--- In [email protected], graham wagdin <graham_wag...@...> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
>
>
We were on the the same bit of canal and had no problems and certainly didn't
see continuous moorers in large numbers. In fact we commented on the lack of
them. We did moor up early though, which is possibly a liveaboards habit rather
than a holiday makers.
Sue
