Some favourite mooring spots

Now I am safely the right side of Hawkesbury Lock and on the canal that will lead me home, I have been reviewing my 100 plus days cruising so far.

I thought I'd share some pictures of my favourite mooring spots found on this cruise and say why I liked them so much. So, in no particular order...

This was one of our first stopping points when we started our cruise in April. I loved Wolseley Bridge on the Trent and Mersey because Bonny could run free and chase squirrels. She was safe because we were on a narrow strip between river and canal and so she couldn't go too far.

This was the view from our mooring near Congleton on the Macclesfield Canal in April and Bonny loved the walks by the river in the valley.

I said in no particular order, but actually they are in month order. This was the Ashby Canal near Hinkley in May. We loved this mooring for the walks and the peace and quiet.

If I had to pick an absolute favourite mooring then this would probably be it - Barby on the North Oxford. Firstly because it was entirely 'snuggle proof'. In other words nobody could moor right in front or behind. It always amazes me how, when I find a really remote mooring, in the middle of nowhere, another boater will immediately think that what I lack is company and will moor uncomfortably close. But not here at Barby!

I also loved it for the variety of walks. The above is a view from the top of Barby Hill.

This mooring near Aynho Wharf was nothing special except for one huge advantage - when the temperature was over 30° on 1st July, it provided good shade almost all day. Bonny and I don't like being too hot so we were very grateful for the trees.

This is Somerton water meadows on the South Oxford and, apart from Barby, was the only other entirely snuggle proof mooring that I found, thanks to thick bushes either side of a strip of Armco just big enough for my boat!

Lastly I discovered a huge love for The Thames on this cruise. At least the part that we explored up to Lechlade. The locks were easy and beautifully kept, the river was mostly wide and easy to navigate and I discovered the concept of 'wild mooring'. Rather than being limited to the canal towpath, on this stretch of the river you could just pick a field and as long as you could get the boat in close enough, you could moor. Here was my first attempt at wild mooring:

This is not an exhaustive list of brilliant places to stop that I discovered on this cruise, but they show the sorts of moorings that fill my soul with joy!