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Banbury to Leamington for a week


owenk

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Planning a trip in July and having been moored in or around Cropredy for many years have done the Oxford canal to death.  Still love the stretch down past the Heyfords/Kirtlington etc  but fancy a change next month.

 

A sensible seeming distance to aim for would be to trun left at Napton, through the Stockton locks, turn in Leamington somewhere and back.  However I don't know that stretch of canal at all and so was wondering what it is like?  Like boating through peaceful deserted stretches of country side but don't mind the odd bit of town/industrial landscape at all. 

 

I read on another thread there aren't too many decent pubs, but we're not overly bothered by mooring by a pub every evening.

 

Any thought, comments or suggestions for an alternative 8 day trip from Cropredy gratefully received.  Normal cruising day about 5 hours but I don;t mind doing a bit longer.

 

TIA 

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I don't know the Stockton/ Leamington area well - but welcome back, it is some time since we saw you!

You could always go up the Ashby (one of my favourites) unless of course you have already done so.

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5 minutes ago, Athy said:

I don't know the Stockton/ Leamington area well - but welcome back, it is some time since we saw you!

You could always go up the Ashby (one of my favourites) unless of course you have already done so.

We have done the Ashby Athy and it was very lovely but could we do it and back in 8 days?

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5 minutes ago, owenk said:

We have done the Ashby Athy and it was very lovely but could we do it and back in 8 days?

Fairly easily I would say. Have a look at CanalPlan for approximate timings.

EDIT: though perhaps if you travel only 5 hours per day you might not get to the end and back. You would probably get part way (e.g. turn at Bosworth Marina).

Edited by Athy
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46 minutes ago, owenk said:

Planning a trip in July and having been moored in or around Cropredy for many years have done the Oxford canal to death.  Still love the stretch down past the Heyfords/Kirtlington etc  but fancy a change next month.

 

A sensible seeming distance to aim for would be to trun left at Napton, through the Stockton locks, turn in Leamington somewhere and back.  However I don't know that stretch of canal at all and so was wondering what it is like?  Like boating through peaceful deserted stretches of country side but don't mind the odd bit of town/industrial landscape at all. 

 

I read on another thread there aren't too many decent pubs, but we're not overly bothered by mooring by a pub every evening.

 

Any thought, comments or suggestions for an alternative 8 day trip from Cropredy gratefully received.  Normal cruising day about 5 hours but I don;t mind doing a bit longer.

 

TIA 

The Napton & Warwick canal is very rural as far as Leamington. A good destination would be the Saltisford Arm where you can moor (for a small fee to the canal trust) and be in walking distance of Warwick town centre and the castle. Leamington's moorings aren't the best.

 

That should be well within the bounds of eight leisurely days. The locks are quite hard work on the widened GU but in July you will probably end up sharing with another boat.

 

JP

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1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

The Napton & Warwick canal is very rural as far as Leamington. A good destination would be the Saltisford Arm where you can moor (for a small fee to the canal trust) and be in walking distance of Warwick town centre and the castle. Leamington's moorings aren't the best.

 

That should be well within the bounds of eight leisurely days. The locks are quite hard work on the widened GU but in July you will probably end up sharing with another boat.

 

JP

You could also mooring outside the cape of good hope, I saw a sign there a couple of days ago offering moorings for customers, damn fine ales too.

  I would plan to travel straight through Leamington spa, it is a dump with a large quantity of druggies and the like. We didn't see any boats moored there when we passed through in late spring. 

  There are some nice pubs in the Stockton area, the boat at the top of the flight, blue lias near the bottom and the two boats further down.

Edited by BWM
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16 minutes ago, Athy said:

I am pleased to hear that the Cape, outside which we moored some years ago and which we found to be a very good pub, is still a very good pub.

It certainly is, we didn't eat on that visit but judging by the number of people who we're, they must be doing something right. 

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The lockgear - culled from Poo Works penstocks are diabolical. You have to wind them up and down (well the latter you should). One or two are heavy, the others are tedious. You'll need a windlass with the larger hole.

My Management has banned us from that stretch - we have to go to Brum via  Nuneaton instead...

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1 hour ago, BWM said:

You could also mooring outside the cape of good hope, I saw a sign there a couple of days ago offering moorings for customers, damn fine ales too.

  I would plan to travel straight through Leamington spa, it is a dump with a large quantity of druggies and the like. We didn't see any boats moored there when we passed through in late spring. 

  There are some nice pubs in the Stockton area, the boat at the top of the flight, blue lias near the bottom and the two boats further down.

We have moored in Leamington about 6 times in past 3 years. Never had a problem. Agree it’s a bit grim but walk into town and there are some good restaurants.

