Ten things to look for in a good marina

We are currently moored at Aston Marina, in Stone, Staffordshire. We have moored in many marinas over the years and this is our favourite. So what is it that makes a great marina for us?

Location location location. The canal network is extensive and there are marinas all over the UK. For people that work it is important to have a marina nearby. For us, it is important to have a marina near the middle of the network so that we can get anywhere.
Reasonable prices. It is never cheap mooring n a marina. Even basic canalside moorings can cost over a thousand pound a year, and good marinas are quite a lot more. But there are some marinas near fancy places like Henley or Windsor that cost a ridiculous amount – because they can.
A laundry. We have a washing machine on the boat but before we had it, the marina laundry was invaluable and we still regularly use the tumble drier.
Toilets. Sorry to bring the blog tone down but the toilet on the boat empties into a tank that we have to pump out. I prefer to use someone else’s facilities when I can.
A pub. We are spoilt on the UK canals in that there are many pubs along the way so that if we do not fancy cooking we can get a meal and a beer overlooking our mooring. Marinas without pubs can be a bit isolated.
Moderate wind. Narrowboats have long flat sides that act like sails when the wind catches them. On canals and rivers you usually have protection from cuttings and trees, but some exposed marinas are almost impossible to navigate in. So a marina with hills around is always preferable.
Appropriate rules. Without rules, marinas become mess. If one boat gets away with building a pretty garden next to their boat, within months there are things being dumped all over the marina. There are rules that we don’t like. At Aston we are not allowed to dry washing on our whirlygig. But at least the rules are fair.
Security. In general we feel quite secure on the boat, but when we have to leave it for a few weeks, we worry that it might be broken into. Good marinas have the boats on secure jetties behind locked gates that only boat owners can open.
Friendly boat owners. We have stayed on marinas where there are cliques of boat owners that spend their time whinging about others. At Aston we have found just about everyone friendly and helpful.
Friendly marina managers. We have also stayed at marinas where the managers do not understand boating or boat owners, and treat it as “just a job”. Sadly this can be particularly true at large chains of marinas. Great managers uphold the rules equally and are always ready for a chat and to help out.

It is often said that people considering buying a Narrowboat should find a mooring before they look for the boat because good ones are like hens’ teeth. certainly we were on the waiting list for Aston for nearly two years, while we overwintered in other marinas. And for us, it feels like home.

August 1, 2025 2

Why would a village be proud of being “boater hostile”?

Earlier this week we travelled on the North Oxford canal through a village called Ansty in Warwickshire. I was ready to moor up for the day so was looking for a nice stretch of armco to tie up to, with good views. Unfortunately though the whole village there were “no mooring” signs every few metres along the canal.

This is very unusual. We boaters have many rights from hundreds of years of boating and one of them is a right to moor on the towpath side of almost every canal. Sometimes there are short term moorings in the centre of towns where you can just stay for a couple of days. Sometimes there are long term moorings where boaters pay to moor permanently. But mostly you can stay pretty much anywhere for up to 14 days.

So why is Ansty to anti boat? Their Parish Council website front page claims that the village is the most boater hostile on the network but does not explain why.

All I can think is that the canal goes through the village on an embankment and so boaters can see into the upstairs bedrooms of the nearby houses. But that is true in many many parts of the canal network and besides the canal would have been there two hundred years before these houses were built so why not just use curtains? Besides which, we boaters get very used to gongoozlers peering through our windows.

We are very privileged being allowed to moor in the most beautiful parts of the UK so I am not complaining too much, but I won’t be visiting Ansty again any time soon.

July 11, 2025 0

Seven things that make a great narrowboat mooring

We were pootling along the canal this week, heading in a generally southern direction. I was lacking energy, having just recovered from some rather unpleasant food poisoning, so was moving even slower than usual and beginning to think of stopping for the night. Then around a bend we came across a perfect spot. So I pulled up and we stayed for a few days. What made this such a great mooring?

