Bradford on Avon on a boat
Not only does the Kennet & Avon canal carve it’s way through
impossibly stunning British countryside it also hugs into little towns
like Bradford on Avon (or BOA) which just make you never want to go back to a city ever again.
Everything you could ever possibly want is in this pretty town which makes it an excellent stop for live aboard and hire boaters.
The River Avon runs right through the heart of the town and is bridged by Town Bridge which features beautiful arches and one of the smallest town prisons you’ve ever seen - must have been a low crime rate here. The river is clear and you can see fishes and ducks and swans and during Spring the whole town was full of frothy blossom and wusteria cladding the sandstone houses. The canal, runs alongside the river most of the way and is celebrated by the people of BOA who enjoy towpath walks and laughing at hire boaters trying to operate the Bradford Locks.
Read on for a few hints and tips about what to see and do in BOA!
The Best Coffee:
Gilou’s
Gilou (who is full of French charm & sarcasm) runs this place with a relaxed attitude that suits. Great quality coffee, and tasty lunchtime sandwiches too - you can find this oasis nestled in the cute little Shambles opposite the tudor style News Agents. Call in and find out what coffee they have in store today.
The adverage Beer:
The Lock Inn
The Barge Inn
Pubs abound with hazy, grassy beer gardens. The Barge Inn allows you to sit by the canal but we felt it was a little vibeless if you sit inside and the food was not good at all.
Down by Bradford Lock Bridge (heading towards Tythe Barne) is The Lock Cafe - which serves a very good veggie breakfast (meaty ones looked good too) they also serve booze and have some really fun places (sheds) to sit outside by the canalside.
The Best Shop:
J.ALEX BROWN - Hardward store
Right in the heart of town is a hardware store within which I could spend hundreds of hours. Here you can find practically everything you could ever need from useful kitchen stuff to plumbing and gardening items and also handy DIY essentials for boats (such as Meths, tools and Paint).
The owner is a lovely chap, who said if there’s anything you can’t find in the shop just let him know and he’ll order it in - though I can’t imagine this happening. It’s basically like B&Q but cheaper and nicer.
The Best Restaurant:
The Bunch Of Grapes was so good I ate meat (and I don’t normally do that).
We sat down to Sunday Lunch and at a reasonable rate of £20 per head you can order one main Woodsmoked Roast plus a delicious starter board.
The steak is reared and slaughtered on the same farm (Chalk Farm) which means that the cow isn’t loaded into a scary truck and driven for hours before taken to a slaughter ‘factory’ with hourly quotas set which put the workers under pressure and cause mistakes to be made. I had the Beer can Pouissan, with Dauphinous potatoes and the most delicious, buttery, minty spring vegetables.
If you have space left for pudding I highly recommend the Cafe Gourmand - (a selection of deserts with an excellent coffee). A good price and a chance to sample more of the kitchen skills. The friendly and knowledgeable staff really topped it all off. Bang on. Top job.
Printing and Tech
I often need to get things printed for work and it’s always a bit of a pain on a boat as we no longer own a printer! I managed to find a couple of places which offer great, cheap printing services
1.) Trowbridge: Digi Print - 12p a page - and customer parking - right next to Trowbridge station but most importantly a nice and friendly owner!
2.) BOA Library: £1 'Donation fee' and then 10p to print thereafter - the library does house the rather strange but sweet BOA Museum.
General/ Mooring up
Bradford Locks 48 hour mooring point
+Good easy mooring with cement towpath and mooring eyelets/no need for gangplank
+Close to water, Elsan and waste points
+Pay for Canal Trust Carpark
+Free parking on local residents roads a short walk away
+Wiltshire Narrowboats - Tim’s Chandalry and dry dock
-You will get bashed by hire boats waiting for the lock
After our 48 hours we turned our boat just at the lock, and headed towards Pewsy/ London and found one of the most useful Moorings Ever, just past Bridge no 171 Underwoods Bridge.
+ Easy, free,close car parking on Moulton Drive
+ A short walk to Sainsburys (when you have too)
+ An enjoyable cycle into town to buy local tasy produce (when you don’t have to use Saino’s)
+ Peaceful fields on one side, birds, rabbits, horses, and squirrels
Bank means you need a good, solid, long gangplank.
