Best dog friendly inland waterways (not narrow canals)

Halsey

Halsey

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We are adapting our boating needs to non canal use (due to age and infirmity) and at the moment have our recently acquired Aqudor 32C on the Severn at Stourport where she will stay this season BUT I am interested to learn which waterways people feel offer the best opportunities for their pooches to get on and off to find a grassy mooring where they can run about etc etc - all and any comments would be much appreciated
 
Clearly they are in our minds but haven't been there on a boat for 50 years - generally how busy/crowded are they, how easy to find overnight moorings and how hard to find a home mooring??

Thanks
 
Halsey said:
Clearly they are in our minds but haven't been there on a boat for 50 years - generally how busy/crowded are they, how easy to find overnight moorings and how hard to find a home mooring??

Thanks
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The northern rivers can be busy during the season and the southern rivers less so. We are moored south and rarely go north because of the number of hire boats. We don’t usually have a problem getting a mooring, although the last season was very busy due to Covid and the absence of foreign holidays. For the same reason I think that many marinas are now fairly full but usually people seem to find a base.
 
We are based on the upper Thames, seems that most boats have a dog onboard. It can get busy at times but once you get used to knowing the hotspots and when to time your arrival you should have no issues. It sometimes surprises me how quiet some parts of the river can be. We had a two week holiday in September and managed to moor everywhere we wanted to, even though it was busy. Around Windsor and Cookham for example there are some nice moorings alongside large grassy areas, many other areas with really nice walks. No huge height issues when mooring but it may be useful to have a short plank or small steps to aid boarding the boat. If you are looking for moorings at a marina I think you should be ok as several are not full.
 
The Thames. End off.
Its what other navigations want to be when they grow up.
140 miles of everything the discerning civilised gentleman could ever want .......especially his better half.
The moorings every few miles tend to between mooring with bollards or rings and open meadows sometimes in the same location..
Where else could you stop within sight of Windsor Castle, moor right outside a Royal Palace for free or walk through an apartment store to get to a high street.
You might want deep pockets in the marina mooring dept.
The only downside is the locals are a bit grumpy and have no idea just how lucky they are. :)
 
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MartynG said:
Aren't all inland waterways heaven to dogs?
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Clearly you haven't been on a narrow canal in February with 3 dogs - "mud" heaven for them possibly but not for the owners;)

Yes of course basically you are right but we are specifically looking to understand inland waters but NOT canals due to their issues (antisocial behaviour, linear housing estates, congestion etc etc ) and we don't have much experience of true rivers other than the Severn and Avon the former being poor and the latter being pretty good but limited due to bridge heights above Evesham
 
More than few with boats on the River Trent have dogs.
Its possible to stop at all of the locks and have dog walking opportunities . There is only one lock i wouldn't stay overnight due to the adjacent railway and sewage works.
The tidal section has few opportunities to stop overnight but they are pleasant enough .
Farndon marina is a walk from home for me . I don't tire of the river despite boating here 12 years . There are extensive dog walking opportunities around the village through woodland and by the river.
 
MartynG said:
More than few with boats on the River Trent have dogs.
Its possible to stop at all of the locks and have dog walking opportunities . There is only one lock i wouldn't stay overnight due to the adjacent railway and sewage works.
The tidal section has few opportunities to stop overnight but they are pleasant enough .
Farndon marina is a walk from home for me . I don't tire of the river despite boating here 12 years . There are extensive dog walking opportunities around the village through woodland and by the river.
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I concur with MartynG, the Trent is an excellent river to explore. We join the Trent at Torksey from the FossDyke. Downstream is fun if you get the tides right, we can open up our engines and exercise the turbo's (?). Farndon and the river both upstream & downstream from there is lovely. Not sure what will happen this season with a staycation nation and how busy everywhere will be, but lets all make the most of it??
 
Megs20Burt! said:
Not sure what will happen this season with a staycation nation and how busy everywhere will be, but lets all make the most of it??
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No different to 2020 I expect.
Can't say we had any issues finding a mooring in 2020 and have certainly encountered more congestion in previous years .
Bank holiday weekends are the busiest of course . I would expect Easter will be very busy and the first trip out for many boats .
We know retired folk who can get out early and they try to reserve us a space.
 
MartynG said:
No different to 2020 I expect.
Can't say we had any issues finding a mooring in 2020 and have certainly encountered more congestion in previous years .
Bank holiday weekends are the busiest of course . I would expect Easter will be very busy and the first trip out for many boats .
We know retired folk who can get out early and they try to reserve us a space.
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We will avoid weekends. Because I can work from just about anywhere with an internet connection, we will stick to mid-week. We did that last year and arrived at the marina as most were leaving. Perfect!
 
I prefer to keep work and boat separate - don't even like travelling to work from the boat (although I have done so very occasionally).
If I wake up on the boat I immediately want it to be a day off.

Mon to Fri is at present full time work but I hope to cut down hours eventually - maybe in a couple of years or maybe even a year from now. Not much point in reduced hours presently due to Covid restrictions.
.
 
MartynG said:
I prefer to keep work and boat separate - don't even like travelling to work from the boat (although I have done so very occasionally).
If I wake up on the boat I immediately want it to be a day off.

Mon to Fri is at present full time work but I hope to cut down hours eventually - maybe in a couple of years or maybe even a year from now. Not much point in reduced hours presently due to Covid restrictions.
.
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Exactly how I felt when in the past I spent a 3 year period working 2 days a week (one night) from the boat and I hated that aspect of it - needs must when the money is good.
 
MartynG said:
I prefer to keep work and boat separate - don't even like travelling to work from the boat (although I have done so very occasionally).
If I wake up on the boat I immediately want it to be a day off.

Mon to Fri is at present full time work but I hope to cut down hours eventually - maybe in a couple of years or maybe even a year from now. Not much point in reduced hours presently due to Covid restrictions.
.
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I have to be on call as I work in healthcare. But, it works well. Wife who also works in healthcare doesn't mind as any time off is precious?
I have regular weekly mtgs with nursing staff via zoom/teams. Works fine from the boat or anywhere else as long as I have signal.
So glad I don't have to be in the same place everyday, sorry for all those that do (and, don't want to!)
 
Greg2 said:
The northern rivers can be busy during the season and the southern rivers less so. We are moored south and rarely go north because of the number of hire boats. We don’t usually have a problem getting a mooring, although the last season was very busy due to Covid and the absence of foreign holidays. For the same reason I think that many marinas are now fairly full but usually people seem to find a base.
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Hi,
We are thinking of hiring to get a proper feel for what's on offer to the private doggy owner - can you offer any advice as to who and where to hire from and a guess as to which bit of this year will be the least busy? I was thinking mid June avoiding 1/2 term? We quite like traditional boats is there anyone who rents them out whop would allow very experienced dogs?
Any advice/tips would be appreciated...........
Thanks
J
 
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