mrpaulo

We have had a few holidays on canals and are forward planning, it will be an investment but one that will be for leisure not CC or liveaboard. So far we have only cruised canals, so perhaps hiring so we can try a river next time might be a good idea, the question was borne out of a lack of knowledge, but being aware that most of the reports of boats losing moorings or being affected by flooding seem to be when on a river.

Hi, We are based down south and not really able to move due to family and work commitments, but are looking eventually to buy a narrowboat. We are limiting our planning to mooring on canals as we are unsure about rivers as they are tidal, more prone to flooding. For example avoiding the Kennet and Avon (we know it's busy too!) as it would require using rivers to get to the main network of canals. I am wondering if we are being over cautious about this and if we should be expanding our planning so we might be able to find either a river mooring nearer home or something on the K&A, understanding that we can easily get on the network if we want to. Advice on the difference between boating on canals, rivers and navigations would be really helpful and help us to understand what we might want to plan for. Thanks Paul

Thanks to everyone for their input - my question was one of concern as what seemed a bustling community seemed very quiet when we went this year. Interestingly we didn't know about the new narrow boat programme that started on channel 4 this week, or the amount of people who vlog on Youtube about their liveaboard experiences until we came back from our trip, so this seems to be a thing now! Would it be fair for me to conclude that the holiday market has nose dived, most likely costs, but with the increase of work at home jobs, or flexibility in the workplace liveaboard has increased, which might mean less moving about? We still saw boats moored up it was the low amount of traffic that surprised us. Sorry for the enquiries, it always has and will be a long term goal to own a narrow boat, so we are interested if the community feel we experienced in the past will still be there when we get to do it! Thanks again Paul

Thanks all! I think comments on the hire industry this year reflect what we were thinking too, it's a shame as it is a great holiday, and as we were a family with grown up children in the party we were able to share the cost - I can see that for a family with 3 or 4 small kids the cost of a 6 person boat in peak season might put you off! We also thought the same as Jen-in-wellies when we were going into Birmingham itself, one part we did describe as "crack alley", but we are hardy souls and were chatty from the boat with the group "socialising" there, so there was no trouble. We also enjoyed working the locks and someone who walked down the Farmers Bridge flight and then back up again commented we had completed those in good time. We moored at the 4 day mooring right on Gas Street Basin and the biggest disturbance was the wind for the two nights we were there, and we really liked being able to access the night life. (It was Peaky Blinders that made me want to go there in the first place!!) I think we enjoyed the quiet out on the canals - less pressure and locks were all our own, but did notice that we had to fill most of them as we had no one coming up ahead of us, perhaps a bit more company would have been nice! Thanks for the welcome and feedback - we are looking to cruise again soon and have long term plans to buy so will be following the forum closely! Thanks Paul

Hi, Following a few holiday's a few years ago we have just come back to cruise the Birmingham mini-ring from Wootton Wawen via the Grand Union and back down from the top of the Stratford. About 10 years ago we spent a week pootling on the Kennet and Avon from Bath where it was not just busy with moored boats, but we regularly passed other boats, or met them at locks. We were aware that the Kennet and Avon could get busy, we thought we would head to the midlands, but considering we were travelling the first week of the Easter break, making use of the bank holiday, we barely encountered any other boats on the whole trip. Working our way into Birmingham also brought a lot of attention from builders and passers-by watching us work the Ashton and Farmers Bridge locks, taking photos and some kids stopping to watch and ask how it worked - which of course we obliged. Our question really is why it was so quiet? Are less people hiring (cost of living maybe, or after covid cheap package holidays abroad are more enticing), or was it going into Birmingham? Genuinely interested in people's thoughts? Thanks Paul