Long-term moorings in Banbury

Banbury is a market town in Oxfordshire on the River Cherwell. Moorings in Banbury are on the Oxford Canal, which runs through the town centre beside the Castle Quay shopping centre. There are towpath berths let by the Canal & River Trust, one small private marina, and a large marina a few miles north at Cropredy.

Moorings in Banbury

• Sovereign Wharf: a small private marina on Compton Road with long-term and short-term moorings for narrowboats. Gated, with parking on site, pump out, elsan, Calor gas, a chandlery and a paint dock for hire.
• Spice Ball Park: a Canal & River Trust towpath site about 250m long for up to 10 boats, just north of Bridge 163 and half a mile north of the town centre. Leisure use only, with no car park.
• Banbury Tramway: Trust towpath moorings about 250 metres south of Bridge 169 (Samuelsons Bridge), three quarters of a mile south of the town centre. Leisure use, four water taps, no car park.
• Tooley's Boatyard: a working yard in the town centre, in use since 1778, with a narrowboat dry dock, repairs and a small chandlery. It is a place to get work done, not a mooring site.
• Cropredy Marina: about 350 berths on pontoons with electricity and water, around five miles north of Banbury, with diesel, gas, coal and pump out at the service quay.

On the water

The Oxford Canal is a canal of about 77 miles between Oxford and Coventry, run by the Canal & River Trust. From Cropredy through Banbury to Thrupp it follows the River Cherwell. Banbury Lock (Lock 29) is in the town centre, with the Trust's water, elsan and refuse point just below it.

Water supply is the thing to check. A boat kept in Banbury cannot leave by water in either direction while the locks on both sides are shut, so read the Trust's notices before planning a move.

• 2026: the Trust closed the canal from Claydon Top Lock (Lock 17) to Aynho Weir Lock (Lock 33), which includes Banbury, on 5 August 2026 for low water. It was still closed at the start of October 2026.
• 2025: the same stretch was also shut for low water that summer.

Getting there and around

Banbury station has Chiltern Railways trains to London Marylebone and Birmingham, and CrossCountry services. Sovereign Wharf is near junction 11 of the M40 and has its own car park. The Trust's towpath sites have none, so owners make their own arrangements.