tipton1947

Thanks for all of the comments regarding September traffic on the Four Counties Ring! What kind of weather can we expect during September? 2016 UK Visit - Llangollen canal, Wales, and London https://goo.gl/photos/UzXb1e3GEhhNGMaTA 2018 UK Vistit - Wales, Llangollen canal, Devon, and Portsmouth https://photos.app.goo.gl/87ncgNTmniwdbaWC6

Hello again from the “experienced American couple”. We have decided to do the Four Counties Ring. In order to minimize crowds we are looking at a September time frame. Does this decision make sense? Is there a particular time in September when the traffic levels on the canals drop. Or is this scheme just naive? We have completed to previous trips. In 2016, we attempted the Llangollen canal at the end of July and found that we must have hit pretty much peak conditions. We did not complete the entire canal. In 2018 we returned in early June and found the crowds much reduced and the going much quicker. We are hoping to find September to be like June. We are all retired so we are pretty flexible in our timing.

Thanks for the further feedback and fixing my geographical cluelessness! Birmingham has never really been on my mental map of the UK. I have now looked at a real map and have a much better fix on the big cities! We did fly into Manchester on our second trip. I have some books on order and will be back with more questions.

Thanks for the feedback! With your input we looked further at the Four Counties Ring. It looks like it would do the trick for us. However, if possible, we think that we would opt for 14 days rather than 10 days. Leisurely is our thing! We would be looking at a June timeframe. What would be the most convenient access point to the ring based on coming from London on public transportation? We would plan on spending the night somewhere relatively near the marina so that we could get groceries and such sorted out well before going on board the boat. Any other suggestions.

We are an American couple with narrowboating “experience”. We have completed two trips on the Llangollen Canal. We think that we would like to have another narrowboat adventure in 2020. We are looking for suggestions for a 10 day or so trip. A ring would be nice, but no narrowboat on a river! Our interests include, but are not limited to: castles, gardens, steam trains, trout fishing, and history. We are both. 72 years old. Any suggestions?

Here are pictures. The narrowboat hire was part of a longer three week trip so the pictures also include Chester, Bath, Devon, and Plymouth. https://photos.app.goo.gl/87ncgNTmniwdbaWC6

