Timx

theres a video on u tube taken last year and they did it in 5 days,wow...

running horses is canalside,there is a new witherspoons in maghull as well,but is a 15 min walk from the canal,i live in maghull so if you want any info just ask.

The lydiate area will be safer than going maghull ,old roan side.Before the running horses would probably be safest,abundance of pubs close by,hare and hounds,wellblundell,coach and horses,all near by the cut.local taxis are 0151-526-5050.

Also a nice place to stop once your through Saltesford tunnel,quite picturesque..

No need to toot horn as they are timed as you say,its only Saltesford tunnel that kinks in the middle,where you cannot see through to the end until your half way through. [so make sure your light is pointing forward and not up as I mistakenly did recently]

buy a car and go by road..

mm,buoys arent mentioned in canal guides..although its a river and covered by the guide,ie pearsons.

ahh,cheers,i learn something new[again]

It was the great ouse,just after brownhill lock,i think and one at st ives,I think they were orange buoys and i passed them the keeping to the right,never looked these things up as i didnt expect to encounter them and wasnt told about them,sure im not alone,they were sort of centrally placed..so i guessed right then,

When I was on the ouse a came across a buoy on a couple of occasions, I am totally ignorant of what they mean,I presumed they meant you have to go one side of them or another, can anyone explain what they denote,I apologise for my ignorance..

The llangollen gets better and better,to turn at Trevor would be missing the best bit..in my humble opinion.

I realise the general difficulties, which i have been trying to experience,i.e. going out when its not just good weather,, which im fine with, two biggest mistakes ive had was because of the wind, recently overtaking a static nb when another boat was passing me on the left but as i manouvered the wind was blowing so hard i ended up scraping alongside the static boat, and i couldnt turn away from it,till i passed,despite the loud ""OI "" from the owner, but nothing I could do,and last yr by ely trying to slowly edge in between a nb and a cruiser and wind blew me into the cruiser with all aboard giving me grief , saying i should of asked them to pull forward first , but the wind gave me no time to judge, ask etc, but sure with experience , i would of done better,or had more confidence to explain it wasnt my fault, but was unsure if it was or not..but my main point was, i want to try difficult navigations, locks etc whilst i am still hiring, the basic steering etc manouvering will only come with time im sure, where do people think its difficult to go without experience ..? Cheers Tim

Hi, I am three yrs away from buying my own nb and plan to spend,6 mnths a yr on it have been on holidays for last three on them two or three times a yr from march to september so far, tried March this yr to try when weather wasnt great,for experience,my question is,as id like to experience hard bits,when i have support [no jokes] what do you reccomend to give me the experience I will ultimately need to travel all the system when i retire,and wont have the support of a boat yard etc, cant do the liverpool link till then but what else, what would gain me experience so will be more confident of going anywhere when not got back up, presume some rivers are an experience only done the ouse, any suggestions would be welcomed from those who have experience..i have three yrs to get it right,and am learning confidence is a good plus when experiencing things Cheers Tim

Had planned trip from Lymm to near Chester return,first day starting around 1pm,made it to around bridge bridge 213 ctrl-v middlewich branch by Timore3, on Flickr

going through preston brook tunnel, it was chilly apparently , so Anne lit a fire in wood burner, anyone ever floated through a chimney ctrl-v in preston brook 351 by Timore3, on Flickr

Ha got it right first time, had headlamp turned upwards which wasnt a problem in Barton tunnel as you can see the end of tunnel but as Saltersford kinks badly half way through I couldnt see A thing when half way through for a minute...Doh

Can anyone notice what I did wrong ,this picture was taken just before I entered Saltersford tunnel.I had just previously came through Barton tunnel without problem and had yet to notice my error...if I had looked at this photo first I might have spotted it.ctrl-v before tunnel mistake by Timore3, on Flickr

Is the canal planner accurate in its timings, is it based on four miles an hour, just seems a bit slower to me, even tho I dont go fast.?

We went from Lymm to nearly top of macc,via preston brook then turned round and came back,in ten days,,in Spt last year, dont like cities on a nb,can do cities in a car/train, nb for me are the countryside and country pubs,but thats just me...

Yeah,have been Chester a few times before and know its nice,but like all trips on a nb you have to make choices if your limited to time, do i make the travelling time on the boat shorter to give me more time to explore,and stop off at different places , or just stop anywhere nice, even in the middle of nowhere,to just be on the canal in the tranquility,weather makes a difference, sometimes for the best so your forced into a pub and g/f agrees with the choice , great,so basically best plan is not to plan but we have to have a basic idea and go round that ,but cant wait to get older[dont think i really mean that, just think since ive decided to do what i want, cant wait] and not have to work ever again....three years to go till i can join the club unless sods law takes effect.Thanks for the help before I ramble too much about....etc etc etc

Yeah your right, had a look at pearsons and the cheshire cat is the best option to turn at,also the run into Chester after that doesnt look that too attractive,although would of liked to look at Chester from the canal, but can leave that for another longer trip,or when i get my own nb.Thanks for the advice.Tim

Cheers for that, but my point is Ican get there no prob, but coming back there will only be two of us one being female,so is it leaving too much to do for an easy cruise back or would i be rushing..

Hi, Would it be possible for a leisurely trip to get from Chester to Lymm in three and a half 6hr days with just two on board, I reckon i can doit from LYMM to chester first three and a half ,will be four of us and probably do at least 6 hours going there so wont be a problem, Ijust dont want to leave myself too much to do going back, as i like to try the different hostelries etcand dont want to feel rushed, i know technically it can be done according to canal plan,turning at cow lane,W. ld the considered opinion be that i will manage it easily.Any thoughts welcomed . Cheers Tim