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We did Calcutt to Warwick Saltisford arm in the first week of September in 2016 and enjoyed it, despite the locks. Leamington was not the best but you get through it quickly and get very easy access to Lidl and Tesco for shopping on the way. The Saltisford Arm was nice with a large Sainsburys nearby. There is a Wetherspoons (other pubs are available) after a 10 or 15 minutes walk into Warwick town centre of you want cheap beer and/or food.

 

It was much quieter than we expected. The Boat Inn at the top of the Stockton flight and The Blue Lyas at the bottom  were both good. We will do it again, possibly at the end of this summer, and try The Two Boats and The Cape.

 

As I recall it's very good for solar (and soaking up some rays yourself, weather permitting) as it runs East/West with the towpath on the North side.

 

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1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

The lockgear - culled from Poo Works penstocks are diabolical. You have to wind them up and down (well the latter you should). One or two are heavy, the others are tedious. You'll need a windlass with the larger hole.

My Management has banned us from that stretch - we have to go to Brum via  Nuneaton instead...

 

For wide locks I don't mind them.

 

We have the Calcutt three to do every time we go anywhere. At least they give a very predictable flow to pin a single boat against the wall going up if you start off with only the one on the same side of the boat. Not all wide locks are so single-boat-friendly. I certainly prefer them to those at Braunston and the GU South.

 

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3 hours ago, ianali said:

We have moored in Leamington about 6 times in past 3 years. Never had a problem. Agree it’s a bit grim but walk into town and there are some good restaurants.

Another striking aspect of boating through Leamington was the enormous amount of litter floating on the canal, it began as soon as we reached there and vanished soon after we left, as the surroundings improved.

3 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

We did Calcutt to Warwick Saltisford arm in the first week of September in 2016 and enjoyed it, despite the locks. Leamington was not the best but you get through it quickly and get very easy access to Lidl and Tesco for shopping on the way. The Saltisford Arm was nice with a large Sainsburys nearby. There is a Wetherspoons (other pubs are available) after a 10 or 15 minutes walk into Warwick town centre of you want cheap beer and/or food.

 

It was much quieter than we expected. The Boat Inn at the top of the Stockton flight and The Blue Lyas at the bottom  were both good. We will do it again, possibly at the end of this summer, and try The Two Boats and The Cape.

 

As I recall it's very good for solar (and soaking up some rays yourself, weather permitting) as it runs East/West with the towpath on the North side.

 

We didn't rate the 'spoons in Warwick, and the prices rose by nearly a pound a pint in pubs around  the centre. Did you come across the wild boar? A cracking pub that also brews on site. 

The two boats is a decent boozer but we found the food a bit erratic, good quality but the kitchen didn't always open.. if you find yourself in Stockton on a Friday it is worth walking into long itchington, a mobile fish and chip van stops outside the green man and the pub were happy for you to eat it in there, even providing cutlery! I haven't been there for a couple of years but would assume it's still the same. 

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Hiya Owen. We have done the journey you mention a couple of times and did it one way, towards Napton this time last year. Saltisford Arm is well worth getting into. You'll be well looked after and a short walk into Warwick. A pleasant experience.

 

we are on the outskirts of Banbury presently and will be staying here for a week or so, with a quick dive into Banbury for water and supplies and out again. How is Pipsqueak treating you? We may bump into you sometime.

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4 hours ago, ianali said:

We have moored in Leamington about 6 times in past 3 years. Never had a problem. Agree it’s a bit grim but walk into town and there are some good restaurants.

It's a real shame that the face of Leamington from the canal is not a good one. The council have apparently finally realised this and are threatening to try and protect the canal side from overdevelopment and hopefully will clean it up a bit.

The rest of the town is very nice to visit (over the river Leam) - well worth a walk into if you get the chance. 

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12 minutes ago, CV32 said:

It's a real shame that the face of Leamington from the canal is not a good one. The council have apparently finally realised this and are threatening to try and protect the canal side from overdevelopment and hopefully will clean it up a bit.

The rest of the town is very nice to visit (over the river Leam) - well worth a walk into if you get the chance. 

Agreed. Born and bred in Leamington. Love the town. 

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9 hours ago, OldGoat said:

The lockgear - culled from Poo Works penstocks are diabolical. You have to wind them up and down (well the latter you should). One or two are heavy, the others are tedious. You'll need a windlass with the larger hole.

My Management has banned us from that stretch - we have to go to Brum via  Nuneaton instead...

 

Not really correct. When properly maintained you wind them up but they should drop on their own at a controlled rate and end up with a  softish stop against whet seems like a spring or rubber block. The fact BW/CaRT have not maintained them well and insist on the winding down thing means that on some you do have to wind them down but If the spindle looks  burr free I knock the dodgy horseshoe clamp off and slow the decent with my hand - much as proper BW/CaRT operatives tend to do on other paddle gear.

