Captain Pegg

I don't think your assertion that gas water heaters are rarely if at all fitted to narrowboats is in any way accurate. Rusty has one and so do I. An old Morco D51b in my case. I renewed my BSS earlier this year and I specifically asked my surveyor about the need to replace it. He said there was no requirement to do so and that it still functioned fine for my needs. Like Rusty I haven't experienced any problems with its ability to supply a shower. I don't have a calorifier so it's my only source of hot water. The advantage is that the amount of hot water isn't limited by the amount that has been heated and stored by running the engine. JP

Being disconnected from the main system the forum isn't actually that familiar with the Mon & Brecon. The same can be said of the Lancaster which is only recently and restrictively connected. You seem to have suggested these based on scenery so I think you need to decide if you want to kill two birds with one stone - canals and scenery - or opt for the most suitable canal journey. My experience of family hire trips both as a child and as a parent is that kids like locks and tunnels to keep them interested and active. Neither the Mon & Brec or the Lancaster offer much on the way of either. Also neither are really long enough for a 7-10 day trip. The Llangollen would be the choice from your list and it's an easily feasible 7-10 days from say Wrenbury but it is a long way on ordinary canal to get to the scenic bit which is essentially the top 10 miles or so. For a holiday of that duration you may be much better off with the Leeds & Liverpool canal if scenery is a key factor. As far as the Midlands canals go the Ashby is a canal I wouldn't advise for children. It's a minimum of two full days with very little for them to do. To make matters worse the second of those days will essentially be the first of them in reverse. As an aside my wife and I both rate the trips we each did to Bosworth battlefield as pretty much the most boring day of our respective childhoods. What rivals it for me was spending a very long day on a cruise around Loch Lomond watching the view barely change for hour after hour after hour. That's why I think the canal itself has to offer something for the children. If you can stretch to 10 days you will have no problem with the main cruising rings. I don't subscribe to the idea that they pose a risk to getting home or rushing any more than an out and back trip that aims for a particular point. I think they are fine for folk who like to plan ahead and less so for those who are more spontaneous by nature. All of the major rings involve significant numbers of locks but the Stourport, Warwickshire, Cheshire and Four Counties rings are all achievable in 7 days and should be comfortable in 10 days. They all also have at least one full day of mostly cruising with few if any locks. All have places of interest to visit and I am sure the forum will advise of those if you decide to do one of these. The Oxford Canal is good advice for a combination of all things. And lastly I doubt even CWDF's Scottish members would recommend the Scottish canals. JP

I am also a fan of rings but I just don't think there is an obvious one that fits the brief. The Avon Ring is very nice but it doesn't really fit the conditions set out by the OP. It is hard work. 58 locks up the W&B, 55 on the Stratford and mostly in long flights, and then the Avon locks themselves which are not the most boater friendly. Also I don't think there is two weeks worth of worthwhile cruising in that area without a lot of locks for an out and back trip. If not the Staffs & Worcs another suggestion would be to hire at Oxford or Heyford and complete the whole Oxford Canal to Sutton Stop and return. It's countryside almost all the way and has a proper canal destination at the end plus a good few along the way. JP

I can't say I ever bothered too much about what might happen. Just planned what I was going to do and got on and did it, delays or no delays. Early starts and late finishes often allow you to see the canal at it's best. At 6 hours a day you'll have the afternoons for mucking about. JP

How is that any different from the same happening after you have turned on an out and back trip? i don't really get the anti-ring views that are often aired. When I hired I wanted to discover new canal and a ring is the best way to do that. To answer the question exploring the Staffs & Worcs as suggested would be good; the southern half is a beautiful waterway. Over two weeks there would be a lot of opportunity to view other things. It's lucky then that you can visit such places as Shugborough Hall, Wightwick Manor, Kinver rock houses and the Severn Valley Railway. It might still not stretch to two weeks but there is also the option of exploring the southern end of the Shropshire Union which is as near as damn it lock free. The Staffs & Worcs is far from lock free but they are generally encountered one at a time, the major rings all have significant lock flights in them. To many that's part of the attraction of course. JP

I have no need to do that. See Dr Bob's comments above. What was an aspiration in 2009 remains so today. Synthetic sleepers are still only used on a trial basis. The stacks of sleepers you see being delivered to Whitemoor Yard for track replacement work will be steel or hardwood. Concrete sleepers will arrive already loaded onto rail wagons in far greater numbers. JP

Plastic sleepers are not in normal usage on the national rail network. I did a shift on the cob at Porthmadog about five years ago installing recycled plastic sleepers on a winter's day of severe winds and tidal flooding. In the words of Jones the Steam it was jumping cold. JP

FFU. Sounds terribly impolite but trials so far suggest it will be successful. Recycled plastic is in use on light railways. JP

What yas it?

Only softwood sleepers are treated, not hardwood. I think that name you are forgetting is concrete. JP

Sounds all above board to me. Must be right!