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First canal holiday


Morten Welde

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Just found this website and it looks just the ticket for a lot of my questions. I'm Norwegian and visit the uk several times a year - mostly for pleasure but now and then for work too. I love the English countryside with their pubs, the people and the landscape and I've always wanted to go on a narrow boat holiday. This summer it looks as I'm finally going on one. We shall see if it's for me, but I very much doubt if it isn't.

 

Anyway, enough about me. Since flying in from abroad the area around Oxford should be convenient. We'll be away for a week and I was originally thinking setting off from Oxford and going north and then returning. However, I'm also considering going from Reading and up the Thames to Oxford and back. Any thoughts on this or other one-week routes in that area?

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If you're completely new I wouldn't go on the Thames. It's just more difficult because it's a river. For example: On a canal, you can stop pretty much everywhere, on the Thames you have to stop at designated places. A canal is usually very calm and the boat is easy to control, on a river like the Thames you have currents.

 

Have a look at this website to plan a route: canalplan.eu/cgi-bin/canal.cgi

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Welcome, Morten! I wish that my Norwegian was as good as your English.

I suggest hiring from Oxfordshire Narrowboats at lower Heyford (railway station right next to the boatyard) and going North. In a week you could reach Napton or perhaps Braunston, travelling through very pretty scenery, some locks but not too many, some nice pubs too.

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Hi Morten,

 

A good idea and I'm sure you will enjoy it. In summer the Thames is fine really, the only thing if your unlucky to be on holiday in very wet weather and the level could come up and you could be stuck! though it doesn't usually stay on red boards (locks closed) for long. But in a weeks hire it could curtail your cruising plans.

A good place I can suggest for information on cruising the Thames is to follow the postings of Elly from here blog here http://ellyandmick.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-day-in-port-brentford.html they then head up the Oxford so it will give you a feel for it.

I made good use of this site to get a good deal on hiring a boat http://www.latelink.com/index.htm the later you leave it the better deals you can obtain.

Good luck.

 

Ade

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This is great, thank you so much. I've been to Oxford once (great city, but maybe best enjoyed outside the high season when it'sfull of tourists) so I was thinking that having that as our target and highlight of our trip was a good idea, but I suppose that a river being less flexible and more difficuklt to navigate makes sense. No decision yet though, but I'll have a look at the web sites suggested. Planning is part of the fun so we'll look at Things in mnore detail in the coming weeks.

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Hi Morten,

 

Many hire firms operate from quite rural areas and, whilst easy enough to get to by car, if you're renting a car it will be a waste of money to leave it parked there for a week. There are a few hire bases fairly easily accessed by rail which might be cheaper depending how many are in your party. Alvechurch is one which springs to mind, where the hire company is a short walk from the station. There's a good choice of interesting routes from there, including some circular routes or 'rings' so you get to see the maximum amount by not retracing your outward route on the return leg. There will be other bases like this which I'm sure others will know of.

 

Enjoy planning your trip and I hope you have a memorable time.

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I'd also vote for going north on the Oxford canal. Rivers are OK, and the Thames is one of the better ones, but I still find them dull compared to canals because the scenery is always much of a muchness - "riparian" is probably the word! Since you are at the lowest point of the land all the time, views are limited to river banks, flood plains and meadows. By contrast on the canals, you are sometimes above, sometimes below, and sometimes even inside, ground level. One minute is a tree strewn landscape, the next passing adjacent to people's back gardens etc. It is much more varied and hence interesting than a river.

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Good advice above by nicknorman - an easy point to overlook (unlike high banks and trees)! Also, as Annie said earlier, finding a mooring, particularly a free one, is often more difficult on a river. This is because in England the riverbank usually belongs to someone other than the navigation authority and is private land. The riverbank is not well suited to casual mooring - it needs to be deliberately adapted to accomodate a boat and No Mooring or Private Mooring signs are frequent at such places. Finding a mooring on a canal is relatively easy. I enjoy river cruising as do many others, but for your first voyage I'd suggest you go for a canal trip or maybe include a just a small section or river (such as the River Severn in the Worcestershire Ring).

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True, it's a pity not more hire firms allows you to leave the boat at one end so that you don't have to go back in you own tracks, but I suppose that is part of the parcel and we'll not be the only ones that have done that so it can't be that bad.

 

A lot of firms are located out in the skits, aye, but taking a minicab doesn't have to be outragously expensive either. I once took a cab from Heathrow to Ipswich (the worst day ever - a delayed flight and a train strike so that was the only option). It cost me £140. A lot of money (work paid), but split among a group it wouldn't have been that bad.

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Stating that you can only moor at certain designated places on the Thames is absolute rubbish There are certain places where you can moor and which are provided with bollards and other facilities. But you may moor anywhere where there are not any notices prohibiting you from mooring - more importantly - if you can get ashore (it can and is quite shallow in places).

 

Similar misdirections are:-

Currents - it's not difficult to navigate either going upstream (slows you down), downstream goes even faster, but you must take care in handling the boat, 'always turn' the boat upstream if picking up a mooring.

 

Boring - Yes perhaps above Oxford the River is very rural so you have to stop overnight by a field with no pub in sight.

Below Oxford there are a lot more towns where you can stop and shop.

Your Reading to Oxford trip could be very enjoyable.

 

Although we love both the River and the Oxford canal - to my mind the River is much more attractive than the journey from (say) Heyford to Napton; now that's very rural.