 

In my view arguably the best paddle gear despite the 20 turns to fully open. Plus the large paddles.

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No problem with the paddles on the Napton to Warwick stretch. 

Aim for Saltisford as others have said. The Cape and the 2 boats are the best pubs and not to be missed. We do the trip at least 4 times each way a year as Warwick is such a nice place to walk around. 

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14 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

Hiya Owen. We have done the journey you mention a couple of times and did it one way, towards Napton this time last year. Saltisford Arm is well worth getting into. You'll be well looked after and a short walk into Warwick. A pleasant experience.

 

we are on the outskirts of Banbury presently and will be staying here for a week or so, with a quick dive into Banbury for water and supplies and out again. How is Pipsqueak treating you? We may bump into you sometime.

It would be great to catch up with you whilst you are next door!  Drop me a text and we’ll grab a beer.  Equally if you’re by a road and need a left into the supermarket let me know.

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12 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Not really correct. When properly maintained you wind them up but they should drop on their own at a controlled rate and end up with a  softish stop against whet seems like a spring or rubber block. The fact BW/CaRT have not maintained them well and insist on the winding down thing means that on some you do have to wind them down but If the spindle looks  burr free I knock the dodgy horseshoe clamp off and slow the decent with my hand - much as proper BW/CaRT operatives tend to do on other paddle gear.

 

In my view arguably the best paddle gear despite the 20 turns to fully open. Plus the large paddles.

Ferzakaly - That's what we do and always have done - a large pair of welding globes (well one actually) to slow the drop and the 'properly managed' bit mebe why the Calcut and the other two sets down to Warwick are nice to operate. It's 'Hatton' that's the bogey and where the Management threw her toys out....

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  • 1 month later...

To complete this thread with so,e feedback we had a great week.  Easily got to Warwick and back in the week, which included a day off the boat to celebrate some friends’ 30th wedding.

 

My wife found the locks, if anything, easier than the Oxford, although were lucky enough to have company both ways on the Stockton flight which obviously makes it easier.

 

We stayed as recommended in the Saltisfotd Arm which was lovely and welcoming. 

 

All in all a most enjoyable cruise.  Thanks all for the advice!

 

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Owen, hi. I was away for the weekend just. Margaret was onboard, however you probably saw Nightwatch near Fenny Compton. Glad you had a good trip. We have moored in the Saltisford Arm twice now and find it very convenient.

 

My apologies for not making contact in Banbury. To be honest completely slipped my mind. We were, at that time, travelling with another boat and social life was hectic. People who are aware of our cruising patterns will be aware we don't travel to quickly unless we have a particular reason to get somewhere. At present we don'thave such reasons. We are making our way past Warwick and will perhaps visit Central Birmingham at some point. We are midway across the summit at present. Far too hot to cruise. We are moored under a tree. 

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1 minute ago, Nightwatch said:

Owen, hi. I was away for the weekend just. Margaret was onboard, however you probably saw Nightwatch near Fenny Compton. Glad you had a good trip. We have moored in the Saltisford Arm twice now and find it very convenient.

 

My apologies for not making contact in Banbury. To be honest completely slipped my mind. We were, at that time, travelling with another boat and social life was hectic. People who are aware of our cruising patterns will be aware we don't travel to quickly unless we have a particular reason to get somewhere. At present we don'thave such reasons. We are making our way past Warwick and will perhaps visit Central Birmingham at some point. We are midway across the summit at present. Far too hot to cruise. We are moored under a tree. 

Yup did spot your boat again just outside Fenny.  No sign of you so I assumed you were off the boat.  Must catch up at some point to pick your brains on water/electricity management when you aren’t moving much since we don’t like to hurry but find we are driven on by the need for electricity and water.

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Water is easy. Don't wash. Seriously though, (we do wash) but more of a bird wash. Showers when really needed but very mean with the water. We use three big bottles of water for tea drinking. Seems to save water as you're not abliged to run the tap a bit before filling kettle r whatever.

 

Electrically, we have all 12v onboard, chargers,telly,fans etc. LED lighting. We can now show off our two 100w solar panels. This has helped considerably. The weather has helped also. Don't think it's rained since installation. Only took four plus years to actually get round to installing. We will add to our array at some point in the future. 

 

There are are those on here that are far more proficient then us but that's what we do. 

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  • 1 month later...

Just to report back and say thanks to all contributors we had a great week.  Mrs K said the locks and lock gear were fine.  We loved the canal and Warwick.  Saltisford Arm was a beautiful mooring and the Jambavan Indian restaurant in Warwick gets a huge reccommendation from us.

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