After 3 years away from the canals following the sale of our boat, we have just
had a pleasant short break in a hire boat
In glorious late September weather we saw few boats on the move. What did
strike me however was the difficulty in finding decent overnight moorings.
Perhaps the North Oxford and lower Ashby was not the best choice and lack of
towpath maintenance added to the problem. Most of the visitors moorings were
full, with boaters presumably thinking that 48 means 48 days not hours! Many
of the boats had clearly not moved for some time. There certainly appears to
be a marked increase in residential boats on the system
This did to some extent take away some enjoyment of our trip and I am sad to
say that we will not be rushing to repeat the experience. I dread to think
what it is like in high season.
If the canals are to be monopolised by those who are looking for cheap
accommodation aided by cosy arrangements with BW there should be no surprise if
costs rise when hire boaters etc are deterred from subsidising the system from
their very expensive hire charges.
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