In June my wife and I and two other couples completed a narrowboat cruise on the Llangollen Canal. For my wife and I and one couple it was our second narrowboat adventure, for the other couple it their first. In July 0f 2016 we attempted a 10 day round trip from Middlewich to Llangollen. I was warned that I might be biting off more than we could chew. On the fourth day we arrived in Ellesmere. We realized that to complete the trip as planned would have to push hard to get to Llangollen and then return to Middlewich. We decided that such a plan would not be fun. We spent two nights in Ellesmere and made a leisurely pub to pub return to Middlewich. We had a great time! On this first trip, each couple had their own boat, scheme that worked out very well. The plan for this second trip was to complete the first in very leisurely manner. We hired three boats from Crest Narrowboats, Chirk Marina, for pickup on Saturday, June 16. We would return the boats on Saturday, June 23. So, from the get-go, we were traveling at much less busy time than the end of July! One of our lessons learned from the first trip was not to get off the train and go directly to pickup our boats. I made reservations for Friday night at the Hand Hotel. Staying at the Hand would enable us to leisurely shop for groceries (a grocery store, a butcher shop, a bakery, and vegetable store just down the street from the hotel) in the morning before we picked up our boats. We had a bit of problem when checking in at the Hand, but it was solved to everyone’s satisfaction. We had dinner at the Indian restaurant across the street from the hotel. On Saturday morning our plan worked out fine. We had time to complete grocery shopping and even spend some time at Chirk Castle. We took a taxi from the Hand to Chirk marina. One of the things that we discovered on this trip was how (relatively) inexpensive the cost of a local taxi is when split among 6 or 4 people. The pickup time was 2:30. We were a little early, but I think that we were loaded up, briefed and out of there by 3:30 or 4:00. The briefing was pretty simple; how to operate the bilge pump, how to start the motor, how to push grease into the prop shaft gland every day, how to turn on the furnace, how to turn the AC power. There were warnings to run the engine at least 5 hours a day to insure a full charge on the household battery, and a stern warning to have two people in the cockpit when traversing a tunnel. And a warning to stay off the gunwales. And fill with water on a daily basis (we didn’t). A marina guy helped each boat get out onto the canal and we were on our way to Ellesmere. My plan was for us to spend the first night tied up near the Poacher’s Pocket pub. We transited the Chirk Tunnel and Chirk aqueduct without incident and without encountering any traffic. Some of the women expressed a desire to eat indoors, but it was packed so we ate outside. The weather was nice so that happened to be my personal preference. As this was our second narrowboat outing I have become used to ordering at the bar and can waltz into a pub and with perfect equanimity order a “half pint of diet coke” for my wife! The next morning there was a bit of excitement (Chinese fire drill) watching an inexperienced crew attempt to turn their boat around in the nearby winding hole. The had people ashore with lines and lots of shouting. I spoke to one of them. They were having fun! The cruise to Ellesmere was pretty uneventful. There was once case of having to suddenly stop and back up at a bridge as another boat came through. The boat following me managed to get crosswise in the canal. But things were sorted out without banging of boats or ill will! Somehow Thomas Telford had a knack for locating bridges at blind corners on the canal! We traversed the New Marton Locks without event. The two experienced lock “wenches” were able to show the new one how to do it. I decided that we should tie up and have lunch right beyond the lock. Then I realized that tying up at the bollards at approaches to the lock was not a good idea and we moved until we were well clear of the lock. There were few initial complaints from the others, but they pretty quickly realized that I was right. When we got to Ellesmere we turned around in the big pool in front Thomas Telford’s house where the Ellesmere arm takes off into town. We tied up on the “upstream” side of the canal. Two years before we had dinner at the Red Lion Inn. Visions of a repeat performance was dancing in our heads. Until were informed that two weeks previously there had been a serious fire in their kitchen. Only soup and sandwich were available! What a letdown! We did some looking. It was Sunday evening; the choices were limited. The Greek place was booked solid. We ended up at the Indian restaurant. This was Indian for the second time in three nights. In the UK Indian food is pretty reliable. But! The next day (we planned two nights in Ellesmere) we performed one of our traditions. The women went exploring and the men went to the launderette (laundromat as we call them). While we had been on the canal for only two nights, we had been in the UK for five nights and knew this was an opportunity not to be missed. As before the only customers in the launderette were male (must be the 21st century). We had a quite a conversation with another retired fellow. He had become (made?) redundant in the 1980s. Spent a couple of years exploring Europe with his wife with a caravan and then took job training to be a long-haul truck driver for another 20 years. In the course of our conversation we told him that seemed like every eatery in town had taken advantage of the fire at Red Lion to do maintenance on their kitchens. He gave a recommendation for dinner. On the way back to the boats we checked out the dinner place. A fish and chips and fried chicken take away and eat in restaurant. It looked ok, better than Indian again. We decided to return for dinner. We met the wives back at the boats and decided to walk up the tow path to Blake’s Mere. Blake’s is pretty but nothing special (I am from Minnesota, I have seen lots of lakes!). It did look like good place to fish if you had the requisite permit. We had dinner at the fish and chips place I previously mentioned. The food was fine. In the travel forums there is always someone raving about the “best fish and chips ever” that they have someplace in the UK. I don’t eat fish and chips, but the input from my companions is that all of the fish that they have had in the UK have been very good. Far superior to anything you can get in the USA. The next day, Tuesday, was to be our longest day