Oxford Canal

Boats for hire on the Oxford Canal

The 76-mile-long Oxford Canal was completed in 1790, linking the River Thames at Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction. It also connects with the Grand Union Canal at Napton and Braunston, offering boats for hire on the Oxford canal.

Following the contours around hills this peaceful canal meanders gently through the countryside, dotted with pretty villages, rural pubs and black-and-white lift bridges. There are 41 narrow locks along its length.

Once the main transport route from the Midlands to the south of England, it’s now one of the most popular and beautiful canal boat holidays routes.

Drifters offers boats for rent on the Oxford Canal at:

• Lower Heyford in Oxfordshire;
• Napton in Warwickshire; and
• Braunston in Northamptonshire.
We also offer boats for hire from Stockton, which is close to the Oxford Canal at Napton.
Pubs and places to visit along the Oxford Canal include:
• The Bodleian Library, Ashmolean Museum and Oxford Castle in Oxford;
• Oxey Mead nature reserve at Wolvercote;
• The Trout Inn at Wolvercote:
• The Boat Inn and Jolly Boatman at Thrupp;
• The Dashwood Arms at Kirtlington;
• The Bell Inn at Lower Heyford;
• Rousham House & Gardens at Lower Heyford:
• Great Western Arms at Aynho;
• Tooley’s Boat Yard at Banbury;
• Brasenose Arms at Cropredy;
• Marton Museum of Country Bygones at Marton;
• The Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton;
• The Folly & King’s Head at Napton;
• The Stag & Pheasant at Hillmorton;
• The Barley Mow at Newbold on Avon;
• The Bulls Head and Brinklow Castle at Brinklow;
• The Black Swan in Rugby; and
• The Greyhound at Hawkesbury Junction;

Overseas visitors might like to view Great British Boating