Anglo Welsh Ltd - Oxford

Very friendly staff at AngloWelsh who worked very hard to ensure that one of our boats, which we were informed needed urgent maintenance a fortnight before our trip, was ready to go on our day of departure. Both narrowboats we hired were tidy, clean and in good working order and although we've never hired narrowboats before our skippers got the hang of them within a couple of days. The Thames in April is lovely, relatively quiet and a kingfisher extravaganza. I would hire direct through AngloWelsh in the future to make sure I’ve got a nb that suits the occupants as one of ours was a little tight with 7 of us sharing.....All in all a good experience for the 14 members of my family on the trip, several of whom are dying to get back on the water asap.

We went to their Oxford base and the staff are all really friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and are happy to explain as needed for newbies. For women who feel intimidated by this activity - these guys were really considerate and non-patronising. It was easy enough to get the hang of driving one of these longer canal boats.They have a lot on info in the boat as well and the boats are overall well maintained and comfortable. Bring an extra blanket for the cooler months, and obviously, dress appropriately. We had 4 people in a 4 berth boat (no changing layouts for meals) and this was comfortable, especially as there were fields, walking tracks, and towns to explore.We had everything we needed onboard - but be prepared to bring almost all the food you need (else you are eating at pubs most nights). There are also not many grocery stores along the way.The river is reasonably easy to navigate in that area, but would have liked more info at the locks in terms of getting water, mooring, etc. and the lock masters are hit-and-miss in terms of helpfulness (nothing to do with the Anglo Welsh folks though).

Very friendly bunch,lovely cruising on the Thames

Lovely company, I booked a holiday boat in April and it was genuinely the best thing I've ever done. I shall be coming back in 2020 for sure. As a first time boaters I was shown around and given a manual. Everything is pretty straightforward tbf. Then I was escorted down river through the 1st lock and shown what to do there, and then away on our adventure for a few days. Our boat, the Golden Tarn was awesome and we had a wonderful time aboard and in all of the places she took us. I cannot recomend it highly enough. There is free parking on site. I can honestly say that this place has changed my life. I'm now dreaming of living on the canals.

It's a little difficult to find, we drove past it twice before we saw it, but otherwise a great hire point if you want to cruise the Thames or pootle up the Oxford Canal. The team there were very helpful and helped our narrow-boat holiday kick off with ease.We've been on many a narrow-boat on our time, so know what makes a good boat and this one was well designed and laid out, with sensible understanding bed storage keeping things tidy.Overall, the boat was in good condition, although clearly the previous hirers must have been dog owners and the smell of wet dog pervaded for a day or two. The engine was sweet and reliable and the boat handled well.The Oxford Canal was lovely, especially the lower reaches that we hadn't cruised before, but beware if you like to eat out in the evening, check your venue is open before settling on your destination for the evening as twice we were caught out as our planned pub was closed.The Thames is quite odd this far up. We know it well as we've walked the length of the Thames and up here it's a little wider than a canal but meanders around like mad. Being used to canal cruising, the oddity on the Thames is that up here it can be very remote and mooring places are hard to find as it's either privately owned land or the bank can be high and massively overgrown making mooring up impossible. If you're prepared for this, then it's lovely.Well done Anglo-Welsh, great job.

I've called costumer service and was told that the Oxford boat location is fully booked and was offered to go to Bunbury instead. I assumed that they mean BAnbury Oxfordshire, but they suggested BUnbury Cheshire, 2.5 hours away from Oxford!!! I have realised that I have booked the wrong Bunbury and called to change the booking.Costumer service were unempathetic, they have refused to change my booking to a different time/location and I've lost the money. It was very disappointing especially as this was supposed to be a birthday surprise for my husband which went wrong due to a silly suggestion.

Really enjoyed our week on Anglo Welsh boat in Oxford. Found the staff to be extremely helpful for all aspects of our trip. Would definitely return again.

We hired Golden Tarn boat from Oxford (Eynsham) base on 26 September 2020 for 1 week, really good handover (under covid 19 safety conditions). Boat was clean and had all the essentials needed and a bonus of log burner. We took the boat along the Thames and on to the Oxford canal via Dukes Cut (you need to pay for your Oxford canal license separately) and went up to Cropredy before turning back and coming back down the canal and through sheepwash back on to river and moored up below Eynsham lock on the last night. We had a problem with clothes from the canal getting stuck around our propellor in the middle of our week in Banbury and called the office, they came and sorted it without hesitation. Very professional and helpful staff. Another great experience with Anglo Welsh, already planning our next trip.