Stockton Top Marina
(formerly “Blue Lias”)
Stockton Top Marina may be found on the A426 approximately 2 miles north of Southam in Warwickshire. There are two entrances. One is via the industrial estate, the other via the pub car park ("The Boat Inn"). You are welcome to use either. If you use the pub car park, PLEASE leave your car at the marina end (both during unloading and subsequent parking). If you come in via the industrial estate, PLEASE do not park ANYWHERE OTHER THAN on the marina "peninsula" car park itself i.e. not on any part of the access way between the road and the marina, nor on the craning pad (the flat concrete platform on the inside of the marina).
We have an arrangement with the marina whereby one car per boat may be parked on the peninsula free of charge at any one time. In order for your car to be identified in this way, we provide you with a car sticker with the wording “My Other Car’s a Boat” and OwnerShips’ logo, on which is a short code that tells us which is your boat. Of course you could just write your boat’s name on a piece of paper and display it in a prominent place - on the dashboard? If you want to leave more than one car on site, there is a charge of £10.00 per car per week. Please pass this money to OwnerShips, (cheques should be made payable to “Stockton Top Marina Ltd.”). If you prefer to leave one or more cars in the pub car park, there is a charge of £10.00 per car per week there too, but you MUST check with them first as during the peak summer weeks they might decline.
The marina is owned by Kate Boats in Warwick. They are very helpful and co-operative as far as OwnerShips is concerned and can be seen about the site on most Friday mornings. Tom, who works for them, manages the pump outs, diesel, etc. for the boats returning on Friday mornings. (The pressure wash pump-out that they do is reputed to be the most thorough on the cut!)
OwnerShips staff who are present every Friday changeover day are:
PHIL CAPP OwnerShips’ New Business Manager
JOAN LINDEMAN OwnerShips' Company Secretary - there to assist owners get afloat with the minimum of delay
SIMON POLLARD Specialist Diesel engineer
GUY SHERRATT Leisure Marine Systems - general maintenance on OwnerShips boats
BARBARA PAYNE Local manager / prebooked valet service
“VALET MOORING”
Analogous to the American concept of “valet parking” we believe that this is a unique service on the inland waterways. If you need to have a pump-out, diesel, or whatever, as you invariably will at the end of your holiday, you COULD find yourself queuing for ages while other boats are being serviced, before you can return your boat to a mooring inside the marina. WELL, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS! Rather, you can moor near to bridge 21 (opposite “The Boat Inn”), unload into your car on the road adjacent to the towpath, lock your boat up and go home – be it on Thursday evening, say, or Friday morning. PROVIDED THAT YOU HAVE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR END OF HOLIDAY REPORT AND POSTED THIS THROUGH THE PORTACABIN LETTERBOX, AND LEFT A CHEQUE ON BOARD WITH SIMILAR INSTRUCTIONS ON THE REVERSE, we will do the rest, i.e. take your boat to the servicing point and then moor it up inside the marina ready for the next owner.
WHERE TO PUT YOUR BOAT
Of course, if you prefer to do this yourself that’s absolutely fine. In this case, please moor your boat inside the marina, stern in, along the longest side - i.e. the side opposite the car park starting from the end farthest away from where the marina joins the canal. (This is so that any shorter boats may be moored at the end nearest to the marina entrance where longer boats are liable to get in the way).
FACILITIES AT THE MARINA
There are electricity and water points around the marina peninsula car park and also around the inside of the marina. The electricity points are operated by £1 coins. The water is free. (Please note that the marina owners do not permit the use of water for hosing down the outside of boats, although cleaning from a bucket is fine).
There are extension cables that you are welcome to borrow for connecting your boat to the mains electricity. These are kept in OwnerShips’ portacabin on site (the light blue one) to which your boat has a key (on its key ring). Also in this portacabin are
a) Two "Henry" type vacuum cleaners that you may like to borrow to clean the inside of your boat.
b) Extension water hose (blue) in case you cannot reach the water point with your existing hose.
c) Wheelbarrows to assist with transporting luggage etc.
Please return these items to the portacabin after use.
You may also use OwnerShips’ portacabin for storing items that you do not require on your boat during your holiday (eg. the television??!), ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE IF YOU COULD USE YOUR CAR FOR THESE ITEMS. If you do use the portacabin, PLEASE LABEL EVERY ITEM WITH YOUR BOAT's NAME, and also, please return them to your boat at the end of your trip. (There have been occasions when we have been asked to organise a call out to a boat because some "essential" item was missing - left in the portacabin by the previous owner - and, in these circumstances, it is not entirely clear who should be paying for the call out cost!)
THE VALET SERVICE
Of course, if you anticipate that your peaceful euphoria is likely to get in the way of your desire to spring clean the boat from top to bottom before you leave at dawn on Friday morning, then you can pay someone else to do this for you! A firm of cleaners run by one of the owners in the scheme, is happy to valet the INSIDE of your boat (not the outside), on your return from Holiday, for a fee of £25.00. (Incidentally, this service does NOT include cleaning the inside of the oven, nor cleaning inside cupboards - these are left to the annual spring clean). This weekly valet service can be booked by telephoning 01440 731 886 AT LEAST A WEEK PRIOR TO YOUR RETURN FROM HOLIDAY. You are then asked to pay Barbara Payne directly (or to leave a cheque on board). IT IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU DO BOOK A VALET, THAT YOU ARE READY TO LEAVE THE BOAT BY 9.30am (AS PER THE AGREEMENT)! If you don't want to go straight home, there are always plenty of activities that we would be delighted to offer you at the marina!!!