 

Oxford is a fascinating city to visit by river and a lot of places to see - but do keep away from the 'touristy' bit.

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Welcome, Morten! I wish that my Norwegian was as good as your English.

I suggest hiring from Oxfordshire Narrowboats at lower Heyford (railway station right next to the boatyard) and going North. In a week you could reach Napton or perhaps Braunston, travelling through very pretty scenery, some locks but not too many, some nice pubs too.

I would agree with Athy. I have used Oxfordshire Narrowboats a couple of times and their boats are always clean, smart, new,with quiet engines. They are very functional and practical although may be not as luxurious as some.

 

They also have a train station right beside their base.

Edited by NickF
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Just found this website and it looks just the ticket for a lot of my questions. I'm Norwegian and visit the uk several times a year - mostly for pleasure but now and then for work too. I love the English countryside with their pubs, the people and the landscape and I've always wanted to go on a narrow boat holiday. This summer it looks as I'm finally going on one. We shall see if it's for me, but I very much doubt if it isn't.

 

Anyway, enough about me. Since flying in from abroad the area around Oxford should be convenient. We'll be away for a week and I was originally thinking setting off from Oxford and going north and then returning. However, I'm also considering going from Reading and up the Thames to Oxford and back. Any thoughts on this or other one-week routes in that area?

Not the nicest part of the river in my opinion, If you do want the river I like it further up You could hire a Narrowboat at Oxford Cruisers. Eynsham and go up to Lechlade. or down stream to Abingdon

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You can also get to Oxford by canal. Then turn and enjoy a leisurely potter towards Napton. The south oxford is a very beautiful canal though very twisty.

My feeling is that narrow boats were designed for canals. The Thames was one of my less pleasant boating experiences, avoiding the 'hooray Henri es on their floating gin palaces at Henley wasn't my favourite boating moment.

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Thanks all for the advice. This is all very helpful. I reckon we'll avoid the river this time. It might had been a different case if we'd had two week, but with one week+ we should aim for a "proper" canal.

 

And as you rightly point out Nick, doing a ring as the Cheshire ring could also be an attractive option.

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You can also get to Oxford by canal. Then turn and enjoy a leisurely potter towards Napton. The south oxford is a very beautiful canal though very twisty.

My feeling is that narrow boats were designed for canals. The Thames was one of my less pleasant boating experiences, avoiding the 'hooray Henri es on their floating gin palaces at Henley wasn't my favourite boating moment.

 

In general the Hooray-henrys only come out of the comfort of their marinas for Henley rowing and festival weeks. Any other large-white-boats on the water are either reasonably well disposed to NBs or properly afraid of anything made of steel. Many don't venture further up than Reading.

Boat movements have decreased in the last few years and the River is kept alive by NBs.

 

The OP wanted to visit Oxford - if I read the original post correctly, and wanted either to go from Reading or from somewhere on the canal.

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In general the Hooray-henrys only come out of the comfort of their marinas for Henley rowing and festival weeks. Any other large-white-boats on the water are either reasonably well disposed to NBs or properly afraid of anything made of steel. Many don't venture further up than Reading.

Boat movements have decreased in the last few years and the River is kept alive by NBs.

 

The OP wanted to visit Oxford - if I read the original post correctly, and wanted either to go from Reading or from somewhere on the canal.

 

Interesting. Realise is 7 years since came up Thames. I do remember finding it difficult to find anywhere to stop. As many lock keepers wouldn't allow dogs off boats our travelling companions found it especially difficult to walk their dogs.

Sounds as though it's time to try it again. Not paid for a hold licence since though and not cheap to do Thames

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Stating that you can only moor at certain designated places on the Thames is absolute rubbish There are certain places where you can moor and which are provided with bollards and other facilities. But you may moor anywhere where there are not any notices prohibiting you from mooring - more importantly - if you can get ashore (it can and is quite shallow in places).

 

So it's not rubbish then, is it. You can't stop in as many places as on a canal, because often it would be too shallow. Admittedly, I've only been on the Thames between Reading and London, and found it more stressful than the canal, due to many "no mooring" signs, but also due to unfriendly people on yachts. I didn't think this would be the case, but the only people who replied to my waves or hellos were other people on narrowboats.

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So it's not rubbish then, is it. You can't stop in as many places as on a canal, because often it would be too shallow. Admittedly, I've only been on the Thames between Reading and London, and found it more stressful than the canal, due to many "no mooring" signs, but also due to unfriendly people on yachts. I didn't think this would be the case, but the only people who replied to my waves or hellos were other people on narrowboats.

 

Not wishing to be argumentative, but I interpreted the initial statement to mean you could ONLY moor at designated places - and that is not so.

The Thames is a river; the track is 'V' shaped (a canal should be 'U' shaped), so there are fewer good potential spaces to moor. However, if you don't mind not being near a pub, are happy to put your nose end into the bank or moor to a tree, there are lots of places to moor - you have to be creative.

 

It's getting more difficult now as more and more folks are living aboard even at these out of the way places.

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True, I did say you have to moor at designated places; this was my experience on the Reading to London bit. I tried stopping elsewhere once to let someone off the boat, that didn't go well (got stuck because it was too shallow). So overall, as a beginner, I just didn't feel as comfortable as on the canal because after getting stuck I felt like I shouldn't attempt to stop anywhere that's not a designated mooring spot again. But I was on my own too, so would've probably felt more comfortable with crew.

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