rivarunnamomma

A huge thanks to everyone who has suggested routes that meet our needs. I really appreciate the assistance in narrowing down the incredible range of canal routes. If anyone else would like to wade in, we will definitely consider all suggestions. Thanks also for all the recommendations of sites and activities on each route. This will be very helpful in making a decision. We also hear the message that any ring route in one week is a bit much, and so will be considering 10 days instead. Not sure if hire companies like that arrangement though. IF we had 10 days, are there other routes that come to mind? The current lineup includes (in order of most recommendations): Warwickshire Ring & Warwick Castle Stourport Ring Anything near Birmingham (esp. by Old Goat) One mention each: Leeds/Liverpool Trent and Mersey & Bridgewater Manchester (after a bit of debate) South Oxford & Thames Shropshire Union Thanks again! And I'm sure I'll have a few more questions before we make a final decision … and now I know where to find great advice.

Thanks Alan. And I definitely agree. British Columbia's dense spruce forests don't even look like they're from the same planet as the storybook woodlands and meticulously cared for farm country in England, but after an hour or two, grass is grass to our teenage boys when they know there must be medieval turrets and suits of armour nearby. I wanted to be clear that our ideal route would have some rural, but overall, more "entertainment" value to keep them happy. The suggestions we've been receiving from all your colleagues on this site really sound like what we're looking for. And yes, this Canadian lady is the one who usually steers the big boat in our family. My husband darts about the whitewater in his little kayak, while I haul his breakfast, lunch and dinner, kids AND dog on our 18' cataraft. So personally, I think it's my turn to navigate while the men do the work. ;-) PS. We would like to arrange a rendez vous while in England to discuss marriage possibilities between your daughter and one of our sons. She can have her pick. She sounds like a treasure. And I'd let her row my raft on our rivers anytime. ;-)

What a great tour of the major "must see" castles in England! Thanks so much for the photos. Warwick is still #1 on our list, but it sounds like Kennilworth has a lot of potential too … mainly because it has a stunning garden …. I'll just keep that secret to myself until we get there. ;-) Thanks very much for the info.

Thanks for setting the record straight Old Goat. Glad you're protecting your homeland from us Canadians (but doesn't 15 years qualify Bettie Boo for a bit more than "visitor" status?") ;-) Thing about the rivers where I live is you can only go one direction on them … downstream. And Eaton's is a famous (but now defunct) department store here in Canada. BTW - Is that a Border Terrier? Hmm. I think Warwick Castle trumps Dudley, even with lions and tigers (ho hum … we have grizzlies and cougars in our backyard). ;-) But Black Country Living Museum is definitely on the list. Beer - check. Chips - check. And did you say CHOCOLATE??? CHECK! This route seems like it has lots of potential!

You are probably expecting me to say Alaska given our close proximity here in northern British Columbia but no, it is the Greek goddess. We were expecting a male puppy and so had selected "big" names for a small dog … we were considering Zeus, Ares and Hercules … but then the litter was mostly females, so we needed a new name. Juno it was. BTW - Juneau, Alaska is spelled differently. And very true about no road access. Gotta take a ferry for the last 150 km. After driving 1400 km from here. And we're considered "close". ;-) How about you?

Thanks so much Bettie Boo! A Canadian in England. Lovely. But then, how come I'm not in Tuscany then? I married an Italian! ;-) I can't believe your living on the canals! That is an enchanting idea. Reminds me of the houseboat "neighbourhoods" in Vancouver and Victoria harbours. Thanks so much for the suggestions. They are all great. Warwick Castle is definitely on the list now. It sounds perfect. My brother is in charge of London (he lives there) but he has also suggested just about everything you have so it's nice to get confirmation that he knows what he's doing. Here's to happy trails, er, canals!

Thanks Machpoint005. I will check out Manchester. The problem is: canals + beer + culture + spectacular countryside = half of England. I need the top 10 list for teen boys, an A-type husband and mom that wants educational opportunities AND farmers markets … and that can be done in a week. Where to start? My list is getting longer again …. ;-) Noted. Thanks Old Goat! Thanks for the suggestion of the South Oxford/Thames. We will check it out. The Cropredy Festival sounds perfect for us, but my dear dad is turning 80 and we have to be back in Canada for his birthday in early August. Rats! And please don't worry. We would NEVER bring a banjo to England. Canadians have manners! ;-) Seriously though, it is sad to hear that music is dwindling in your pubs. We have an image of fiddles around every corner in the UK. Please tell me the kitchen party still survives! I hear the comments about one week being too short, but tragically, we have jobs back home, and between relatives in London and Edinburgh, it's hard to justify two weeks on the canals. It would be so much easier if England was ugly and boring …. with no beer. Four weeks in total. Sigh. That's it. BTW - My Patterdale terrier is named Juno. ;-)

