

 

Picking a marina or mooring on or close to a river section can often mean your boating is curtailed.

[GoodGurl]

Nottingham castle marina has everything you listed and is almost in the centre of town, not sure you would get a mooring there as it's a very sought after location, its a very small marina but plenty of pubs etc round it.

[GinJer]

We're in Stenson Marina, just South of Derby on the Trent & Mersey canal, this side of Mercia Marina. Very small, in a fairly rural spot, next to a pub the Bubble Inn, on a canal so doesn't flood, cheaper than Mercia. Have a look at the website.

[Ange]

I wouldn't bother with looking at Beeston Marina if I were you. We moored there for a few months last winter and they're overpriced for the facilities available. They say on their website that they have electric hook up, but there's only a few such berths and they're like hen's teeth to get hold of. More than likely you'll end up at the end of a long pontoon like we did, which was slippery and treacherous when it's icy and they wouldn't grit it, or even provide us with grit, despite being asked many times.

 

Also the pump out machine was broken during the whole of our stay despite many promises that it was about to be fixed.

 

It does have a good bar though

[Dyad]

I wouldn't bother with looking at Beeston Marina if I were you. We moored there for a few months last winter and they're overpriced for the facilities available. They say on their website that they have electric hook up, but there's only a few such berths and they're like hen's teeth to get hold of. More than likely you'll end up at the end of a long pontoon like we did, which was slippery and treacherous when it's icy and they wouldn't grit it, or even provide us with grit, despite being asked many times.

 

Also the pump out machine was broken during the whole of our stay despite many promises that it was about to be fixed.

 

It does have a good bar though

 

And particularly treacherous when returning to boat from said bar

[Ange]

And particularly treacherous when returning to boat from said bar

 

Haha very true!

[Matt72]

We are at Sawley and have been very happy there, I find the staff really friendly and helpful, the downside is that if the river is in flood you are stuck.

 

Matt

[mrsmelly]

We're in Stenson Marina, just South of Derby on the Trent & Mersey canal, this side of Mercia Marina. Very small, in a fairly rural spot, next to a pub the Bubble Inn, on a canal so doesn't flood, cheaper than Mercia. Have a look at the website.

 

Stenson is a very nice marina my bruvver in law has been moored there for a few years. It is moooocho better than Mercia and the other big faceless marinas but usualy full. Twould be my first choice in that neck of the woods

 

Tim

[Starcoaster]

Braunston marina: View from a recent escapee.

Pros:

Nice neighbours

 

99% very nice staff

 

Good canal location with good cruising range

 

Shower facilities

 

Pump out and elsan

 

Wifi (sort of)

 

Shoreline, and electric reasonably priced

 

Launderette (well this is kind of a con, in both senses of the word: see below)

 

Water, well half of the year anyway

 

Book exchange in the laundry room

 

Fuel for sale, but fixed at 60/40 split so £1.28 a litre

 

Relatively secure; never heard of a break in or problem while I was there

 

Free moorer's car park

 

Cons:

 

Not very good public transport links

 

No telephone hookup (but good Three dongle signal)

 

some of the further moorings are a bloody long walk from the carpark, particularly if you're lugging a lot of stuff

 

Water to the pontoons turned off over the winter for about five months non stop (this is generally not mentioned when you sign up unless you specifically ask- and why would you think to ask!)

 

Shoreline meter requires a non-refundable deposit of £85 to be paid for it, so I am told

 

Wifi is free, but for at least three months now has been non functional 90% of the time, and as 50% of my reason for mooring there was for the wifi, this was no good. Multiple complaints led to being told repeatedly 'it's free' but surely something is only 'free' if it actually exists?! I'd have been more than happy to pay a premium for it, had it actually worked.

 

Total deadzone for most mobile phone networks with the exception of Three and Orange

 

Some of the facilities are aging and I felt that my various complaints about them were brushed off and not taken seriously, eventually being told 'you know what they're like now, just don't use them if you're not happy.' Ie, Tumble dryers being £12 to actually get a washload dry, showers and toilets not being cleaned very regularly.

 

Depending on who you deal with in the office, you end up banging your head against a brick wall. In my last month there I reported to the office a woman who was clearly batshit nuts trying to climb over a locked security gate to get in and hunt down her ex who she believed moored there- upon reporting this and giving the name of the man concerned so he could be told, I got a shrug and 'what do you want me to do about it?'

 

Pumpout runs through the laundry room, and when someone is pumping out you don't want to be anywhere nearby. As a veterinary nurse, I am no stranger to piss, shite and vomit, but the smell in ther laundry room, where you're supposed to be cleaning your clothes, is intolerable.

 

Finally, also recently, fishermen have been been fishing in the marina at night on the pontoons next to the moored boats, with the permission of the marina for a financial donation (I assume to a charity). I'm not a big fan of having walk in-walk out unvetted strangers hanging around right next to the boats while I sleep, personally; if it happened on the cut, i'd move on the next day, and I feel that in a marina, you pay a premium for the extra security and to avoid that kind of thing.

