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plainsman

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I am seeking out fresh marina moorings and have the following on my shortlist:

Aston at Stone

Overwater at Audlem

Aqueduct at Church Minshull

Great Haywood

Would appreciate comments from anyone with experience of any of the above.

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Hi 

Aqueduct is usually full and is rather expensive (well we thought so) and the Elsan is up a flight of steps so not ideal for us. Very good position though. If you want to be on the Middlewich have you thought about Venetian ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We have been at Great Haywood for about 8 years now and would strongly recommend it.

We are a shared ownership boat so we make a lot of use of the marina staff (pumpout, gas, diesel on handover days) and the mechanical sub-contractor Great Haywood Marine Services for servicing and repairs. Very hard to fault them.

As somebody else pointed out not many vacancies.

Washers & driers are apparently very competitively priced (so I am told - I never use them)

Showers are good and well maintained

Edited by Simon (Hawksmoor)
updated
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5 hours ago, tizzy said:

Hi 

Aqueduct is usually full and is rather expensive (well we thought so) and the Elsan is up a flight of steps so not ideal for us. Very good position though. If you want to be on the Middlewich have you thought about Venetian ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had spaces a few weeks ago, but were full earlier this year, probably people taking winter moorings

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11 minutes ago, StephenA said:

Any reason for a marina over a good linear mooring?

I think the problem there will be that as linear moorings are much nicer than marina caravan park moorings there are very few of them available anymore and alas declining in number :unsure:

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Aston has vacancies. We like it and it is still being improved. This year has seen a new laundry and toilet block. The staff are friendly and competent. We have considered moving to the others on your list but the reason we stay at Aston is its proximity to Stone. It's two miles to the town centre which has half a dozen decent restaurants and three or four good pubs. We treat it as our second home. The other marinas on your list can't compete from that perspective in our opinion. 

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

I think the problem there will be that as linear moorings are much nicer than marina caravan park moorings there are very few of them available anymore and alas declining in number :unsure:

Revamped Tom's moorings at Market Drayton (Now called Ladybird for some reason  - suspect its a misnaming from LadyLine who used to have the boat yard there) are pretty good

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8 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

I only have experience of Overwater so probably not much help, but that said, the staff are friendly and approachable and facilities are good.

I would second Overwater, been there since January and found the staff and other moorers very approachable along with good services available. Audlem village only a short distance away for a varied selection of food and drink to suit all tastes and pockets. They did not get the Marina of the year award for a couple of successive years for no reason.

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We have been at Overwater since April and it's very nice. Well run and friendly.

Great Haywood is also nice, we were there a few years ago. 

I think the choice would, as someone has said, depend upon what you want from a Marina. Somewhere to spend a lot of time at or just somewhere as a base.

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We had 3 years at Aqueduct, and can thoroughly recommend it. It isn't cheap, but the facilities and staff are fantastic. 

Had 1 year at Aston, the farm shop was great, but I think it has now closed to allow the bistro to expand. Nick is a great guy, and the other staff are also very friendly. 

Both marinas are close to junctions allowing a large choice of cruising routes. Visit them all an see which you prefer. 

Aqueduct has an active social calendar of events which are good fun. 

Edited by MHS
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3 hours ago, Cheshire cat said:

Aston has vacancies. We like it and it is still being improved. This year has seen a new laundry and toilet block. The staff are friendly and competent. We have considered moving to the others on your list but the reason we stay at Aston is its proximity to Stone. It's two miles to the town centre which has half a dozen decent restaurants and three or four good pubs. We treat it as our second home. The other marinas on your list can't compete from that perspective in our opinion. 

I would second all of the above and I particularly like Stone.

I am no longer at Aston but my change of venue is no reflection on the marina.

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3 hours ago, frahkn said:

I would second all of the above and I particularly like Stone.

I am no longer at Aston but my change of venue is no reflection on the marina.

When I was looking around recently Aston was high on my list, and close proximity to Stone with all it has to offer there was a great plus. Great Hayward I wouldn't use for personal reasons but equally it is a bit in the middle of nowhere & not a patch on Aston. Aqueduct seemed pricy but looked good as well. Don't know the other one but will be passing there in a couple of weeks time.

I have had to change my plans else Aston would have been my preference. A friend has recently booked to move to a marina near Burton, it looked very good value on paper but no personal experience.

Good luck.

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5 hours ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

 Great Hayward I wouldn't use for personal reasons but equally it is a bit in the middle of nowhere & not a patch on Aston.

Good luck.

I would disagree about being in the middle of nowhere.

It is at the junction of the T&M and S&W. You can cruise in three different directions.

Even during winter closures you can always cruise in at least one direction.

And one day's cruising in any direction takes you to more junctions. So you are only ever one day's cruise from new waterways. 

GH being in the same group as Tattenhall Marina you can move there for a month or two at no extra charge so you can tour the North West.

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We are moving later this week, rather than describe the marina by name I had preferences which are as much about the pontoon and general location as facilities.

Close to where my car is parked so not too much lugging about.

pub on site which serves better than standard fayre

toilets not too near (tend to use the boat loo and shower)

good access by car

nice staff

rural location 

stable, firm pontooon

easy to moor in or reverse in

plenty of route options

a change from current route options

somewhere new to us

onsite slip and engineer support

reasonably close (2/3 hours boat travel) to other pubs

plenty of winding holes as we are holiday/weekenders and have limited time

seems we have hit our jackpot.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Simon (Hawksmoor) said:

I would disagree about being in the middle of nowhere.

It is at the junction of the T&M and S&W. You can cruise in three different directions.

Even during winter closures you can always cruise in at least one direction.

And one day's cruising in any direction takes you to more junctions. So you are only ever one day's cruise from new waterways. 

GH being in the same group as Tattenhall Marina you can move there for a month or two at no extra charge so you can tour the North West.

I agree, plenty of cruising choice from Great Haywood, a few nice pubs in an easy half day or less boating, can be in Birmingham in two days.

There is also Saul Junction marina in the group so ideal if you want to go down the Severn and the Gloucester and Sharpness without having to rush there and back. We have used moorings in all three of the marinas to extend holiday cruising.

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9 hours ago, Simon (Hawksmoor) said:

I would disagree about being in the middle of nowhere.

It is at the junction of the T&M and S&W. You can cruise in three different directions.

Even during winter closures you can always cruise in at least one direction.

And one day's cruising in any direction takes you to more junctions. So you are only ever one day's cruise from new waterways. 

GH being in the same group as Tattenhall Marina you can move there for a month or two at no extra charge so you can tour the North West.

That is the wonderful thing about people and life, we all have different expectations- but for me personally as mentioned, it was in the middle of nowhere whereas Aston is a nice 20 minute walk to a wealth of restaurnts, pubs and shops. Great Hayward and it's surroundings are a little more dispersed and I didn't like the drive let alone cycling to some of these places.

Just to get off site and into the village takes time, but not the choice of facilities of Stone.

....if you like it and it is right for you then good on you, but location is not for me and putting even that aside I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole as the small print would wind me up.

swanley bridge is equally remote but I would rate this marina way over GH on all counts and even above most others.

:cheers:

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Thanks for all the comments folks, just for info, I need a mooring off line with hook up, fuel and pump out. Also safe car park and about 1 1/2 hrs drive from home. I seldom stay overnight in the marina except for first and last night of my trip. The info provided by members is very useful. I think I am near to a decision.

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