On Monday, November 27, 2006 10:04 PM [GMT+1=CET], Eric Russell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hello, all. > My wife (Linda) and I, in company with another couple (the Whittakers) > have booked the Napton Narrowboat, Monaco, in September 2007 for a one > week trip from Napton to Oxford and return. Unless your booking includes the very first few days of September, then you'll have the advanateg of being out of the peak busy time, because schoolterm will have started and so families won;t be boating n the week. > I was wondering about the group's view on gaffes to avoid, canal > etiquette to observe, and anything else that would prevent the > "two-fingered salute" as we motor about on your patch. There are some very useful thoughts about that side of things at http://www.canals.com/FAQ.htm#protocol > At the same time, are there places of interest recommended? Places to > avoid? Safe mooring? Mooring to avoid? Most of that stretch is open countryside and very attractive. Apart from Oxford itself, the only significant town is Banbury. Some of the villages (Cropredy comes to mind particularly) are very attractive. Some, like Cropredy and Thrupp are right on the canal bank, others are a short walk away. I can't think of anywhere on that stretch that I'd regard as unsafe for an overnight mooring. I'm particuarly fond of Thrupp, which is attractive village with two good waterside pubs. Out of the busy season there should be plenty of mooring space available there (and anywhere else on the route). One of two of the possible moorings, such as Lower Heyford, are very close to the railway line and hence a bit noisy at night. In our experience it's not easy to find moorings in Oxford itself without venturing onto the Thames (for which your boat would need a Thames licence). One possibility would be to moor at somewhere like Thrupp and go into the city by bus. The one thing to be wary of is the sections (around Shipton and Aynho) where the River Cherwell flows into and out of the canal. After a period of prolonged rain these can be subject to flooding and can become impassable. When we were pottering around there in September this year, there was a time when we'd had a lot of rain and the indicator boads were only just showing green (i.e.safe to proceed). Mike Stevens narrowboat Felis Catus III web-site www.mike-stevens.co.uk Defend the waterways. Visit the web site www.saveourwaterways.org.uk
