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Thank you all for the suggestions. I thought my daughter would love the tunnel and it is not far from Barnoldswick, but I will wind just after. I thought the lock-keepers at the Bingley Five and Three-Rise locks were only to keep an eye on the boats. I will consider extending my trip to Saltaire and maybe even beyond.

I apologize for disappearing suddenly without responding to the last few posts. I wanted to check a couple of things about the route before responding when a few minor crises at work kept me incredibly busy; I am now looking forward to this vacation ever more than before! @JesicaBOO: Thanks! @captain birdseye: Again, thanks, but as my second post said, I have already reserved a boat starting from Skipton. The Caldon will have to wait till the next time. @magictime: I agree that Apperly Bridge to Barnoldswick is ~ 7 days. But this would have 56 locks in all, which I thought was a little too many - on my previous (and first ever) trip, we had 24 locks in 4 days and that seemed about right. So, I was thinking of the section between Nelson and Bingley (just before the five-rise) as this would have 44 locks, and walk to see the Bingley five-rise and Saltaire. And this route would, according to canalplan.org.uk, take only 5 full days. Anyway, as you suggest, the area seems lovely and if I take my time with a few leisurely walks, there should be plenty to do for a week.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It turns out that my friend booked a boat starting from Skipton before I could use your inputs. The main issue was that the last week of July was the only possible time me and my friend could go on this together, and I was finding it difficult to get a boat on any of the canals I was looking at. So I had told him to also see if he got something, and when he did, he reserved it at once. So, for this year, its the L&L from Skipton! I was actually considering the Mon and Brec as well as Staff and Worcs - perhaps the next time. And the Llangollen if I can make it off season! I did not know that one way hires were possible. I did see one (and only one) from Hudersfield to Barnoldswick, but thought that with the sheer number of locks, it would too rushed for a week. Now that I am starting in Skipton, I suppose I will go east for a while, and then come back and go west, eventually covering the part between Apperley Bridge to Barnoldswick - but isn't that very short for a week, even if I take it easy? @JesicaBOO: I did check your boats, but the maximum capacity was 4. Actually I somehow did not prefer Skipton as a starting point as it is in the middle of the route, but well.. Thanks for reassuring me about the safety - just that I am not very good dealing with trouble makers.

Hello Everybody, Last year, together with my wife and daughter, I had my first narrow-boat holiday (a mid-week break) going from Congleton to the Bugsworth Basin and back, and had received a lot of really useful suggestions prior to my trip. Though we had a lovely time, I did not think I would be doing one again a year later. But as my daughter's school vacation is approaching, I find myself trying to put together another narrow-boat trip! I am planning to make this a week long, and would be accompanied for around half of it by a friend, his wife and their 1 year old son. I am looking for a route that has very nice scenery, not too crowded, and stays as rural as possible. A bonus would be sections with somewhat hilly scenery (I loved the view down into the valley at the Peak Forest Canal), and some interesting walks. Right now, the Leeds and Liverpool canal looks very very appealing, but for the dates I am interested in, there is only one boat available at Skipton. Also, if I want to confine myself to the more rural part, I am not sure if there is enough for a whole week. Another possibility is to start at Congleton as I did last year, but plan a longer route. I do not have too much choice anyway as most boats on any canal for the period I am interested in are booked - I will have to finalize something soon! I would be happy to receive suggestions for routes on these canals (or even other canals). The last time around, I had also asked questions about safety in and around Stoke-on-Trent (after reading reports on this forum), but finally never headed in that direction. I thought this was something particular to some of the larger urban centres, but today I chanced upon several posts talking about vandalism and troublemakers on the Leeds and Liverpool, and even in Skipton. Any advice or suggestions? Is, for example, the Macclesfield better in this regard? Or these are just very rare isolated events that get blown out of proportion? Thanks !

Thank you mayalld and StephenA for your suggestions.

Thanks StarUKKiwi, will keep your suggestions in mind.

Yes, I did mean from Scholar Green near Congleton. Even assuming 5 hours, it should be doable on the first day - only point is that I have no idea how much time to factor in for my complete lack of experience . Anyway, as suggested by IDS, I will ask Heritage from whom I am renting. Thanks again, everyone.

A final question that just popped up: It appears that I am not allowed/supposed to moor in a flight of locks. I start at around 2 p.m on the first day, and according to canaplan.eu, it takes 3 hours to the Bosley Lock #12 and 5 hours to get through the flight and past Lock #1. Given that I have zero experience with locks (or with narrowboats), is it prudent to moor before the Bosley Lock #12 for the first night? Or if it is not too hard to get the hang of it all, and it takes only a little more time than suggested, I could try to get through the flight that day itself. I don't want to start going through the flight and discover mid-way that it is taking waaay longer than suggested, which would make it impossible not to moor within the flight.

@captain birdseye: Thanks for the suggestions.

Thanks everybody for the answers and suggestions. I will then aim for Marple junction, and if time permits, turn into the Upper peak Forest Canal.

@IDS: Thanks for the many suggestions, especially about the busier times at locks - I had not considered that possibility at all. I am also attracted to the idea of going to the Peak Forest canal (Lower) to see the Marple aqueduct, but this has perhaps too many locks for a first time cruise? I have absolutely no idea how tiring it is to operate a lock. @IDS, @mayalld: How does the Shropshire Union compare to the Macclesfield and Caldon?

Sorry if I didn't make it clear - It is a mid-week break, starting on a Monday afternoon (say, around 2 p.m) and returning on Friday early morning (9 p.m) - so not more than an hour or two on the last day.

Hello Dave, Thanks for the prompt reply. And yes, I am hiring from Heritage, and will give you a wave if I see you.

I am visiting the UK with my wife and 9 year old daughter and someone I know suggested a trip on a narrowboat, and it sounded really interesting. Browsing through various forums, I saw that the names of the Maccelsfield and Caldon canals often came up as some of the nicer canals, and as there was a boat available from near Congleton, I ended up reserving it for a mid-week break. I thought that Congleton to the end of the Caldon and back was a nice idea, and the Harecastle tunnel would be very interesting, especially for my daughter. I should mention that this would be my first ever time on a narrowboat. Now that my trip to the UK is only days away, I was looking at finalizing some of the finer details of my narrowboat trip (how much to cruise each day, mooring points, etc). And while browsing forums including this one, I came across a couple of issues that has led me to seek advice. The first point is that it appears that the part of the canal around Stoke isn't very pretty. Now, if it was a longer trip, this would be a minor point. But with just a mid-week break, I am wondering if I would be spending a good fraction of my time in this "not-so-nice" portion of the canal. The other issue is safety - I read many reports suggesting that one should moor well outside Stoke, as well as reports of stones/bricks being thrown, and racism (I am brown skinned) while travelling through Stoke. And if I travel down the Caldon, Stoke is a natural mooring point on the first day - I either have to do quite a lot on the first day (which is not a full day) to get past Stoke, or do too little so that I moor on this side of Stoke, and that would leave a bit too much for the other days. All this has set me thinking. I could also travel the other way on the Maccelsfield (say to Marple and back)-,or perhaps go along the Shropshire Union or some other route altogether. But if the Harecastle and the later part of the Caldon are more interesting/prettier than any other alternatives (in spite of the section around Stoke) and there are no safety issues (including mooring), I could stick with my original plan. I am open to any thoughts, suggestions, advice. The only restriction is that I have to start from and return to Congleton (as I believe I cannot cancel the booking). Thanks.