Barton Marina Reviews Summary

Dining and Cafes

Pros:

• "We ate at The Red Carpet - plenty of choice and great value for money."
• "Portion size was ideal, good value for money."
• "The finger sandwiches were great, with a handful of crisps to crunch and the tomatoes on the vine were oh so sweet and delicious."
• "Had a Coffee and a Turkey roll in the Marina Cafe which was spotlessly clean! An excellent menu, nothing too fussy."
• "Thoroughly enjoyed browsing in the shops then a nice fish finger sandwich and shandy at the dog friendly pub."
• "Fabulous Thai restaurant good value lunch 2 courses and a cocktail less than £20."
• "Turned up without a reservation and was shown to a table straight away. Good Covid prevention measures in place and adhered to by the young staff. Friendly and fast service. Excellent tasty food with lots of 'specials' too."

Cons:

• "Great pub but not at all cheap load your card be warned."
• "Love going to the Apple Tree cafe but was a bit disappointed with the new decor it was so much better before lost its atmosphere no beautiful plants and decor and was rather noisy shame."
• "Service was shocking, poor attitude towards customers."
• "Not really a place I would go to again. Very busy and very slow service for expensive very average food."
• "Cafe staff very slow (not even busy) worst cup of coffee ever."
• "Very disappointed in menu change, booked one of the outdoor pods, cause we had dogs. Table sticky, floor wet."
• "However, this time we ordered and waited for half an hour for a warm gluten free scone, cream and jam, which was still frozen in the middle when it arrived."

Shopping Experience

Pros:

• "Could be a great place, if they allowed camper vans to park overnight, because it has the space and we like to use the shops like the mug tug, red carpet and waterfront."
• "Great for a mooch around quaint shops."
• "Some great shops, liked the clothes shops, and the Butchers/Deli/Gift shop was brilliant! (The Butcher, The Baker The Ice Cream maker)."
• "Lots if small businesses, shops, pub, cafe, cinema."
• "The marina has a number of shops and eateries serving good quality food and drinks."
• "Some very good shops & eateries, overlooking the picturesque Marina."
• "Nice place for a quick bite or a meal. With a cinema, restaurants, coffee bar, butcher's, retail shops and a pub there is something for all."

Cons:

• "Shops were understaffed and couldn't cope."
• "The shops were a disappointment, full of over-priced 'artisan' foods and brand name clothing, you can buy elsewhere for less."
• "It's very expensive. Lots of tourist style shops that you buy because you like it in the shop and then when you get home it's not so good."
• "The shops are expensive as are the eateries."
• "Made a visit after recommendation. Disappointing…few shops and places to eat."
• "Pretty place, but once you've been there 25 minutes you've seen everything."
• "It was a surprise finding such a large and well served marina in a small village."

Dog-Friendly Environment

Pros:

• "It is very popular with dog walkers & there are signs everywhere reminding people to clear up after their dogs."
• "We absolutely love going to this marina. It has everything you want to enjoy a relaxing few hours or more."
• "Walking our dogs around the lakes and then having something to eat and drink has always been a pleasure."
• "Great place to go with or without your dogs 3 large pools for walking your dogs around."
• "It's a scenic place to walk your fur babies and engage with the wide life."
• "Smashing place for a nice walk with the dogs but walked the entire circuit with our dogs and there's not a single dog waste bin or even general waste bin anywhere."
• "An amazing place with so much green space and beautiful walks."

Cons:

• "It seems that dog owners are not welcome here. No waste bins anywhere on site."
• "Please put dog waste bins there, so many people visit to walk around the ponds then go for a wander around the shops, can't believe there aren't any bins."
• "Why are there no bins? Makes dog walking very difficult."
• "Great setting and lovely shops and places to eat. However it is not dog friendly, we could not find any bins anywhere."
• "Avoid if you have a dog. It looks a lovely place to walk your dog until you see all the poo bags scattered around."
• "Yesterday's visit though was a terrible disappointment in terms of dog friendliness."
• "Love it here but the owner?is steadily spoiling it. He's removed so many of the beautiful trees and every single bin, including the bins for dog poo."

Facilities and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "Everywhere was Covid safe, and I would have no hesitation in recommending Barton Marina for a day out."
• "Noticeably the public toilets on site are immaculately clean."
• "In terms of facilities on site, everything was spot on. Showers were clean and warm when needed, washing machines were good value and super speedy."
• "Free parking and access to walks around the marina waterside and lakes. Pretty area with eating, drinking and boutique type shops."
• "Plenty of FREE parking."
• "Wheel chair friendly too - nice smooth ramps and easy access routes to every shop or facility."
• "Was told about this place by a friend my wife is disabled and in a wheelchair barton marina is all level flat ground was an ease to push wheelchair around."

Cons:

• "Forget the fact that the marina is trying to attract 'high end retail outlets' and let's talk about the basics. The gents toilets were disgusting!"
• "Toilets were very disappointing for humans, no toilet paper and messy."
• "Both toilets locked. Disabled open wife used that one. Very disappointing."
• "There isn’t any type of bin in the whole area!"
• "Shame they've built apartments here now."
• "Shame there are no electric charge points, perfect spot for it."
• "Now without warning they are now charging the boaters 1£ to empty the wc cassettes which for some boaters without cars has put a huge cost onto their budget."

Atmosphere and Experience

Pros:

• "Great place to visit nice walks and plenty places to sit and enjoy some nice cafes shops etc great pub."
• "Fabulous place for all sorts of activities. We just used it for exercising our dogs and having a meal after."
• "A great place to have a pleasant walk either around the marina or the lake."
• "We absolutely love going to this marina. It has everything you want to enjoy a relaxing few hours or more."
• "A great place to visit -numerous walks, a huge mooring lake full of barges."
• "Brilliant development. Good walking, lakes, free parking, great place for people watching, well-stocked pub with food offering, shops, coffee house and restaurant."
• "An amazing place with so much green space and beautiful walks. We spent 5 hours there having a picnic and walking the dog the children loved it."

Cons:

• "Love going to the Apple Tree cafe but was a bit disappointed with the new decor it was so much better before lost its atmosphere no beautiful plants and decor and was rather noisy shame."
• "Yesterday's visit though was a terrible disappointment in terms of dog friendliness."
• "Not really a place I would go to again. Very busy and very slow service for expensive very average food."
• "It was a shame that you couldn't get along the tow path of the canal. Especially with having a mobility scooter."
• "There is nowhere for a decent walk because the countryside around is rather featureless and dominated by the A5."
• "Pretty place, but once you've been there 25 minutes you've seen everything."
• "Decent area but wasn't good enough for me to remake the titanic scene with my wife as she fell in."