One of the joys of Herbie now being based on the South Oxford canal is the abundance of pretty spots to tie up for a day out in the sticks. Lots of canals have pretty spots of course, but for some reason the powers that be seem to have made the effort to put in a bit of piling and dredge the edges so that you can pull in and tie up easily. Not only that but the towpath in many of these places is flat, grassy and wide so it’s good for sitting out on. (I know, I know, never use a reposition to end a sentence with).
So here’s our shortlist for 2016. Which would you choose?
One we like is just north of Aynho, just by a lift bridge about half way between the road bridge and the lozenge shaped lock.
You could I suppose walk back to the Great Western Arms from there if you so desired, but we just like to sit there and watch the rabbits in the field across the canal. Like many S.Ox spots, you can’t claim that it is quiet because in the this case the railway is only a couple of hundred yards away, but the trains aren’t noisy at this point.
Another good one is just below Allen’s lock at Upper Heyford where it is actually very quiet even though the edge of the village is only just across the lock and round the corner. Seven minutes walk up the hill to the pub should you so desire.
Or how about Kirtlington Quarry, also very quiet, where a lovely offside mooring gives you access to the old quarry itself. Perfect for picnics and barbeques, or just exploring. Lots of wild orchids here too.
Finally there is plenty of room at the lush wide open spaces of Somerton meadows
Where the locals are friendly and bring their youngsters along to visit.
But which is our favourite? Oooh, I don’t know. We’ll sleep on it and award the prize tomorrow, when we’ll also look at our favourite Urban mooring for 2016
2 comments:
The downside to Something Meadow is that we have never been able to get a Sat TV signal there.
With the Quarry mooring, which is otherwise a favourite with us, is that thing up is not as easy as it ought to be, but this is offset by (a) the opportunity for a BBQ and (b) exploring the Quarry and the maze. Great with smaller children.
Don't encourage too many moorings below Allen's Lock as they can make arriving at the lock, to go through, a bit tricky. The angle of the bridge makes this one of the more challenging and it is good to have plenty of room to approach fro well back. Not a great idea to start from close to the lock/bridge.
I think they all look wonderful!
Post a Comment