Self-catering · Upper and Lower Heyford
Oxfordshire Narrowboats, Lower Heyford
Self-drive narrowboat holidays, short breaks and day boats from Heyford Wharf on the Oxford Canal at Lower Heyford, from mid March to the end of October, for 2 to 12 people, dogs included.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
A boat instead of a room: hire a narrowboat at Lower Heyford and cruise north to Banbury or Cropredy, or south to Oxford, at walking pace. A weekend reaches Banbury and back. First-timers can try a day boat. The season is mid March to October only.
- Good: Weekend, midweek, week and longer hires, plus day boats for up to 10
- Good: Holiday boats have central heating and, bar the smallest, two bathrooms
- Good: First dog free; £30 for each further pet
- Good: Buoyancy aids for under-16s and non-swimmers, and a hirer's manual on every boat
- Worth knowing: Holidays run only from mid March to the end of October; day boats to the October half term
- Worth knowing: Day boats have no fridge; bring a cool box
About
Oxfordshire Narrowboats hires self-drive canal boats from Heyford Wharf, the boatyard beside the Oxford Canal at Lower Heyford, one of the Heyfords. It builds and maintains its own boats, and hires them for weekends, midweek breaks, a week, ten or eleven days, a fortnight or longer, from mid March to the end of October.
From Lower Heyford the canal runs north up the Cherwell valley through Somerton and Aynho to Banbury and Cropredy, or south to Oxford. The company reckons a weekend is enough for Banbury or Oxford and back, about 14 hours' cruising, and a midweek break reaches Cropredy and back in about 20.
The holiday boats sleep from 2 to 12, with central heating, hot water, a full cooker and fridge, bed linen and, except on the smallest boat, two bathrooms. Bring your own washing-up kit. Day boats take up to 10 people from 9am to 5pm, with a toilet and a two-ring hob but no fridge, and a £200 cash deposit is taken on arrival. Dogs are welcome: the first goes free, and each further pet is £30. Buoyancy aids are provided for children under 16, and every boat carries the company's hirer's manual. A quarter of the cost is due on booking and the rest eight weeks before you sail. The wharf has its own bistro, Kizzies, but the company's pages disagree on whether it is open, so check before you count on it.
Opening hours and season
Holidays from mid March to the end of October; day boats from mid March to the October half term. Holidays start on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays or Saturdays. Day boats from 9am to 5pm.
The details
- Minimum stay
- A weekend; day boats for a single day
- Features
- By the water
Photos
Day boats ready for hire 
A hire boat under way 
From the bow of a hire boat 
A day boat at its mooring
Location
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Kizzies Bistro, Lower Heyford 0.0 km away
- The Chequers, Steeple Aston 1.7 km away
- The Holt Hotel, Steeple Aston 1.9 km away
- The Horse and Groom, Caulcott 2.3 km away
Sights nearby
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Rousham House and Garden
Sight · Historic building · Upper and Lower Heyford
A house of about 1635 above the Cherwell near the Heyfords, and round it William Kent's landscape garden of 1737 to 1741, still much as he left it. The garden opens every day; no children under 15, no dogs, no tea room.
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RAF Upper Heyford Cold War sites, Heyford Park
Sight · Monument · Upper and Lower Heyford
The Cold War shelters, nuclear bomb store and command centre of RAF Upper Heyford, scheduled in 2006 and seen on guided tours from the airbase's heritage centre at Heyford Park, which opens free three days a week.