Kennet and Avon or Oxford North?

[Amalgama]

Hello all,

What would you recommend for the first timers, Kennet and Avon or North section Oxford canal? 

We are planning to do a four days round trip at the end of July.  We are looking for something not very difficult, nice scenery and not too crowded. 

If you can also recommend the hire company, that would be great.

Thank you

[Nightwatch]

I reckon the North Oxford. However,this would depend greatly where you're setting off from.

By others opinions the K&A can be hard work.

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

I reckon the North Oxford. However,this would depend greatly where you're setting off from.

By others opinions the K&A can be hard work.

In complete agreement.

[OldGoat]

Another one for  the Oxford - but perhaps the South Oxford is nicer?

There's a very nice hire company - Oxfordshire-something-or-other right next to a railway station. Rumour has it that there's a very,very nice café attached to the hire base - but I couldn't possibly comment....

Oh, the hire base also have a B&B which might be convenient if needed.

Don't worry about locks they're (mostly easy). Canals are boring without locks and the north has only three... (or four)

 

[MtB]

On 19/03/2017 at 09:38, Nightwatch said:

I reckon the North Oxford. However,this would depend greatly where you're setting off from.

By others opinions the K&A can be hard work.

 

My opinion too. The OP isn't going to get very far on the K&A on a four day holiday as the locks are slow to operate. 

As a single hander I find it difficult to clear a K&A lock in less than 30 mins and it often takes me 45 mins. I can clear a southern Oxford canal lock in about ten minutes on average. 

[Nightwatch]

Is the OP hiring then? In which case, the nice cafe with the Hire Boat company next door has to be first choice.

Nightwatch! Right a hundred lines you idiot.

"I must read full posts,"

"I must read full posts"

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by Nightwatch

[MtB]

On 19/03/2017 at 10:49, Nightwatch said:

Is the OP hiring then? In which case, the nice cafe with the Hire Boat company next door has to be first choice.

Nightwatch! Right a hundred lines you idiot.

"I must read full posts,"

"I must read full posts"

 

 

Yes. Not reading the thread before commenting seems to be rife around here these days, haven't you noticed?

 

And I forgot to say, on the K&A the locks are not only long-winded to operate but they come at you thick and fast. I've cruised for six hours on occasions and only covered two or three miles!

 

[mrsmelly]

8 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes. Not reading the thread before commenting seems to be rife around here these days, haven't you noticed?

 

And I forgot to say, on the K&A the locks are not only long-winded to operate but they come at you thick and fast. I've cruised for six hours on occasions and only covered two or three miles!

 

Mike

 

You need to take a female along with you.............very hard working bit of kit....................then again the cost could be quite prohibative.

[MtB]

On 19/03/2017 at 11:18, mrsmelly said:

Mike

 

You need to take a female along with you.............very hard working bit of kit....................then again the cost could be quite prohibative.

Never mind the cost. They tend to move stuff around inside the boat so you can never find anything.

Never again!

[mrsmelly]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

Never mind the cost. They tend to move stuff around inside the boat so you can never find anything.

Never again!

Yeah yeah.......you are right, it was a stupid suggestion.

[Athy]

If the North Oxford is to be your first experience of canal boating, it will not leave a particularly good impression. Much of it is straight, and accompanied by a busy railway line snuggling lovingly up close to it.

May I suggest hiring from Napton Narrowboats ( a well respected company) at Napton Junction and heading South? That route is pretty and full of interest.

[MtB]

On 19/03/2017 at 11:30, Athy said:

If the North Oxford is to be your first experience of canal boating, it will not leave a particularly good impression. Much of it is straight, and accompanied by a busy railway line snuggling lovingly up close to it.

May I suggest hiring from Napton Narrowboats ( a well respected company) at Napton Junction and heading South? That route is pretty and full of interest.

 

Good suggestion. Seconded.

Starts with a flight of nine (easy) locks though, so maybe Oxfordshire Narrowboats at Heyford might be an even better start point and place to hire from. Equally well respected.

 

(Edit to change an incorrect worm.)

Edited March 19, 2017 by Mike the Boilerman

[Scholar Gypsy]

1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

Another one for  the Oxford - but perhaps the South Oxford is nicer?

 

Don't worry about locks they're (mostly easy). Canals are boring without locks and the north has only three... (or four)

 

or seven, but you will only need four of them. I agree South Oxford is rather nicer.

[cuthound]

Or Kate Boats at Stockton on the Grand Union. Only 3 double locks, (which can be shared with another boat) to get on to the Oxford canal.

[Tony Brooks]

Or from Calcutt and turn south at the Junction. That way you sample one large lock and you will be assisted/instructed through it.  Maybe even helped through it on the way back. The bots may not be as flash as Napton's or Oxford NBs  but perfectly adequate, they got me hooked on canals.

[Captain Pegg]

The straight answer to the question would have to be the North Oxford. Napton to Coventry and return over four nights was my first canal experience. I also had an enjoyable weekend hire a couple of years ago in an area bounded by Stockton Top, Marston Doles, Norton Jn and Rugby. There is loads of canal history and interest in that area.

If the OP thinks they want to cruise the North Oxford I certainly wouldn't suggest they do otherwise. The section from Napton to Braunston and on to Willoughby is superb rural countryside and Braunston, Hillmorton and Sutton Stop are good canal locations worth stopping at for a while. The canal may be relatively straight but the section alongside the railway isn't so long that you have to stop by it. I suspect it's the favourite section on that stretch for some folk. Also the cuttings, embankments and tall bridges will hold interest to those who think about the construction of canals and there are the attractive iron side bridges over the old route.

There will also be a good chance to get used to handling the boat without worrying about impending locks from the off. There may not be many locks but that isn't necessarily a bad thing for first timers although locks are good for keeping kids occupied.