on the water. Our goal was to cross two aqueducts and traverse two tunnels and end up in the Trevor. Some confusion on my part precipitated my “adventure” in Trevor. There were only two minor incidents during the trip to the entrance of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. At the Marton Locks someone decided that the bollards at the entrance to the lock would be a good place to tie up for lunch! This caused some otherwise unnecessary congestion. We were lucky at the Chirk Aqueduct, Chirk Tunnel, and the White Houses Tunnel and encountered no oncoming traffic as we traversed them. There was a little traffic on the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. We had to tie-up and wait it out. The wait was probably longer than necessary due to a tour boat just cutting into line to cross the aqueduct. But the wait was not really very long. At the end of July, it was probably a lot longer! Crossing the aqueduct was pretty cool. But it is difficult to take a picture from a boat that really shows just how high and how long the aqueduct is! My first real adventure occurred in Trevor. I naively thought that we could tie for the night in the Trevor basin. I entered the basin after passing the excitement at the Anglo Welsh docks. I found a single spot to tie up. No room at all for the two other boats. Fortunately, they were smart enough to make the turnaround immediately when they say that there was no room available for them and to continue up the canal toward Llangollen. I, however, had to come off the quay and turn around. Without getting in the way of Jones the Boats. And it had become very windy! With the wind it took quite a bit of backing and filling to turn around. In the process I completely misjudged the distance from the bow of the boat to quay and hit it dead on at while attempting full speed! With the result of putting a dent in the bow of the boat and spilling must of the glassware off the shelves in the galley and breaking it! Shortly thereafter, on the way out of the basin I hit the quay again and knocked a glass bowl off the table in the salon and broke it. My wife was not a happy camper as she tried to clean up the mess. There were no more bare feet in the galley and the salon after these episodes! I caught up with our companions about quarter mile up the main canal where they were tied up. There was no more drama or adventure for the day. We had dinner at the Thomas Telford Inn. Being ignorant Americans, we were mystified and entertained by the “Welsh Faggots” on the menu board. The meatballs were ok. We got going fairly early to get through the two one-way spots on the final stretch of the canal to Llangollen. When we reached the first of these we sent the women forward with a phone to warn oncoming traffic and to give us the all clear. This worked out fine. Except there were a couple of boats tied in Llangollen that were hot to go and the skippers were sort of put out when told that there were boats approaching and to not get on the canal yet. When I arrived, I was not aware of the minor confrontation and cheerfully greeted someone who was he who had been upset. The fellow sort of snarled back at me for taking so long. I think it was personal problem! The wives urged us to tie up on the mooring on the east end of town. The first that you encounter. I thought that I knew better and wanted to tie in the marina. So, I proceeded to marina (you have to go there to turn around) and secured the bow of the boat. The other guys followed me, turned around and proceeded back to where the wives were waiting, as originally instructed. I was rather irked about being ignored but decided that I needed to join the rest of them. So, I tried to back out and join them. But I wasn’t getting anywhere! After thrashing a lot of water, it dawned on me that I hadn’t untied the bow rope! Cursing myself, I sorted this out and proceeded back to where the other guys were now tied up and the ladies were waiting for me. There are some one-way spots as you pass the wharf area that are not mentioned in the guides. But I didn’t encounter anyone. The mooring location was excellent. The wives were right. They are always right! We split up and did some exploring. We had dinner at the Gallery. It was very good! The next morning two of us went to the m’Eating Point for breakfast. It was pretty good. It opened at 9:00 am. Where I live that would be late for breakfast, the places that serve breakfast open by 7:00 am. The whole group, all six of us, met at the railway station to take the train to Berwyn so we could visit Horseshoe Falls. I had hoped to take the horse drawn narrowboat to the falls, but it only runs on the weekend. But steam trains are very satisfactory! When we got of the train at Berwyn we had about two hours to walk up to Horseshoe Falls and to visit the nearby Church. But two hours didn’t give us enough time to have a bite to eat at the Chainbridge Hotel. We ate our sandwiches at the Berwyn Rail station. I had a brief conversation with a volunteer who was doing some maintenance. I was impressed that he was wearing period dress for his work! I think that afternoon the guys took naps while two of the wives visited the home of the Ladies of Llangollen. We had dinner at the Corn Mill. It was also very good. We were pretty happy with all the meals we had on the trip. We just had one too many Indian meals! The next morning, we got an early start to minimize encounters between Llangollen and Trevor and on the aqueducts and the tunnels. This scheme worked fine except that we encountered another boat going towards Llangollen just as it had entered the area where concrete lined canal bed makes the canal essentially one-way. We managed to pass with much backing up on the other boats part and bottom scrapping on our part. Crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was uneventful. At Bridge 28W I tied up and my 70 year old wife scurried forward to lift the bridge. This was a bit of an effort and she paused to catch her breath. The boat following us, operated by the couple who had not previously been in narrowboat kept on coming. Passing under the partially open bridge. He asked why the bridge wasn’t open all the way. My wife snarled her response! The rest of the way to Chirk Marina was uneventful. We were moored in the marina by noon. We had lunch at the pub. After lunch the wives took a taxi to visit Chirk Castle again. The guys loafed. We spent the night on the boats and were out of there in plenty of time in the morning. The fellow in the office barely winced when I described my misadventures with the boat. We had a great time.

