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Grove Lock Inn, mooring and turning


Jak

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So I'm still a newbie and planning to cruise over to the Grove Lock Inn on Sunday with Mum and Dad to show off the boat and get a nice meal. Coming up the GU from the Leighton Buzzard direction.

 

Can someone with local knowledge please help by letting me know:

- where can I turn either below or above the lock (only 47' long)

- any idea how busy it gets on a Sunday? Booked the table but the guy taking the booking had no idea about mooring

 

Thanks for any help...

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As said you can turn below the lock by the pub I wouldn't turn above as it is very shallow on the offside past the marina and water levels are very unpredictable in the pond , we are in the marina and water levels are ok at the moment but its still shallow on the offside past us, a boat got totally beached there a few weeks ago trying to cut the corner .

 

regards pub it gets really busy at weekends and indeed most of the time so booking is very advisable

 

hope this helps

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Thanks. Dad is over 80 and has limited mobility so will drop him off right outside the pub then moor up below.

slight problem you may have is there are 2 CaRT barges moored on the pub mooring , they have moved the dredger but left the barges at least as of this morning they were still there , so you will stuggle to moor right out side I am afraid and the only other mooring is on the towpath side which would involve going across the very rickey lock gates which I guess is a no no to anyone with mobility problems ( its a big enough issue to me with the dog as the gates and rails are in shocking state . you may therefore have to go up and drop him at the top of the lock . Why not come earlier and have a nice little cruise up to slapton and turn there prob take no more than a couple hours round trip max , nice cruise followed by nice lunch and short cruise back make a day of it .

interestinly we were moored up next to Ajax in Aylesbury basin last winter next to the wet dock

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It's a small world. I've owned Ajax less than a month so just getting the hang of things. Thanks again for your help. There's an element of advance planning needed when you are an inexperienced boater with an elderly relative. Top of the lock it is then.

 

This is a very short trial run with Mum and Dad. If it works ok longer voyages will follow soon enough!

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It's a small world. I've owned Ajax less than a month so just getting the hang of things. Thanks again for your help. There's an element of advance planning needed when you are an inexperienced boater with an elderly relative. Top of the lock it is then.

 

This is a very short trial run with Mum and Dad. If it works ok longer voyages will follow soon enough!

 

yeah boating world is definitely a small one. Great community . you may be able to turn before the marina if only 47 feet but that is highly dependent on if there and what is moored on the offside , if a wide beam ( and its a favourite haunt of the lesser ​ often spotted BUFF's nowadays ) then you will struggle . I would do a reccy before you go through the lock to get the lie of the land . Do you need Diesel of a pump out or coal by chance ? if so you can pull into the marina on the right and turn that way . You may be able to use a little of that space anyway but I didn't say that wink.png Still tight though esp if someone moored opposite

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as others have said there is no issues below the lock with turning.

 

certainly big enough for me to turn 45 foot in one go (forward gear and tiller hard over) without getting close to the edges or anything else.

 

I can't comment on above the lock as I turned below and headed back north.

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I wouldn't recommend trying to turn above the lock because my goodness does it get windswept up there and pin you to one side. Ended up levered off by two people on ropes in the end so not bothered trying that again since.

 

However my 65ft-er turns easily below the lock. Plenty of room to moor below the lock too if you and your guests are happy to walk across the lock gates to get to and from the pub.

Edited by BlueStringPudding
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Thanks. Dad is over 80 and has limited mobility so will drop him off right outside the pub then moor up below.

In that case I would go into the lock, fill it and drop Dad off on the lock side directly outside the pub. You can then moor and wind above the lock, and pick him up the same way on the way back down.

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Just noticed the limited mobility thing. David's advice is great. You might also be able to turn below the lock, reverse to the side of the beer garden at the bottom of the lock to drop off Dad and then take the boat over to the opposite side of the canal to moor up if you don't want to turn above the lock if it's particularly windy that day

Edited by BlueStringPudding
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In that case I would go into the lock, fill it and drop Dad off on the lock side directly outside the pub. You can then moor and wind above the lock, and pick him up the same way on the way back down.

 

I was also going to suggest dropping him off while you're in the lock. You can moor above the lock, just beyond the lock landing. You might also be well advised to go back down the lock backwards, picking up dad on the way, and turning below the lock, where there's definitely width and depth.

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I am trying to think back because I don't go that way very often but couldn't you stop just below the lock on the same side as the pub and drop him off there by the pub garden. I could be 100% wrong on that one.

 

You could, but RufusR says above that there are two CRT boats moored there, which would make things a bit tricky.

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Thanks for all the tips. Sunday lunch at the Grove was very good. Can see why it's so busy now. But we were the only customers arriving by boat. Probably because it's November and raining. Mum and Dad up for a longer cruise when it's a little warmer! And in a 47' it's easy to wind at the top of the lock without pranging any of the marina boats, honest :)

Edited by Jak
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Thanks for all the tips. Sunday lunch at the Grove was very good. Can see why it's so busy now. But we were the only customers arriving by boat. Probably because it's November and raining. Mum and Dad up for a longer cruise when it's a little warmer! And in a 47' it's easy to wind at the top of the lock without pranging any of the marina boats, honest smile.png

Glad it went well

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Thanks for all the tips. Sunday lunch at the Grove was very good. Can see why it's so busy now. But we were the only customers arriving by boat. Probably because it's November and raining. Mum and Dad up for a longer cruise when it's a little warmer! And in a 47' it's easy to wind at the top of the lock without pranging any of the marina boats, honest smile.png

cool glad it all went well , I notice the Cart Barges have now been double moored so its just possible to moor behind them outside the pub now , Jules Fuels did last night and if they can with 2 x 72 feet working boats then it is possible for all . Glad you managed to wind up top though it was a bit blowy yesterday as is its want here as BSP says can be tricky .. We have all been pinned on the bank at one point or another , good experience of truly winding a boat though ( in the real sense ie using the wind to turn you ) every 2 weeks when pumping out

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