Beautiful views. This mooring is on a slight embankment, with views in all directions. Mandy particularly liked the mornings, lying in bed and watching the day wake up.
Peace and quiet. Most of the time there was just one other boat around, and there was no road noise. The only thing disturbing the peace was a couple of geese that seemed to be having a massive argument one morning.
A firm towpath. At this time of year many of the towpaths are quite muddy, but this one had dried out nicely in the sunshine.
Armco. Traditionally boaters would moor by hammering two foot metal “pins” into the ground and tying the boat to them. It is much easier and more reliable when there is Armco along the edge, because we can attach our “nappy pin” hooks and tie up to them. The only thing better is where we find hoops or bollards, but that is rarely in the countryside.
Good solar. In the summer there are so many hours of daylight that charging the batteries is rarely a problem, but in March we need to make the most of the sunshine we have. This week has been ideal weather, and this mooring had no trees or hills to shadow my panels.
Good Internet. It may sound a little incongruous to an off grid boating life, but we do like fast WiFi. That way we can sit in our lounge in the beautiful countryside, binge watching a box set (currently Poirot). We have a mobile router with an external aerial and in this spot it was perfect.
Access to a great walk with the dogs. From the narrowboat there was a lovely circular walk along the canal and then through the grounds of Sandon Hall, up to a monument to William Pitt, and affording expansive views across Staffordshire. The only downside was when we were chased across a field by a flock of inquisitive sheep.

Of course we also love variety. Sometimes it is nice to moor in a city centre. Or next to a wonderful pub. Or close to a supermarket. Or nearby a stately home. But for us this week, I cannot think of a better mooring. Simply lovely.

March 14, 2025 1

Narrowboating on the road to nowhere

This milestone is next to Marple locks on the Peak Forest Canal. I like it because it represents much of our life on a narrowboat. We travel. We see places. We plan our routes. But ultimately we have no destination. It is the journey we enjoy. That is so different to travelling in a car, where the destination is everything, and the journey is just about getting there.

And by enjoying the journey, we discover more. This week we have found wonderful moorings, just avoided big delays from closures, and been on adventures.

Starting with the adventures, I walked along a long old tramway that used to carry limestone from the Peak District down to the canal. I had a day out in Buxton, the highest town in England with history back to the Romans. And I walked to the foot of the Marple Aqueduct, the highest stone aqueduct in the UK.

The canal stoppages included a whole stretch of the Macclesfield canal which is currently closed due to the canal leaking. This is extremely serious because not only could it cause flooding of nearby land, but it could also lead to the whole of the canal draining and leaving us boaters marooned. We also found ourselves stopped halfway up the Marple lock flight, when a “pound” between two locks had drained due to a paddle being left up. And when the lock keepers let more water down to help us, the water flooded a brand new house that has been built next to the flight while it has been closed for the past ten months. Someone will need a word with that surveyor!

And we stayed at two of my most favourite moorings on the whole canal network. Bugsworth basin is like a dock at the end of the Peak Forest Canal, near Whaley Bridge, with space for up to forty narrowboats. Originally it would have been used to transship the limestone from the tramway onto boats to carry around the country. These days it is full of wild flowers and geese. So it has a dramatic mixture of old ruins and nature. Also a very good pub.

My other favourite mooring is further up that canal on an isolated stretch, with an incredible view down into the valley at a village called Strines. Apart from the occasional hiker or cyclist we have the place to ourselves, and it is just so very chilled. A beautiful midpoint on our journey to nowhere.

June 28, 2024 0

The best time of year to get a quiet mooring

We stayed this week at Tixall Wide. This is one of the loveliest moorings on the British canal network. Most canals are just wide enough for two boats to pass. Digging more would have been a waste of money. But when the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal was built, a rich landowner, Thomas Clifford, would only let the canal cross his land if it was dug to look like a lake, fitting in with his gardens that had recently been developed by famous gardener Capability Brown.

Narrowboat Thuis moored in Tixall Wide this week

Tixall Wide is really very beautiful and because of that gets very full. During peak season you need to arrive in the morning or you stand little chance of getting a space to moor. Even in the winter it is pretty full because it is a good place to wait out the cold weather, in walking distance of Great Haywood junction where you can get water and a bit of shopping.

But this time of year is the best to get a great mooring. Most of the winter moorers have moved on or are in marinas, and the hire boat season has not yet started. We were extra lucky this year because Tixall Wide had work done on a drainage culvert over winter, and so was not open to anyone. So this week we were moored with just three other boats. It was wonderfully quiet, and properly dark at night, with no light pollution. The moon and stars seemed so bright.

It is the earliest in the year that we have been travelling on the narrowboat since I retired and in all honesty, it is a little too cold and wet when steering the boat. In a few weeks it will be warmer and more civilised. But the big benefit is the peace. And when we are sitting in the boat with the stove keeping us toasty warm, it is a lovely place to be.

March 1, 2024 0