On the canal system, you can moor for free on the towpath side for up to 14 days unless there are signs to the contrary (such as 48 hour limits near shops etc.). On the river, there’s no official towpath, and the ability to moor up – or not – is entirely down to the individual landowner, who may or may not charge. Having forgotten that, we moored up at Wallingford on the town side of the bridge, and were somewhat surprised to be rudely awakened at OMG o’clock by a cheery chappy banging on the boat and shouting “Gooood Morning, Mooring Fees please”. We’d moored on the other side of the river before without any such disturbance, but our cheery chappy said “This side’s Wallingford Town Council managed, the other side’s the District Council, and they only collect the fee in the summer when the swimming pool is open”. The Captain was severely dischuffed and set off determinedly to complain to someone.

We moved to the other side for our second night…

Even when the mooring is basically a cow-field like Lechlade Public Moorings you can get asked for a mooring fee. And even way out in the country, you can still get hassled…