 

 

Overall, I had a good time there and found the staff were all very nice, and it's a nice environment with the other moorers etc. I like Braunston, but I wanted an online mooring and also when towards the end of my time there I was facing paying what is a relatively high rate comparatively to other moorings and marinas in the area and looking at the water going off all winter again, and feeling more and more that the various issues I raised about the problems with the facilities were getting worse and not being addressed, and when I kept bringing them up I was ignored and treated with total disinterest, I decided to move on.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Starcoaster

[Roxy]

I wouldn't bother with looking at Beeston Marina if I were you. We moored there for a few months last winter and they're overpriced for the facilities available. They say on their website that they have electric hook up, but there's only a few such berths and they're like hen's teeth to get hold of. More than likely you'll end up at the end of a long pontoon like we did, which was slippery and treacherous when it's icy and they wouldn't grit it, or even provide us with grit, despite being asked many times.

 

Also the pump out machine was broken during the whole of our stay despite many promises that it was about to be fixed.

 

It does have a good bar though

 

Slippery pontoons? I blame the dogs I tripped over

[Guest]

Stenson is a very nice marina my bruvver in law has been moored there for a few years. It is moooocho better than Mercia and the other big faceless marinas but usualy full. Twould be my first choice in that neck of the woods

 

Tim

 

Mercia is not 'faceless' Tim.

 

Stenson is a nice marina agreed.

[Ange]

Slippery pontoons? I blame the dogs I tripped over

I'm saying nothing

 

Actually to provided more balance I ought to add another advantage of Beeston - it's on a river so you get to watch boats passing rather than mooring in a floating caravan park.

[junior]

 

I like Braunston, but I wanted an online mooring and also when towards the end of my time there I was facing paying what is a relatively high rate comparatively to other moorings and marinas in the area and looking at the water going off all winter again, and feeling more and more that the various issues I raised about the problems with the facilities were getting worse and not being addressed, and when I kept bringing them up I was ignored and treated with total disinterest, I decided to move on.

 

 

Can i ask where you went to? My preference right from the beggining has been an on-line mooring or certainly not stuck away in the corner of a marina. I just didnt think i'd be able to find that type of mooring with the facilities i wanted, hence me looking at marinas.

[mrsmelly]

I'm saying nothing

 

Actually to provided more balance I ought to add another advantage of Beeston - it's on a river so you get to watch boats passing rather than mooring in a floating caravan park.

 

I am with you there Ange. ALL marinas are bloody orrible floating caravan parks, online mooring is mooocho nicer but as you know in this area online moorings are like hens teeth, hence we being in a flippin marina

 

Tim

[Starcoaster]

Can i ask where you went to? My preference right from the beggining has been an on-line mooring or certainly not stuck away in the corner of a marina. I just didnt think i'd be able to find that type of mooring with the facilities i wanted, hence me looking at marinas.

 

The online mooring I took doesn't have all of the same facilities that are on the marina, although it is pretty well located a short cruise from anything I will need, and water on site. (It's a private mooring rather than a BW one)

I spent this last year getting ready for that, ie, getting a shower room fitted (the boat didn't have one when I got it, which tied me to the marina) and other stuff done so I'd be ready to go online.

I don't mind not having the same facilities that are available on a marina, when the price of the mooring reflects that. If paying the marina price, I do expect to have facilities like the water on year-round and not wondering if all comers are going to be pitched up outside the boats at night fishing, etc.

 

I should also add that Braunston were kind enough to let me have my shower work done while I was on my mooring there, and arranged other boats to shuffle so I could put the boat I stayd on while doing this right next door. I didn't have a bad experience there by any means, but in the end, what I wanted (and in some ways, what I was paying for) wasn't matching up with what I got.

And I always wanted to be online eventually; Initially, the idea of being on a marina seemed like a great idea, and I never really planned to move the boat. A couple of months in, it felt like a prison.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Starcoaster

[Ally]

There are some online moorings at Bishops Meadow in Loughborough...not sure if there are any vacant though.

[Pembroke]

You won't get anywhere near Billing for quite a while as it was evacuated earlier today (2nd time this year) and it is currently chucking it down outside - it was on the national news, it is also accessed off the River Nene as well

I know Gayton and Blisworth marina both have places as we will be using Blisworth (if we ever get the boat from Oxford) both of which are on the GU

We preferred Blisworth but they are literally next door to each other

[RichardN]

We have stopped over or moored at some on your list:

 

Billing, Northamptonshire: it is in the middle of a camp site / holiday home site so a bit surreal but very friendly, really good staff, I would gladly moor there

 

Sawley marina, Notts: Strange, huge. Nothing wrong but somehow did not work for us

 

Kings (bwml) marina, Notts: Now you are talking. One of our top 3 marinas

 

High line: No first hand knowledge.

 

Willow tree: Left boat there for a service, not the marinas fault in any way but all went a bit pear shaped which may unfairly colour my views a bit. Friendly, seem efficient

 

Engineers wharf: We were the third boat in, moored there for a year till BW messed up our renewal, I threw toys out of the pram and we CC-ed the summer instead weekend at a time (500 miles 439 locks). On-shore facilities not perfect, public transport poor, parking may be getting awkward but to be honest we only left because a git in BW made a cods of our renewal.

 

Packet Boat: Well it is ok, moored there for a winter, needed to get an electrician in before they accepted that the pillar was duff, got hellos off about 3 people in 6 months. Nothing actually wrong with the place but did not click with us at all. Another refugee boat from Engineers Wharf has moored there and they mentioned that it was not very friendly yet they are totally top people, people you would want to be friends with.

 

Limehouse: One of our top 3 marinas if not at the top, I saw a few empty spaces today but did not catch up on the gossip. Horribly expensive.