Edmontonian

Thanks Timx

Really appreciate the detailed replies and ideas everyone - I'd say Mal's itinerary is looking favourite so far, but I need to speak with the rest of the crew to see if they have a preference. Interesting that nobody has mentioned the Nene, is it worth the extra license or is a week not really enough to do it justice from Braunston? Cheers

Thanks for the quick replies! I had a bit of a brain failure just then, and should have said the South Oxford - hopefully that makes a bit more sense as an out and back route

Hi All, Long time reader here, although very infrequent poster looking to tap the collective knowledge of the forum - we've hired a boat for our crew of 6 from Braunston in mid-September, and don't really have an itinerary decided yet. We're fairly experienced hirers and don't mind doing long days if it gets us somewhere worth seeing, but would prefer a fairly relaxing week with plenty of stops at decent real ale pubs if possible. I know there are a number of options open to us in terms of where to go, some thoughts that we have are: North South Oxford River Nene Leicester / Market Harborough Warwickshire Ring (although we've done this before in the distant past) Something else Does anyone have any views on the relative merits of the above options - any feedback greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

I did it earlier this year, which give me less of an excuse if I'm wrong...

Are 2 and 8 the Gosty Hill Tunnel? /ducks back into obscurity...

And Oxford...

Fantastic read - very enjoyable and amusing!

OK, so I reckon if we get an early enough start, if people are feeling adventurous and if BW / water levels allow us, we'll have a go at getting up to Titford (although certainly not as far as going under the M5!). That said, there's a fairly good chance that the night before will be a heavy one, and we'll not set off in time to tackle it... Thanks again to everyone for their replies.

Thanks for all the advice... we'll try to fit all of this in - we've only got the boat for a week, and whilst we don't want to rush around like lunatics, I would like to fit in as much as possible, and see as much as we can. From what everyone has said, we should have more time going via the Stourbridge/Dudley route, and we did the ring fairly comfortably in a week via Wolverhampton last time. Seems that everyone on here has helped me make my mind up - barring closures, we're going to go via Stourbridge/Dudley That sounds like an excellent plan - I'll pack my copy of the GBG! I'm very very tempted to try to go up to Titford Pools now, although from what I've read, I gather that it's quite an adventure - the last thing I want is to get stuck / put the rest of my crew off canals for life!

Thanks nwhear - will take your advice about mooring at Oozells rather than Gas Street - I take it we shouldn't have too many problems finding a space if we get there early-ish? If we moor at Merry Hill the following night, we hopefully should have time to explore some or all of the way down to Hawne on the Dudley No. 2, as I guess it isn't that long a cruise time-wise from Oozells to Merry Hill. We moored at Kinver on the S&W the last time I did the Stourport Ring, so I think we'll go for this again, as it was such a nice spot. I'm really looking forward to this holiday now!

Thanks very much for the feedback everyone - I think I'm already hooked, this will be my 6th holiday, and I hope to own one day in the distant future when other commitments let me. I just hope my friends enjoy it as much as I do... From what I've read, I like the sound of the Dudley / Stourbridge route, it sounds like there's enough to keep us interested, and having done the Wolverhampton route before, it will be nice for me to cover some new ground. We weren't looking at going through the Dudley Tunnel as I suspect you'd be right about height, and I'm pretty sure our hire company would allow us through - that said, I would love to do it one day. Has anyone familiar with the area got any dos/don'ts for overnight mooring / pub stops? We'd be setting off from the Gas Street Basin area with a fairly early start, so we should be able to reach most parts of the Dudley / Stourbridge that day. Cheers Alan

Hi Everyone, First of all, thanks a million for providing such a fantastic forum - I've learned so much from reading this over the past year or so. I'm hoping that a few of you can spare some time to give me some advice. I’ll be doing the Stourport Ring in late July with 4 friends, hiring from just north of Tardebigge and heading anti-clockwise (we’re meeting people in Birmingham on the first night). I also did the same ring 6 years ago with a different set of friends, and we had a superb time (and found it fairly easy going, as we’re all quite fit and active). I was wondering what people’s views are regarding the pros and cons of going either via Wolverhampton / Audersley, or via Netherton / Dudley / Stourbridge. Last time we went via Audersley, as we wanted to see The Bratch and do the slightly longer route. This time, I’d like to go via the Dudley, because it’s something different for me, but if people think that the Audersley route is better (in terms of scenary / interesting canals / history / pubs / anything else), then I’d be happy doing that again, given that none of the friends I’m going with this time have done either route. I have the Pearson’s Stourport Ring guide, and whilst it’s an excellent read, it doesn’t really go into the pros and cons of one route vs. the other. Any advice that you guys in the know can offer would be much appreciated. Alan