I used to have a cabin cruiser a few years ago and it was great fun and as others have said there's loads of pubs on the river but the best part was you get to see some fantastic wide life as life on the water is so slow ...but the best bit is if you rent a boat that allows dogs you can have some good sport just slowly cruising up to the bank and letting the dog have a chase or two you can moor up for the night where you want in the middle of know where and have a spot of lamping ...
Have fun