Thanks OldGoat. "Brum" is definitely getting votes so don't despair! It seems that others agree with you about its many virtues. However, we will be climbing onto the narrowboat not long after a week in London and so a route that is a bit quieter and less urban will be in order by then. My country boys definitely wilt after time spent in the city. However, the Black Country Living Museum looks fantastic and is on our "must do" list whether by boat or car. We are really looking forward to that, so thanks in particular for that suggestion. I was thinking more of a string of busy villages as long as they aren't separated by hours and hours of "ruminating cows" and trees (we are surrounded by both at home). We were quite keen on the Llangolen route initially because it kept appearing at the top of "Best Canal Routes" lists, but a bit more reading suggested that it's very lovely, but very rural and so we started to widen our search for something with more variety. And yes I agree about research, but there are just so many options that I needed some help narrowing the range of what to consider. Joining this forum was a brilliant move, if I do say so myself. ;-)

A zoo at a castle? Cool! I know the boys would love both. I checked out the website and even a castle ruin would be great because my boys live in a country that is too young to have ruined anything yet. Stone building-wise anyway. Thanks! Thanks eightacre. With the amount of info I've gathered so quickly from the great folks who've replied to my question, I think I'm ready to talk to the hire companies now. But there are so many routes and so many companies! So great to get recommendations from people first. Thanks keble! If we decide on the Stourport, we will definitely let you know. I've got "Kwaheri" on the chip already. Thanks for the "warning"! And the vote for the Stourport. I'm very curious to check it out but want to reply to all the great posts here before I turn to Google. Tour de France?! What a coincidence! I used to race for Canada … seems like 400 years ago now. This would be brilliant! Thanks JessicaBOO. Oh and I will definitely check out the Leeds/Liverpool suggestion. Can't beat local beer! Bikes and beer. Wow! This is going to be tough to beat. ;-) Thanks lewisericeric. I'll definitely check out the Trent & Mersey and Bridgewater canals. The museum sounds really fantastic. However, I don't want to give the impression that we want to avoid locks because they will definitely entertain my boys (and give me more time to read and sip undisturbed ;-) but it does seem to come down to more locks = less distance covered, so we'll have to consider which we want more. Thanks again for good suggestions.

Thanks John6767. We will check the Warwickshire Ring out. I suspected that there might not be a lot of options for one week ring routes, and this forum is definitely making that clear. We will check out the suggested routes and then if there doesn't seem to be one that meets our needs, we'll look for some more advice on a great out-and-back. It's so great to get advice from "been-there-done-that" people that are not trying to sell you something. Thanks very much Mike Tee. That's a good suggestion. And I'm sure there are castles elsewhere in England? "Brum"?/? Huh? Oh! Got it. ;-)

Thanks very much Scholar Gypsy. I'll l check out the Warwickshire ring. Even a synthetic dungeon is great for boys from such a young country that we just tied criminals to trees for lack of anything stronger. ;-) My brother lives in London so he'd be insulted if we spent our time on a narrow boat. Thanks for the Canal Plan link too. That will be helpful. Thanks Tuscan! Stourport Ring is on the list to check out today. And I have quite a list given all the great suggestions that came in while I slept last night. This is a really impressive forum.

Thanks very much Alan. I appreciate the input. My husband mentioned Birmingham for some interesting industrial heritage. I get the message that a week is not really a week and you obviously don't get very far unless you put the hours in. Instead of side trips, perhaps my boys can just run the towpaths between locks for eight hours? That should keep them occupied. ;-) I see you're up early … it's now 10:45 p.m. in western Canada so I'm off to bed. I'll check back in the morning.

Hi experts! I hope you can set us straight. We are a family of four from British Columbia, Canada, coming to England for a month in July. We want to do a canal boat tour as a way to slow down, rather than race from place-to-place the entire time. At home, we live in a rural area, and so endless countryside is not what we're looking for. Also, we have two boys aged 13 and 15, a "high energy" father, and of course, mom who tries her best to keep up but sometimes just waves goodbye to the men and settles down with a good book and glass of … well, I'm not fussy. We're looking for a week with a variety to keep us all happy. A good selection but not endless parade of locks, lifts, aqueducts etc., smaller villages with great pubs, fiddle music (we play), perhaps farmers markets, and ideally a side trip to a cool castle or anything with a dungeon. Did I say lots of pubs, fiddle music and great food? Perhaps a bit of industrial history for the boys too. The occasional wooded glen or farmer's field is lovely, but our focus would be more on town life. Mostly smaller is better, but a nice bustling destination one night would be great too. As we want to explore as we go, we'd rather not be on a schedule where we have to spend 7-8 hours/day underway. I can see 4-6 being about right. Given our "onward" mentality, a circle tour or one-way trip is our idea of a good time but I'm not sure if there are any routes that would meet our needs that can be done in a week without considerably more time "underway". Ideally, perhaps a short-break (one way) route that most would take 4-5 fairly busy days to complete, that we could spread out over a week. We are not set on any specific area of England and so are flexible about location. I would greatly appreciate some recommendations as to what routes to consider, or if we need to consider an out-and-back route. I know … it looks completely different coming from the other direction. ;-) BTW - Great forum! Thanks very much!