Thanks! I was able to order the Collins book in the US.

I found this one on Amazon: The Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland: A New Guide to Our Wild Flowers (Tandem) (Paperback) ??

After I asked about plant books it occurred to me that must also be apps with that sort of info. So what are the apps that you have found useful during your narrowboat travels. I am interested in both IOS and Android apps.

We have our boat hire for June 2018 finalized. Chirk - Llangollen - Ellesmere - Chirk. Three couples in three boats. The wives are serious gardeners and wild flower enthusiasts (they really enjoyed the Fenn's, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve on the last trip). My wife was amazed at the profusion of plant life along the canal. As Christmas is approaching I am looking for suggestions for one or two books that would help her identify plant life during our next trip. Any suggestions?

Having groceries delivered is a great idea. Have many of you done so. My concern is that if the delivery doesn't make it on time you will have some real problems at the last minute. My wife thought that going to the Tesco website would help make out a shopping list showing what is available.

Hi All, Thanks for your input. It has been most helpful! I have a few more questions. 1. We found from our experience last year that it would be better to spend a night locally prior to picking up the boat. This gives us time to get groceries and otherwise oriented. So we plan on arriving in Chirk on Friday and do grocery shopping Saturday morning. Any suggestions as to where to stay in Chirk? 2. We will be picking up our boats on Saturday afternoon. Is better to head out for Llangollen immediately or go the other direction to Ellesmere? 3. Everyone involved is very excited! Thanks!

Thanks for all of the info! This is really the kind of stuff I was looking for. At this time we have gotten another couple turned on to this scheme so now I need find a hire outfit that can provide three boats for us.

After discussion with my wife and the other couple who joined us on our trip in July of 2016 we have decided to finish our exploration of the Llangollen canal. Previously we got as far as Ellesmere before returning to Middlewich. We plan to hire boats at either Trevor or Chirk and then run to Llangollen and to Ellesmere and back (or vice versa). This should be pretty easy, I think, in the middle of June. 1. Am I correct in thinking that 7 nights is plenty of time to make such a round trip while spending two nights each in both Ellesmere and Llangollen? 2. What are the chances of moorings in Llangollen at this time of year? 3. What are the complications of traversing the Chirk tunnel and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct? Is it first come first served, is there some sort of traffic control? Or what? Any input would be welcome.

Thanks all for the input. The Caldon Canal looks great! I expect that we will end up completing our trip to LLangollen, but this an excellent alternative. We may be back again! My wife is a serious baker. The patisserie class at Ashburton is for her 70th birthday. In 2016 we were in Wales on her birthday and I completely forgot on the day. I went fly fishing all day instead. I expect to explore Devon and Dartmoor with my camera and fly rod while she cooks.

In July of 2016 my wife and I and another couple attempted to make the round trip from Middlewich to LLangollen in 10 days. I received input from folks on this forum that I might be biting off more than I could chew for a trip during the height of summer. They were right! We made it as far as Ellesmere and decided to turn around for a leisurely, pub to pub, return to Middlewich. While we did. While we did not get to LLangollen and cross the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct we had a great time! So we are planning to return in June of 2018 for another cruise. I have two basic ideas: 1. Hire boats (each couple drives their own boat, a better way to remain friends) from Trevor or Chirk and spend a very leisurely week covering the area that we missed in 2016. 2. Go somewhere else, new to us. I am looking for suggestions. With no more than 6 hours a day on the water (give or take. One or two long days might be ok.) we would be interested in a trip with the following: Castles Gardens Historical small towns Pubs!! Steam trains ??? We are coming from the USA. We are retired so time is not too much of an issue. I am looking at June because my wife has a cooking class in Ashburton, Devon that starts on June 25. Any suggestions?

