Oakwood Marina in Cheshire West and Chester

Surprised nobody has mentioned you are directly under the flight path for Manchester airport so we got woken circa 4am both morning of our “relaxing weekend away” by the very noisy airplanes. I am a light sleeper though so perhaps bring earplugs if you are also. We were booked into a camper van spot with electric hook up which to be fair was a lovely set up BUT upon arrival (before the 7pm cutoff) reception was shut and when called the mobile number provided there was no answer. We proceeded to what was obviously the area for campers but was confused how to get into the spot as the road you have to take says private no entry - apparently you do take this road then turn around and have to reverse into your spot. As nobody was there to greet us, there was no signage and no email was sent with instructions we did our best to position into the correct free spot. Upon parking up we were approached by a very angry unhelpful man - presumably the owner but no idea as he did not introduce himself just lectured us on how we should have parked. This was our first trip in our “new to us” van so were unaware if this is normal procedure or not but rest assured we will most certainly not be returning. Also if you want to use the toilet in the night there are no guiding lights so take a decent torch. There was 1 ladies, 1 gents & 1 disabled toilet then 2 portaloos which were further away for us so didn’t use - and I can’t stand them.

The cafe served a beautifully prepared lunch, we enjoyed it so much. The special jacket potato with mushrooms, garlic, spinach and cherry tomatoes was very tasty. A lovely peaceful spot with a clean outside seating area. Very enjoyable.

Wonderful place for an overnight with our motorhome. Stuart is a fantastic host. All the staff are happy and a delight to deal with. Its wonderful for dog walkers. Shower was lovely and hot, great facilities all round. Its gone right up at the top of our 'Places to go' in our old motorhome.

Little gem of a place. Been a few times now always great food cooked just as you like, Cannot fault this place and its staff.

We visited the marina cafe today .. Great place, lovely views onto the marina, food/drink & service was all fantastic .. we will be back again soon

Stayed in a bell tent for 2 nights with my partner and 2 children. Absolutely gorgeous set up, lovely views and the bar and pizza was a great bonus We hired a boat for the day which was amazing Would definitely recommend and come back

Found this place by accident, what a lovely place. Decided to have breakfast here,sat outside at the tables overlooking the barges. Great food and great place for a stroll and some peace and quiet. Will definitely return.

Stayed 3 nights on "The Fal" narrowboat at Oakwood Marina. A beautiful tranquil spot, the boat was excellent. Felt really welcome by the live on boating community. THE JOLLYBOATMAN bar is a must visit with accompanying PIZZA oven and Jemma's homemade CHEESECAKE are not to be missed.

We camped for two nights and absolutely loved everything about it! The pitch size was perfect and very spacious! the staff were so helpful and lovely! Transferred all of our stuff from the car park to the pitch (and there was a lot) and nothing was too much bother for them! The food was gorgeous from the pizza stand and the tea room! Gorgeous site! Thank you so much! We cant wait to come back in the summer already!

The boat was not ready for us at the stated time and it had not been cleaned, but every credit to the owner, he apologised profusely and offered a partial refund. We did not agree a specific amount, but I accepted the apology. When the refund arrived it was very generous and more than makes up for the problems. Sometimes things go wrong and my measure of a good company is how the issues are resolved. I am pleased with the service and will use the dayboats again. We have previously hired a boat and it was wonderful in every respect first time, which is what prompted us to go again.

We stayed in a bell tent which was beautiful, it was really clean, really nice decor and had everything you needed in there- stove, kettle with stove, gas for stove, wood for fire, cutlery etc. The bed was super warm and comfy. The scenery was beautiful, really good location shops and pubs not far from there at all. The bar in the evening is a bonus, good price and the barmen is a really nice friendly guy. The fact that there is a car park separate to the pitches is a bonus for us as we didn’t have to worry about the kids running around near cars, they can run freely. Everyone is really friendly, they have a shop and cafe you can buy things from and a pizza van which looked nice. Can’t wait to come again- thank you!

Stayed here recently site and facilities were good but all in all overshadowed by a very aggressive owner. The site dont allow parking next to where you pitch up… which is not very practical but their spot their rules so fair enough. However, they have lads on quad bikes to ferry your things from the car park to your designated pitch. Once all your stuff was at the pitch you're left to it!! Firstly some things were broken, they had obviously just been dragged off the back of the trailer into a pile on the floor…. We were there with our two kids in the quest of some peace & quiet so decided to just let it go as they were fairly in-expensive items. Once the tent was up I realised I needed a cigarette lighter to pump up our airbeds, so brought the car onto the pitch to quickly pump them up and re-park in the car park. A lad on a quad bike turned up and said I couldn't park there I explained what I was doing and that I would re-park when the beds had been pumped up, he said that was fine. A few minutes later an older very AGGRESSIVE man turned up at the pitch demanding that we leave, im no prude but his language was disgusting and his demeanour was threatening… my children are eight & four they were scared!! I explained there had been a mis-understanding an I had no intention of leaving my car there he did not want to hear it. Reluctantly I had to fall on my sword to diffuse the situation as my kids and mrs watched on. Another time, place and situation I would have let him know he had incurred my displeasure…. One day soon he may find himself in a spot of bother if he talks to the wrong person in such a manner. I will say that we used the pizza stall and the bar the staff at them were great really nice… in fact everyone was nice there but they have all been let down by one aggressive owner and his power mad ego… which is a shame. Would I camp here again? No, Would I recommend this site?…. For pizza and a pint yes, but even thats not worth the risk of bumping into Mr Angry.