Bradford on Avon train station (in the middle of the town) is served (barely) by Great Western Rail and in ten minutes you can be on a train to Bath and a few of the surrounding villages. The traffic and parking in Bath is as bad as they say it is so grab the train if you're going out!
The River Avon runs right through the heart of the town and is bridged by Town Bridge which features beautiful arches and one of the smallest town prisons you’ve ever seen - must have been a low crime rate here. The river is clear and you can see fishes and ducks and swans and during Spring the whole town was full of frothy blossom and wusteria cladding the sandstone houses. The canal, runs alongside the river most of the way and is celebrated by the people of BOA who enjoy towpath walks and laughing at hire boaters trying to operate the Bradford Locks.
Read on for a few hints and tips about what to see and do in BOA!
The Best Coffee:
Gilou’s
Gilou (who is full of French charm & sarcasm) runs this place with a relaxed attitude that suits. Great quality coffee, and tasty lunchtime sandwiches too - you can find this oasis nestled in the cute little Shambles opposite the tudor style News Agents. Call in and find out what coffee they have in store today.
The adverage Beer:
The Lock Inn
The Barge Inn
Pubs abound with hazy, grassy beer gardens. The Barge Inn allows you to sit by the canal but we felt it was a little vibeless if you sit inside and the food was not good at all.
Down by Bradford Lock Bridge (heading towards Tythe Barne) is The Lock Cafe - which serves a very good veggie breakfast (meaty ones looked good too) they also serve booze and have some really fun places (sheds) to sit outside by the canalside.
The Best Shop:
J.ALEX BROWN - Hardward store
Right in the heart of town is a hardware store within which I could spend hundreds of hours. Here you can find practically everything you could ever need from useful kitchen stuff to plumbing and gardening items and also handy DIY essentials for boats (such as Meths, tools and Paint).
The owner is a lovely chap, who said if there’s anything you can’t find in the shop just let him know and he’ll order it in - though I can’t imagine this happening. It’s basically like B&Q but cheaper and nicer.
The Best Restaurant:
The Bunch Of Grapes was so good I ate meat (and I don’t normally do that).
We sat down to Sunday Lunch and at a reasonable rate of £20 per head you can order one main Woodsmoked Roast plus a delicious starter board.
The steak is reared and slaughtered on the same farm (Chalk Farm) which means that the cow isn’t loaded into a scary truck and driven for hours before taken to a slaughter ‘factory’ with hourly quotas set which put the workers under pressure and cause mistakes to be made. I had the Beer can Pouissan, with Dauphinous potatoes and the most delicious, buttery, minty spring vegetables.
If you have space left for pudding I highly recommend the Cafe Gourmand - (a selection of deserts with an excellent coffee). A good price and a chance to sample more of the kitchen skills. The friendly and knowledgeable staff really topped it all off. Bang on. Top job.
 | |
| Stained glass window in The Bunch of Grapes |
Printing and Tech
I often need to get things printed for work and it’s always a bit of a pain on a boat as we no longer own a printer! I managed to find a couple of places which offer great, cheap printing services
1.) Trowbridge: Digi Print - 12p a page - and customer parking - right next to Trowbridge station but most importantly a nice and friendly owner!
2.) BOA Library: £1 'Donation fee' and then 10p to print thereafter - the library does house the rather strange but sweet BOA Museum.
General/ Mooring up
Bradford Locks 48 hour mooring point
+Good easy mooring with cement towpath and mooring eyelets/no need for gangplank
+Close to water, Elsan and waste points
+Pay for Canal Trust Carpark
+Free parking on local residents roads a short walk away
+Wiltshire Narrowboats - Tim’s Chandalry and dry dock
-You will get bashed by hire boats waiting for the lock
After our 48 hours we turned our boat just at the lock, and headed towards Pewsy/ London and found one of the most useful Moorings Ever, just past Bridge no 171 Underwoods Bridge.
+ Easy, free,close car parking on Moulton Drive
+ A short walk to Sainsburys (when you have too)
+ An enjoyable cycle into town to buy local tasy produce (when you don’t have to use Saino’s)
+ Peaceful fields on one side, birds, rabbits, horses, and squirrels
Bank means you need a good, solid, long gangplank.
Bradford on Avon train station (in the middle of the town) is served (barely) by Great Western Rail and in ten minutes you can be on a train to Bath and a few of the surrounding villages. The traffic and parking in Bath is as bad as they say it is so grab the train if you're going out!
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