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The Oxford canal - middle section

Nickhlx

By Nickhlx
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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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I have some friends about to hire a 66 footer and travel the Oxford for a couple of weeks from tomorrow - They are dropping in here first to get some bits and not knowing this stretch of the system, wondered if any locals could comment on any good / not so good parts, and whether recent / imminent weather has/will cause any difficult parts.. ?

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

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Chalky Experienced

Chalky

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Top pound at between Napton Top and Claydon Top is always shallow (slow) and very short of pubs. After Napton the next pub is Fenny Compton then it's Cropredy.

The tap at Fenny Compton Wharf is probably the slowest on the system...

If you moor in the centre Banbury by the shopping centre the locals can be a bit noisy on Friday / Saturday nights. The leisure centre with swimming pool is 2 minutes from the canal.

If they moor near bridge 168 then Morrisons is about 2 minutes walk away.

2 sections are on Rivers and if there's lots of rain then these become impassable. The first is by Nell Bridge / Aynho wier lock and the other is between Bakers lock and Shipston wier lock.

South of Banbury the canal and railway follow very similar paths - bear this in mind when stopping for the night.


Quite, when I saw the title, I thought Napton to Braunston, then is the logical "middle" of the Oxford to me.

 

We're based at Fenny Compton - for us the middle bit is Banbury to Lower Heyford! (1 day to Banbury, 1 day to Lower Heyford, 1 day to Oxford)

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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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Thanks for all the replies...

 

They don't know what section they will be navigating, although I suspect it will all be south of Cropredy and maybe down to the Thames - I guess it depends on the weather a bit.

 

I will pass on all the comments though

 

Thanks again,

 

Nick

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Morat Proficient

Morat

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On the upside, you can easily do the stretch from Napton to Cropredy in a day which means you end up skipping between some very nice pubs and a long gentle chug through the summit section which is very remote and pretty. Just make sure you have enough provisions on board for breakfast and probably lunch - Fenny and Cropredy are a bit close together to do lunch then supper at pubs but there's enough time for a pint or two if you want :)

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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On the upside, you can easily do the stretch from Napton to Cropredy in a day.

Well, on a good day, yes. From Cropredy to just past Napton Bottom Lock took us a bit more than nine hours this September. We weren't hanging about and had reasonably good fortune with the locks of the Napton flight. With a long and unfamiliar boat, your friends might struggle to complete this jouney in a day's available daylight at this time of year.

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Chalky Experienced

Chalky

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Agree. At festival time Fenny Compton to Cropredy is about a day and in the summer Fenny to Napton bottom is a day.

 

The top pound is shallow and winding (with a number of blind bends...) so 2 mph is about all that is possible. It's also very exposed in places and rains sideways!

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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It's also, lest we forget, one of the prettiest sections of canal you could hope to find - unlike, say, the Braunston to Napton section which can get tedious, except for the student of luxuriant plant growth on what is laughingly called the towpath.

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Morat Proficient

Morat

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I didn't allow for time of year :(

We usually go on the boat out of high season and she's only 47ft so very easy to steer round the tighter bends.

I've done the same section on a 70ft boat and it is a different kettle of fish - especially in a crosswind as noted.

 

Lovely part of the network, though!

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c c Rising Star

c c

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We plan to set off in BADSEY for Oxford from Hillmorton next week and so far, the advice on here includes:

 

Closures

River parts impassable in heavy rain (like we have now)

Very Shallow

Tight bends with side winds

Locks you get stuck in

Don’t stop in Banbury

Horizontal rain

Poor towpath

Thames closed

And if we do get to Oxford the wonderful quote of an earlier poster was "as welcoming as Omaha Beach".

 

Sounds like an adventure with 72feet and 3ft 4inch below the water.

If we get back, we’ll let you know what we experienced.

 

Tell us the name of the boat your friends are on and we'll look out for them.

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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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They passed through here this morning and we haven't heard from them yet...

 

I think their boat is about 66 feet, although I also don't think they have hired more than about 58' in the past - there is only the two of them and likely no bow thruster ( being a hire boat) so it might be "interesting" on the tighter bends, especially if its a bit windy. Its not ( quite) their first time on a boat as they do take a week or two every year (!) on a boat, although this is longer than previously and on perhaps the tightest stretch they have been on to date.

 

I was going to go and spend a few hours with them on Wednesday unsure.png - I think... with some fire extinguishers in case we meet any Dragons !

 

Nick smile.png

Edited by Nickhlx
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Chalky Experienced

Chalky

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And if we do get to Oxford the wonderful quote of an earlier poster was "as welcoming as Omaha Beach".

 

 

Oxford's improved a lot in the last couple of years. The 48 hour moorings in the centre have been improved and are good. There are some 7 day ones just after the water point however the bank is poor and you'll need the plank - we draw 24" and it's tight for us.

Main tight bridge holes are Griffin Bridge - 130 and Pinsey Bridge - 214. They're blind and on bends...

If you moor in Lower Heyford do so before the lift bridge - it's away from the trains and a lot quieter.

Also make sure you've got a spare BW key for the lift bridges. Some require a key to unlock them - if they're difficult press down on the lock before trying to unlock it / remove the key

It sounds like I'm being negative, I don't mean to be, I'm just sharing local knowledge about some of the interesting bits. We regularly cruise to Oxford so know the road reasonably well.

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

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Well I can only think of 3 hire basses on the S Oxford. Napton, Lower Heyford and Oxford on and a small one at Twyford Wharf. If they are away for 14 days from today the stoppages could well impact on any of these hire basses.

 

 

Oxford's improved a lot in the last couple of years. The 48 hour moorings in the centre have been improved and are good. There are some 7 day ones just after the water point however the bank is poor and you'll need the plank - we draw 24" and it's tight for us.

Main tight bridge holes are Griffin Bridge - 130 and Pinsey Bridge - 214. They're blind and on bends...

If you moor in Lower Heyford do so before the lift bridge - it's away from the trains and a lot quieter.

Also make sure you've got a spare BW key for the lift bridges. Some require a key to unlock them - if they're difficult press down on the lock before trying to unlock it / remove the key

It sounds like I'm being negative, I don't mean to be, I'm just sharing local knowledge about some of the interesting bits. We regularly cruise to Oxford so know the road reasonably well.

The answer for the lift bridges that are locked is to sit on them with the lock between your legs and then they are easy to lock unlock.

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