junior

Anyone care to enlighten us to some of the good things about this gathering? So far in this thread we have attendees being told what they can and can't do, when to start engine's, boats not taking part in the parade, excessively loud shit music, no parking, £20 parking, low attendance numbers and the organiser resigning.

Canal looks like it bends to the left after the canal so can't be top lock at Camden. Is it the bottom lock, Kentish Town or whatever it's called? Edit: also plenty of water about to suggest a short pound above?

When I was going round the ring every fortnight there was rarely lockies there and when there were they didn't stray far from the bottom few pounds.

I have your fender now. Let me know a few days before you get up to Dutton/Preston Brook and I'll make some arrangements with you.

What sort of fender do you want? Short button? Long button? Stern tipcat? V-bow?

I think you mean Brian. Yes still speak to them regularly and will be calling into their yard tomorrow in Bollington. If you wanted I might be able to grab a fender for you and take it home. You could collect it when you pass by Dutton. Let me know.

Mal does make good fenders but Brian from Coalboat Alton also makes lovely fenders himself which he sells on the coalboats if you see Halsall or Jason on Bargus.

Amazing that people can make boating this stretch of canal sound more stressful than a circuit of Silverstone.

As a former Middlewich residen I can recommend Blue Ginger for Indian, Paragon next door for a Chinese takeaway, White Bear for pub food and Kings Lock Chippie for fish and chips.

There is absolutely nothing between Middlewich/Anderton and Lymm that is anything but a doddle for even the most novice novice. The bend in the tunnel that someone mentioned is just a kink. You'll hardly notice it and your boat is made of steel so if you don't manage to steer perfectly through it, your boat will sort itself out. Read the board before each tunnel for info regarding times. If you don't fancy doing Big Lock in Middlewich, there's a winding hole a few mins before it. Just turn there, moor up and walk into Middlewich if you want shops/pubs. If you have any concerns about the tunnels or the first two unnerve you, I live above the tunnel portal at Preston Brook Tunnel and wouldn't mind steering the boat through for you and then walking back over the top. Enjoy your trip, it's a lovely stretch of canal. If you have time in your schedule I'd definitely recommend going down/up the Anderton Lift for the experience and a short trip on the River Weaver.

I take it you don't piss in your toilet too? That would waste valuable space.

You'd think the agent would have made reference to a 70ft mooring. It just says 'canal views' or something like that.

I thought YouTube was ruining the canals according to some on this forum.

What's different in people getting the idea of boating from YouTube as opposed to those of us who got interested in narrowboats from TV programmes or magazines before the Internet came about? I knew nothing about canals or narrowboats before I watched an episode of something called Watersays World or something on TV in the early naughties... It's just how times have changed.

The Shroppie is very isolated. Once you leave Wolverhampton which is nothing to write home about, your next proper town is Nantwich. I appreciate there's Market Drayton, but I've moored overnight there numerous times and never found the town! Good thing about the T&M is there's a convenient canal side town almost every night. Stone, Stoke (Etruria), Red Bull, Wheelock, Middlewich, Barnton/Northwich, Lymm etc....