Marinas 'Close' to London

Jomo

Jomo

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Me:Leicestershire UK, Boat Ipswich
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It's possible I may be offered a secondment in London. However, I would need to provide my own accomodation. So, I was wondering how many marinas 'within an hours travel' of London would put up with a medium term liveaboard, and how long it might take from each by car or rail to say Marble Arch. Oh and some idea of the transport costs - by rail anyway.

Initial thoughts have been Limehouse, Gillingham, North Fambridge. Any more?

TIA

Ian
 
Jomo said:
It's possible I may be offered a secondment in London. However, I would need to provide my own accomodation. So, I was wondering how many marinas 'within an hours travel' of London would put up with a medium term liveaboard, and how long it might take from each by car or rail to say Marble Arch. Oh and some idea of the transport costs - by rail anyway.

Initial thoughts have been Limehouse, Gillingham, North Fambridge. Any more?

TIA

Ian
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I used to keep my boat at Gillingham and a friend who lives in Mile End would joint me there by train - doable, but long. Gillingham would be a good marina to live in though - nice bar, real nice people, very secure with 24 security, good shore power included and a gym/pool on site (pay extra for the gym).

Now I am in Bridgemarsh - just down from North Fambridge. Very, very close to Althorne station - which is super convenient for Liverpool Street at 54 minutes (then allow 25 from there to Marble Arch) but super expensive (train fare that is, not the marina!).

I know it'll be more expensive, but after paying the costs of a monthly travel card, you might find that a deal at St Kats would be worth it. I know someone who did 4 months there for a contract instead of commuting from Norfolk.

try:
http://www.thetrainline.com/buytickets/?
for timetables and costs.
 
Don't miss out on the MDL ones to the west. Good rail services nearby. Quite a lot of semi-perms around.
 
Jomo said:
It's possible I may be offered a secondment in London. However, I would need to provide my own accomodation. So, I was wondering how many marinas 'within an hours travel' of London would put up with a medium term liveaboard, and how long it might take from each by car or rail to say Marble Arch. Oh and some idea of the transport costs - by rail anyway.

Initial thoughts have been Limehouse, Gillingham, North Fambridge. Any more?

TIA

Ian
Click to expand...

Limehouse std rate £25 a night discounts readily given we paid £19.50 for 5 nights " club discount"
DLR 150m away
good pub "The Grapes" 150m away
tesco express 200 m
 
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Jomo said:
It's possible I may be offered a secondment in London. However, I would need to provide my own accomodation. So, I was wondering how many marinas 'within an hours travel' of London would put up with a medium term liveaboard, and how long it might take from each by car or rail to say Marble Arch. Oh and some idea of the transport costs - by rail anyway.
Initial thoughts have been Limehouse, Gillingham, North Fambridge. Any more?
TIA
Ian
Click to expand...
On the Thames, I'd suggest as alternatives South Dock Marina, and Gallions Point Marina. The latter suffers from aircraft noise during the day but all quiet at night and would be the cheapest of the lot, I would think. It's a 5-minute walk from a DLR station. South Dock is close to a Jubilee Line tube station. Both have liveaboards in residence.
For nearby facilities, South Dock would be the better bet of the two.
 
Thanks all for the replies, hadn't thought of south dock, which is of course why I asked you lot.
Limehouse doesn't look to be a long term poss (judging by the website anyway). Only remains now for the powers that be to offer me the secondment, at least I can be within an hours travel of London if required :)

Ian
 
Jomo said:
Thanks all for the replies, hadn't thought of south dock, which is of course why I asked you lot.
Limehouse doesn't look to be a long term poss (judging by the website anyway). Only remains now for the powers that be to offer me the secondment, at least I can be within an hours travel of London if required :)

Ian
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quite a few LoBs in Limehouse it would be worth a chat with them
 
Do look at South Dock. On a 'research' trip last month I took my boat into every Thames marina up to St. Kats and stayed in each one at least one night. South Dock is a more pleasant place to be stuck in than Limehouse, IMHO. You won't find many others supporting this view because they don't get many visitors! Worth a look.
No connection whatsoever, of course....it's run by a local authority anyway!
 
Cantata said:
Do look at South Dock. On a 'research' trip last month I took my boat into every Thames marina up to St. Kats and stayed in each one at least one night. South Dock is a more pleasant place to be stuck in than Limehouse, IMHO. You won't find many others supporting this view because they don't get many visitors! Worth a look.
No connection whatsoever, of course....it's run by a local authority anyway!
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It's in the lead so far, at least judging by facilities, price & proximity
 
Why not stay in Ipswich - trains take 55mins to Liverpool Street. Expensive I realise but then presumably you are already berthing your boat there, and you can use it at the week-end.
 
Onia said:
Why not stay in Ipswich - trains take 55mins to Liverpool Street. Expensive I realise but then presumably you are already berthing your boat there, and you can use it at the week-end.
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Long time since the trains took 55mins, more like 70 mins now if you are lucky. Problem is there is only one up and one down track, so any problems whatsover result in long delays. I live near Ipswich and I would seriously look at taking my boat to London if I had a contract down there.
 
davidwf said:
Long time since the trains took 55mins, more like 70 mins now if you are lucky. Problem is there is only one up and one down track, so any problems whatsover result in long delays. I live near Ipswich and I would seriously look at taking my boat to London if I had a contract down there.
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I do this journey most days, non-stop the trains are timetabled to do the trip in just under an hour but most services take around the 70 mins quoted. The line is in dire need of upgrading and renewal which leads to rather too frequent problems with signalling, overhead cables and train breakdowns. Cost is around £500 per month so I doubt it would save the OP much time or money over commuting from his home. That said the OP would be travelling straight to the boat on Friday nights :)

From time to time I do consider moving the boat to London but being based thier does not appear to offer many opportunities for weekend cruising or day sailing.
 
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