Andy G 1984

Hi, I am hoping you will all be bale to offer me a bit of extra guidance. This August me, my wife, daughter and dog will be heading out on a canal boat for the first time ever. We have hired the boat from Clifton Cruisers and plan to head down the South Oxford Canal. Is this route a good choice for a crew of complete novices? When it comes to night time and we want to moor up and can you do that anywhere along the canal or are there virtual 'double yellow lined areas'? For example during the day if we decide to all get off and talk the dog for a walk in the countryside, can we simply moor up and go for a walk? I imagine most night we will want to moor up within walking distance of a nice pub for a couple of beers before settling down. Can you more up for the night at most of the pubs? Are there plenty of them along this stretch of canal? Also a question that my wife is particularly concerned about....where can we empty our toilet? How often (on average) do you thing we would need to empty it with 3 of us on board? Similar question for getting more water on board? Where can we get it from, do we have to pay, if so how much? Sorry it must appear to be a lot of stupid questions. This is something we have been thinking about doing for a few years and i just don't want it to be a disappointing experience because I haven't asked the stupid questions. I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts. Andy