Back in January or February I posted on the Forum asking about the possibility of making the roundtrip from Middlewich to LLangollen and back in 10 days. My trip was planned for the end of July and early August. I picked the dates to escape the summer heat of my native Arkansas. The consensus seemed to be that the trip was “doable” but that I might be pushing it. As it happened we did not make it to LLangollen, but we had a great time! Basically by the fourth night out we at Ellesmere. It was pretty clear that we could not make it LLangollen without pushing hard with long days. That would not be much fun. So we decided to two nights at Ellesmere; explore the town, get groceries, do laundry and then return to Middlewich in a very leisurely manner. Our plan was pretty simple, we would end each short day near a pub; Dusty Miller, Whitchurch, Old Barbridge Inn, Badger Inn, and then downtown Middlewich. That plan worked out great! For navigation we used Pearson’s Welsh Waters for detail descriptions of canal side attractions and services and the e-canal app for real-time location info. Worked out very well. For all of my logistical planning for getting to the UK, through London, Crewe, and on to Middlewich I neglected to do any meal planning! So when we got to the small Tesco near Andersen boats my wife did it on the fly. It worked out but was not very efficient. Carrying the bags of groceries back to the boatyard across the busy traffic was an adventure in itself. We pretty quickly learned how to operate the boat and the locks. Sometimes the cranks on the gate paddles took a lot of effort, more than my little old lady wife might have, but there was usually someone else also working the lock to help. We never had any problems transiting locks. I was unable to reverse with any control except straight back. I never did figure out how to steer in reverse. I learned that when going forward I could make a sharp change in direction by holding the tiller all the way over and applying full throttle. The stern would move sideways with very little additional acceleration. I managed to avoid running aground and to make no more than a few glancing blows against other boats. Everyone we met, except for one glaring exception, was cheerful and friendly. My wife especially enjoyed talking to, for the most part, the other wives while working the locks. She would point out how the men were “husbanding” their strength as we waited in queue for the lock. People often note our accent and we would explain that we lived in the middle of nowhere in the Ozarks of Arkansas. There were a few discussions of Donald Trump. We waved at and greeted all of the boats we met and got the same in return. The exception one who complained to the effect that we were taking our half out of the middle of the canal. We weren’t and were actually working closer to the canal side. My wife tried to explain, but I shushed her. There is not answer to this sort of a$$ except an expletive, which I withheld. Everyone else, including ourselves, seemed to be willing to give the benefit of doubt to people having trouble controlling their boats. I found that a positive comment about a well maintained boat was always appreciated. We really enjoyed the pubs, they were one of the highlights of the trip. Previously we had been too shy (sounds silly does it not) to go into one. Now I can order a pint of lager or diet coke with the greatest aplomb. My wife acquired a taste for the hard cider on tap. The food was always good and the Wi-Fi provided our connection to the rest of the world. We had a great time and I appreciate the input that I got from the folks on this forum. And the night time temperatures at home in Arkansas were higher than the day time temperatures on the canal! My pictures are at: https://goo.gl/photos/UzXb1e3GEhhNGMaTA They include some pictures from Wales where we went next.

We will be starting our Narrowboat float/cruise with two bags of clothing and stuff that we have brought by air from the USA. The stuff beyond the clothing will be photo gear and electronics. The boat is purported to be fully equipped. However I am sure that there are items that we should bring or obtain that will be useful/important to have during the trip. Do you (all) have any suggestions? Thanks!

My wife and I will be doing the LLangolen Canal at the end of July and 1st of August. (I have an earlier post as to whether this is a good idea or not). We are flying from the US to the UK with a single bag for each of us. When we start the float we will have been the UK already for two nights. It would be nice to have an opportunity to do some laundry somewhere along the canal. Is this an option or will we be washing our stuff in a sink and hanging in throughout the boat to dry.

Paul C., do you have any web sites for online shopping?

I missed something. Thanks for the info and help!

I have confirmed a a Narrowboat hire from Friday July 22 to Monday Aug. 1, with Andersen Boats. We are exited!

Wow, that route planning website is really cool! T'hanks for the reference!

Regarding adventure. In our family we tend to agree with the statement of a famous Arctic explorer: "adventure is a sign of incompetence!" We have done a lot of international travel both in our professional lives and in retirement. We try to minimize the "adventure" of getting from Arkansas to the "target" country. However once we are there we consider the "adventure" of riding public transportation to get around as a positive part of the "adventure" of visiting a foreign country. Any unplanned adventure that you survive makes for a good story later on.