Herbie Awards–first results

The drums roll while the camera picks out the expectant faces of the shortlisted nominees and the presenter nervously tears open the Golden Envelope and says “Well I never! Ladies and gentlemen, the result of the Herbie Awards best Town Mooring 2018 is . . a tie!!.  Yes the Academy (me and Kath) couldn’t split the top two, so the Joint Winners of the award are

Chestnut Walk, Reading and the Oxford Canal terminus cut  in Oxford

Well their both attractive and peaceful, yet really close to the town /city centre amenities.  Well done both – highly recommended. Here’s another picture of each, this time looking from the other direction.

Reading                                                                                Oxford

          

And so to our second 2018 Award – Best Rural Mooring.  We want this to be scenic, easy to tie up, close to nature and wildlife, and have decent bank space to sit out and maybe have a picnic or a barbecue.  This year we’ve picked three that give that nice feeling of being deep in the countryside – away from it all.We used a lot of rural mooring this year, some new to us and some old favourites.

Here’s our 2018 shortlist

1. Oxford Canal below Slat Mill Lock

It’s fair to say that we moored here at the perfect time, when the may blossom was in its full glory and the towpath side had lots of wild flowers.  Over the canal in the twilight we watched clouds of newly hatched insects do their whirling courtship dances. Apart from a few farm buildings some distance away, this is well out in the sticks below Cropredy.  perhaps the only downside is that others like it too, so it can get full up.

2. Swinford meadow

In between the meandering bends of the Thames above Swinford toll bridge is this big meadow where the only disturbance you’ll get is the odd walker and the local herd of cows who do come up to the boat for a few minutes..  if you want a game of cricket, there’s room for a Lords sized pitch.  You could walk into Eynsham fairly easily, but it would be hard not to stay put here.

3.  Rushey

Most remote of all was this meadow just upstream of Rushey lock on the upper Thames.  It really does feel miles from anywhere. If peace and seclusion is what you want, this is the one. I doubt that even walkers find there way here very often.

Once again I need to consult the rest of the Academy (ie Kath) before we bestow the Award in our next post.  Then we’ll move on to the ever popular old favourite Best Pub Food near the canal/river.