Upon entrance into the campsite we found it hard to find where to park up / where the reception was as it’s not very good sign posted. We had to ask a few people where the reception was. Upon finding the reception we were greeted by one of the lads who was nice enough, he didn’t really explain what we had to do now / showed us where toilets were etc. You can’t drive your car up to the tent pitches but the staff kindly tow it up on a quad bike for you and pump your mattress up if you need it. I knew there were showers on this site so I brought all of my wash bag. But unfortunately the shower/toilet had a really bad sewerage smell so we didn’t use them in the end. (Also dirty) Tea room: tea room was nice, staff were friendly. Very expensive for what it is. £16 for 2 drinks and 2 toasties!! The Pizza Hut and drinks bar are cute, although they only open at 4pm on Saturdays which we thought was a bit late as we wanted some drinks in the sun. Nice camp site all in all, we only paid £20 a night to be honest and we didn’t expect any facilities so that was a bonus for us. I would camp here again

Toilets filthy, showers, cold, everything too much trouble for staff. Mediocre food, motorhome pitches crammed together and looked like a car park, overpriced and staff indifferent

Three of us for lunch, had Tuna Melt, Halloumi Panini and Cheese and Onion Melt. Came with a nice little salad with dressing, crisps and coleslaw. We all enjoyed it and would eat there again. Reasonable wait time , friendly staff and nice setting.

Lovely campsite with exceptional amenities. The outdoor showers were a highlight of our trip, so exciting and refreshing. Portaloos on every corner and plenty of dog walking area. So dog friendly which was great as we are a very dog oriented family. Cafe food is gorgeous, as are the pizzas and cocktails. Will definitely come back, it’s been an amazing relaxing weekend full of fun.

We hired two, day boats in August 2021 for our family group. We had planned a trip to Middlewich to go through the Big Lock, have lunch at a pub and then come back. Before we set off, I noticed there were no lock keys on the boats (we’ve been on canal boat holidays before) so asked one of the staff if we could have a set. All he said was ‘You won’t get that far’. We completed our planned trip (we went through the lock with other canal boats) and on arriving back at Oakwood, there was no handover. We were told to moor up and leave the keys in the ignition! The next day we had an email from Oakwood saying we should not have gone through the lock as the boats were not insured, so they were keeping our £200 deposits! I then got into an email exchange with Nigel Wilder, the so-called director of Oakwood Marina. I explained that there was no way we could have known because there was no hire agreement, no notice on the boats, and I had even asked one of his staff. Wilder’s reply was that we had been told ‘where to turn around’! Apparently, I was supposed to interpret that as ‘the boats are not insured to go through locks’! I reported Oakwood to Trading Standards because they had no proper hire agreements. I also reported them to the Canal and Rivers Trust as they operate under a Business Boat Licence. Under this licence they should have proper handover checklists, to give a water safety brief and have emergency contact information displayed on the boats. None of this was in place. There was no paperwork at all. The only information you have is on one page of their website. Wilder eventually admitted that we had not been told that the boats were not insured but still kept our deposits! TWENTY days after we hired the boats, he claimed we had damaged them by going through the lock but had no proof or evidence of this. We are now having to take legal action to recover our deposits. Steer well clear unless you come wearing a Stetson, carrying a lasso and shouting ‘Yihaa!’ – then you’ll be in fine company with this bunch of cowboys.

Will start by saying what a beautiful spot and a lovely cafe. That was until sitting outside and watching the owner eating his breakfast with his dog sprawled across the table. The entertainment was finished by the dog licking the plate clean. When we complained we were told the plate would be washed on a hot wash. Big deal. I’m not bothered what people do in their own home but I don’t expect to see this at a public cafe. We were asked to leave and refunded. We were about to leave anyway

We had high hopes after lockdown for a good break in August 2021. The tents were okay but the service was not there. No welcome or induction to the facilities and difficult to find a member of staff when you needed one. It was if Oakwood weren't prepared to put the hard work in to make it a real experience. We partly went because of the cafe on site, to save cooking breakfast, only to find that the cafe was only open at weekends even in the height of summer! Beware the inflatable sofas. We were contacted after we had left to say one of the sofas had been 'ripped' and damaged. When we looked at the photos there was no rip but a seam had come unstitched. When my wife phoned to ask if it was just fair wear and tear, the woman who took the call gave my wife a load of abuse and then put the phone down! We lost out £50 deposit. They gave a hard luck story of being a family business and only been doing the glamping for a couple of years. Yet their parent company, Ripple Developments, turned over £1.3m last year, so don't feel too sorry for them! There are much, much better places to go.

Lovely cafe. Food was spot on and staff were very willing to adapt the meal requirements. Will be back in the summer for a walk along the canal and then some food. We'll worth a visit.