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kohaladonah

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  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    Hawaii
  • Occupation
    retired

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  1. Oh dear. I don’t think we’re up to the Hatton Flight. Maybe next time if we do okay on this one. We are trying to keep it to a few locks at a time. Donna
  2. Thanks so much, everyone! It is helpful to know that we can be a little more ambitious given our available time. We will be departing in early September and, so far as I know, not hitting any major bank holidays or festivals. Thank you as well for the notes on the pubs. I'll make a list to take with us. We're very excited to embark on this adventure. We've watched all of the Great Canal Journeys, read the boater's handbook cover to cover a couple of times, and watched lots of YouTube videos on how to do locks. Hopefully, we won't disgrace ourselves utterly or drain all the water out of the canal - a dear friend in the UK who knew about our plans sent us that press clipping! If any of you are out and about between September 8 and 22, we'll be on the Constance from Napton Narrowboats - be sure and give us a wave!
  3. We are a group of narrowboat newbies from the US (collectively a good deal of boating experience of one sort or another but no narrowboats) We are hiring from Napton Narrowboats and have two weeks. Our plan at this point is to go north through Braunston, perhaps spend a couple of nights in Coventry and do some sightseeing from there in the general area by public transportation, then go up the Ashby, see Bosworth Field and make our way back to Napton. We're not committed to any of this, but aren't particularly interested in routes with lots of locks (we're all seniors) and would love some feedback and ideas about good moorings near towns or pubs for our evening meals and possible sightseeing ideas along the route. Any advice and counsel gratefully accepted! Donna
  4. Seems to be decent bus service from Fenny Compton, although, as we get closer to the actual trip time, I will double check that. We've been very happy with the bus service in the UK on prior visits - seems to go everywhere and with a decent amount of frequency, even to seemingly really rural areas. Yet another thing that the UK has over the Colonies! I'm not sure at this point what else we might do while we are there, but at least my husband and I are likely to spend another couple of weeks knocking around before or after the canal portion of the trip. We've visited the Lake District and the Cotswolds, and spent some time in London on prior trips. We might go north into Yorkshire or perhaps to Cornwall or Wales this time. We don't really care to take on driving, though, so we're pretty dependent on there being good rail and/or bus service wherever we decide to visit.
  5. Thanks for all the suggestions (and linguistic guidance!) We haven't settled totally on it as yet, but are thinking about starting from Napton and going up the Ashby, with some time to explore Rugby, visit the Bosworth Battlefield, turning at the next to last winding hole on the Ashby, then making our way to Fenny Compton, and from there taking the bus to either Stratford and/or Gaydon for the British Motor Museum, then back to Napton. I've worked it out on the canal planner, and looked at the virtual cruise and it seems to be a pretty route with enough stopping places in nice villages with good pubs and restaurants and not too challenging for a bunch of senior citizen novices. I want to map out Mrs. Trackman's suggested route, too. I really liked where we could go in the direction of Stratford but found the locks pretty daunting - I didn't think of doing a mooring and land exploration before we had to deal with the locks, though. Great suggestion! Thank you all for your continuing assistance and suggestions!
  6. America and Britain, two countries divided by a common language! Railway Station it is!! (but a bonnet goes on your head, not your automobile....just saying...)
  7. Thanks so much for this! Very helpful and sounds as if it will fit the bill just about perfectly. We can manage the connection from the nearest train station, I expect You are all SO helpful!! Mahalo!
  8. Thanks, that is good to know. Since you are based there, do you have any recommendations as to a route we might do from Napton?
  9. I saw those, but, even with my sharing issues, it seemed a bit extravagant, plus 70 feet seemed to be a bit more daunting to steer and maneuver. It seems that many, if not all, hire companies will offer some kind of discount for longer rentals, and, I am hoping, also for shoulder season.
  10. lots of companies have 2 bedroom, 2 bath configurations, just not Norbury. ABC have lots, as do Napton.
  11. I find it hard enough to share a bathroom with my OWN spouse, let alone someone else's....
  12. If 'solid fuel stove' means wood burning, then, yes, they still have several, including Summer Wine. Alas, none with two showers, though.
  13. Thanks, to all, and particularly for the heating tip - since we are not only Americans, but from the South and Hawaii, we're cold all the time when it is below 70F, so will certainly inquire about the heating system! I wouldn't have thought of that. Brilliant! I LOVE this map-just like the tube map and I can now see how things hook up!
  14. We are two retired couples 60s and 70s but in decent shape, from the States (Hawaii and Alabama) with some boating experience but not canal or narrow boating. We'd like to do a narrowboat holiday, probably in either the late spring (mid-May) or early autumn (mid to late September) for 14 days. I have examined lots of hire boat sites, picked out the style of boat that I think will work for us, narrowed our choices down to ABC Boats, Napton Narrowboats, and Oxfordshire Narrowboats. Obviously, the choice of hire boat company and their starting place(s) will, to some extent, dictate exactly where we end up going, but at this point, I am looking at these three possiblilities, which I selected by looking at the Canal Plan virtual cruises: 1. Hayford to Henley 2. Gailey to Ripple Quarry 3. Autherley to Woodhouse Green's Meadows What we would like is a route that is interesting, relatively easy to do for first timers (who are also all seniors), where there are plenty of places to moor that are near (a mile or two) to towns/pubs and also places of interest to visit (castles, gardens, stately homes, museums, etc) We are also looking for a starting point that is convenient to public transportation, preferably train, but at least by train and bus. We'll likely be flying into Heathrow, but could also try for Manchester as there are a few flights there from the States. Are any of the above suitable, and/or are there other areas I should be looking? Also any thoughts on the hire boat companies would be helpful. Many thanks! Donna Brown
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