The Cherwell Boathouse

Today was a lovely bank holiday so John and I decided to visit a venerable Oxford institution we had never been to before:  The Cherwell Boathouse. It is both a boathouse and restaurant on the River Cherwell just north of the main part of Oxford.  It’s a bit tucked away down a small lane off  Chadlington Road, which itself is off Banbury Road in North Oxford. 

Here is what I learned about the boathouse.  The land was first leased  in 1901 by the Oxford University Boat Club  waterman Tom Tims from St John’s College for a landing stage for punts. The boathouse was built in 1904 and was known as Tims's for the first forty years.

For over 100 years it has been and still is a lovely place to rent punts and small rowing boats, with Wolfson College to the north and Lady Margaret’s College to the south. The restaurant and riverside cafe are very popular with tourists and students -- it is one of the favorite local venues for weddings and graduation so make sure you make a reservation if you want to eat here, especially in the late spring or summer. The restaurant is quite very good, by-the-way.

The Boathouse and restaurant

 The bridge at Wolfson College

 A busy day on the river

On the opposite bank of the boathouse is the water-meadow and a beautiful path that leads along the river back to the University parks in Oxford.