If we know the hire base and the preferences of the crew I am sure we could up with some more detailed suggestions.

JP

Edit to add since the OP asked about not hire bases I would suggest looking at Kate Boats (from Stockton not Warwick), Napton Narrowboats or Union Canal Cruisers at Braunston, The websites give suggested routes.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Captain Pegg

[Neil2]

What a choice between two of the dreariest canals on the network.  The K&A is a miserable experience for anyone but the most loyal, the North Oxford is full of boring straight sections where you see a boat coming the other way and pass it about an hour later.  And it has that section north of Stretton that smells like an open sewer.  Even when you get somewhere interesting like Hawkesbury you have the racket of traffic on the M6 thundering by.   

For a first timer it's the South Oxford all day long.   

  

[dmr]

Is this 4 full days, or is it a short half day to start, 2 full days, and a short day when you take the boat back?.

K&A locks are wide and so harder than the narrow locks but fine if you can share with another boat. There is a 15 mile lock free pound in the middle of the K&A, so hire from the new Honeystreet boat company who I believe are reasonably priced, first half day to Wooten Rivers (no locks), next day all the way to Devizes (no locks), then go down the first few locks of the Devizes flight and walk down the main dramatic bit. Overnight and wind (turn) outside the Black Horse pub and back home the next day.

I would actually suggest the Southern Oxford but don't dismiss the K&A, though it does appear to be a Marmite waterway.

..............Dave

[Athy]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

Or from Calcutt and turn south at the Junction. That way you sample one large lock and you will be assisted/instructed through it.  Maybe even helped through it on the way back. The bots may not be as flash as Napton's or Oxford NBs  but perfectly adequate, they got me hooked on canals.

They're probably cheaper than Napton's boats. They certainly look it.

[Athy]

1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

  The K&A is a miserable experience for anyone but the most loyal.

  

That's not how I remember it - good scenery and pleasant villages stick in the mind from our hire-boating holiday on the K&A That was 20 years ago, not long after it had reopened, and I assume that it's much improved since then in terms of lock facilities and so on. What don't you like about it? For me, its only drawback was that it had broad locks.

[Amalgama]

Wow!!! Thank you for your responses and advice! 

This is our long time dream   So on our first trip to UK (we are from Montréal), we want to do at least four days of boating. 

From yours answers it looks like that Soth Oxford could be a better option. 

Now we are torn between the section from Caen Hill Locks to Bath and section from Oxford to Napton. What are your suggestions? How far can we go on these stretches?

We are a couple with a teenage daughter. She definitely could do locks (some).

 

[mrsmelly]

10 minutes ago, Amalgama said:

Wow!!! Thank you for your responses and advice! 

This is our long time dream   So on our first trip to UK (we are from Montréal), we want to do at least four days of boating. 

From yours answers it looks like that Soth Oxford could be a better option. 

Now we are torn between the section from Caen Hill Locks to Bath and section from Oxford to Napton. What are your suggestions? How far can we go on these stretches?

We are a couple with a teenage daughter. She definitely could do locks (some).

 

In four days you will not get from Oxford to Napton and back. You could say for instance hire from Oxfordshire narrowboats and go north to Cropredy and back or south to Oxford and back. Its about enjoying the journey at a leisurely pace rather than motorway mileage. Caen hill to Bath would be bloomin hard work also especialy with the heavy locks and many moored boats. I would do the Oxford if I were you. I cannot suggest any further than that as my business is on the Oxford and it may seem I am advertising 

[cuthound]

Best thing to do on an "out and back" time limited 4 day trip is to turn around after 2 days.

Edited March 19, 2017 by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.

[Captain Pegg]

1 hour ago, Amalgama said:

Wow!!! Thank you for your responses and advice! 

This is our long time dream   So on our first trip to UK (we are from Montréal), we want to do at least four days of boating. 

From yours answers it looks like that Soth Oxford could be a better option. 

Now we are torn between the section from Caen Hill Locks to Bath and section from Oxford to Napton. What are your suggestions? How far can we go on these stretches?

We are a couple with a teenage daughter. She definitely could do locks (some).

 

In that case Oxfordshire Narrowboats at Heyford may be ideal as the train stops next door. It's also a good canal location to start from. My gut feeling would be to head north - if you want to visit Oxford it's close by and you can do that outside of time you could be boating. Ignore anyone's advice on how you should boat; some folk just want to be out and about enjoying the canal and countryside and others want to get somewhere or see lots of canal. You will have plenty of daylight and time to decide.

In case you haven't picked it up from hire company websites the common arrangements for short hires are either 3 nights Friday to Monday or 4 nights Monday to Friday but you won't pick the boat up until mid-afternoon on the first day and it will need to be back early on the last day.

You will be stuck with traveling out and back via the same route. The only places I know that offer rings on short breaks are Worcester or Alvechurch. Both are easily accessible by train but the routes are more demanding than the Oxford where the locks will be one at a time with gaps in between.

If you still fancy the K&A look at Foxhangers hire fleet based at the bottom of the Caen Hill flight (although frankly it's in the middle of nowhere). Bath and return is a feasible short break and contrary to a view expressed above it isn't that heavily locked. Something like 15 locks each way and you don't have to descend right into Bath if you don't want to. Personally - even having hired on this stretch and having had a perfectly good weekend break - I would choose the Oxford.

JP

Edited March 19, 2017 by Captain Pegg

[cuthound]

Canals look completely different when travelling in the opposite direction, and give you the opportunity to stop at different places to the out trip.

Also rings can put a lot of pressure on you if you break down or meet a stoppage beyond the half way point, forcing you to do long days just to get back in time.