Napton Marina to Cropredy by narrowboat
It is 17 miles and 17 locks from Napton Marina to Cropredy, about 9 hours 2 minutes of cruising, comfortably done in 2 days at 6 hours a day. The route is checked against live closure notices - 7 active stoppages currently affect its waterways, and the plan below works around or waits out what it can (last checked 28 Aug 2026).
Recalculated 6 Aug 2026 against live closures.
The South Oxford is the network’s favourite contour canal, and this stretch is its heart. From Napton Marina the route climbs the Napton flight beneath the windmill, wriggles along the lonely summit past Fenny Compton’s deep cutting, then drops through the Claydon flight to Cropredy, the canalside village made famous by its folk festival. Slow, rural and utterly charming.
The route in words
Waterways on this route, in order:
- Napton flight (lock flight, 7 locks)
- Claydon flight (lock flight, 5 locks)
- Prescote flight (lock flight, 3 locks)
The route works 1 movable (swing or lift) bridge.
Day by day
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Day 113.12 mi 9 locks 6 h 0 min arrive ~14:00Overnight: Mooring
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Day 23.61 mi 8 locks 3 h 2 min arrive ~11:02
Live closures on this route
Most planners list stoppages and leave you to plot around them. Canal Nav checks every live notice and plans this route around anything blocking - automatically, each time it is recalculated.
16 live notices on this route's waterways (last checked 28 Aug 2026, 06:29). The live map routes around anything blocking.
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Closure 2026-11-02 – 2026-12-18
Lock 25 Cropredy
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-11-02 – 2026-11-06
Hawkesbury Lock
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-11-02 – 2027-03-12
Bridge 128 Willison's Bridge, Wormleighton
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-11-02 – 2026-12-18
Lock 27, Little Bourton
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-08-24 – 2026-10-12
Towpath between Bridge 112 and Bridge 113, Napton
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-08-17 – 2026-10-02
Navigation Closure - Oxford Canal, Ayhno lock 33 , Adderbury
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-08-17 – 2026-10-09
Towpath Restriction - Oxford Canal, the towpath next to Lock 33ayhno will have a diversion route round the bridge by the lock , Banbury
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-08-09
Napton Lock 8 to Marston Doles Lock 16
Read the notice → -
Closure 2026-08-05
Navigation Closure South Oxford Canal – From Claydon Top Lock 17 to Aynho Weir Lock 33
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-07-29
Towpath Restriction Locked in Up Position - Foxes Lift Bridge No 171, Canal Lane, Bodicote
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-07-17
Advice - Oxford Canal, Aristotle visitor moorings - Electric power bollards, Oxford
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-07-09
Bridge 210, Northbrook Bridge
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-03-20
Lock 42, Roundham Lock - Offside Ground Paddle
Read the notice → -
Advice 2026-03-02
Boughton Road CSF
Read the notice → -
Advice 2025-07-18
Hawkesbury CSF
Read the notice → -
Restriction 2025-05-01 – 2027-01-31
Towpath Between Bridges 127 and 128, Oxford Canal near Wormleighton, Warwickshire
Read the notice →
Coming back the other way
The return from Cropredy to Napton Marina covers the same water, the same 17 miles and 17 locks, again over about 2 days - only the overnight moorings shift.
Reverse day-by-day plan
- Day 1: 13.12 mi, 9 locks
- Day 2: 3.61 mi, 8 locks
Start and finish
Cruising rings touching this route
- Warwickshire Ring
Plan it properly
Distances and times are planning estimates (last computed 6 Aug 2026). Always check live closures on the map before setting off.
Cruising Napton Marina way? Plan it in minutes.
Turn-by-turn routing with live closures, lock counts and day planning - free.