[6 American Couples Chirk - Ellesmere - Llangollen - Chirk]

Hope we four do as well!

[Good stopping places and pubs]

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

[Good stopping places and pubs]

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! 

[Good stopping places and pubs]

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

[Advice for newbies]

That sounds like a good plan, and not too many locks. Going from Napton to Stratford and back is a tough route unless you really do want to do a lot of locks.

 

The only thing I would say is that if you have time in the UK outside the boat hire period, why not go to Stratford then, even the day you will have taken the boat back first thing in the morning. Is there a decent bus service fron Fenny Compton anyway?

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.

[Advice for newbies]

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!

[Advice for newbies]

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...)

[Advice for newbies]

Napton offers a great choice of routes that match your original post (OP) wish list. 14 days will take you to Oxford and back, passing thro' Banbury (Cross) with time to spare if the weather is bad and to properly explore Oxford. The locks are single and well spaced and the route winds (literally) thro' classic English countryside. Otherwise you can head towards Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick (Castle) thro' double locks which seem more daunting but you'll nearly always be accompanied by another boat for advice, conversation and sometimes friendship. Downside is that it's a bit inaccessible except by Taxi/Uber from Leamington or Rugby - 10+ miles.

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

 

If you are coming from London (Change Reading) or Heathrow (Air bus to Reading) check the train fairs to Rugby, Leamington Spa and Banbury. I find the fare from Reading to Banbury is far cheaper than Reading to Leamington Spa. I think it is because First GW terminate at Banbury and/or Banbury used to be at the end of the Network South East area. The cost of taxis seems to be similar (We go to Callcut) and we use Cross Country Trains, not FGW. Direct bus from Leamington Spa to with in maybe 200 yards of Napton Narrowboats (Kings Head, Napton). Hourly service but not on Sundays, departs about 5 minutes walk of Leamington station.

 

One or two hourly bus services from Banbury and Rugby to Southam but no decent connection for the bus to Napton (Kings Head) and taxis very hit and miss from Southam unless booked.

You are all SO helpful!! Mahalo!

[Advice for newbies]

We moor close to the Napton Narrowboats base at Napton in Warwickshire, and the boats are very well presented. I don't think you would go far wrong with using them if you like the layout.

You are right it you don't need the 70ft one a bit shorter one would make life a bit easier.

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?

[Advice for newbies]

It surprised me but it seems that some of the Napton boats even have 3 bathrooms in a 70ft boat http://www.napton-marina.co.uk/boats/regency/regency_6d.php. You can have 2 bathrooms in a 61ft boat, which is probably a better choice for the OP, and a bit "cheaper" http://www.napton-marina.co.uk/boats/regency/regency_4.php

 

For 2 week holidays look for "deals" on the second week, for example from the Napton web site currently

 

 

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.

[Advice for newbies]

How very strange.

I think you will struggle to find a boat with 2 showers. I think some larger hire boats would have 2 separate toilets, but I can't say I've ever heard of a boat having 2 showers.

lots of companies have 2 bedroom, 2 bath configurations, just not Norbury. ABC have lots, as do Napton.

[Advice for newbies]

Why would you need 2 showers?

I find it hard enough to share a bathroom with my OWN spouse, let alone someone else's....

[Advice for newbies]

Norbury have (still have?) boat(s) with wood burning stoves.

 

We hired 'Summer Wine' back in 2010 and look what that led to!

 

 

ETA Norbury Wharf is a taxi ride from Stafford railway station, fast trains from Euston (London)

If 'solid fuel stove' means wood burning, then, yes, they still have several, including Summer Wine. Alas, none with two showers, though.

[Advice for newbies]

Hi,

 

Heyford to Henley would be my choice, mix of canal and the River Thames, excellent scenery, especially on the latter, and if you have time the Thames up to Lechlade is really good. You will probably see England at it's very best on this trip and may well catch the start of the Autumn 'tints' through the Goring gap.

 

Make sure the boat has a decent heating system as most of the Americans I have encountered over the years complain about the cold and you need some where to dry out if it rains.

 

Convenient station at Heyford.

 

Have fun,

 

L.

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.

Do you have a canal map to study? - that makes route planning easier I think, especially if you want to do a circular route rather than out or back, which gives a bit more variety (though it is fair to say that most canals look very different going from B to A rather than A to B ).

 

You would have time to do a leisurely cruise around the four counties ring - from Gailey or Autherley, ie Autherley-Barbridge-Middlewich-Great Haywood-Autherley.

110 miles, 94 locks , 60 hours. A very relaxing trip with a mixture of canal types, scenery, and a tunnel.

 

You could extend this in several ways, for example

• to add in the Caldon canal down to Froghall, 144 miles, 128 locks 81 hours
• to include Manchester and Marple - 180 miles, and 124 locks, 91 hours

Edited to add: I quite like this map

Brilliant! I LOVE this map-just like the tube map and I can now see how things hook up!

[Advice for newbies]

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

 

 

[Are you new to boating?? CLICK HERE]

Aloha all,

 

We (my husband, me and two of our friends) are considering a narrowboat holiday in the UK. All of us are retired, from the US (we live in Hawaii, our friends are from Alabama) and all of us have some level of boating experience, mostly sailboats, in lakes or bays, mostly a number of years ago now. We're looking for recommendations for a good 'beginners' routing with lots of scenery, interesting villages and towns, good pubs, and not too demanding in terms of numbers of locks, although we do want at least a few, just for the authenticity of the experience.

 

At this point, we have just started kicking the idea around, will probably be looking at 10 days to two weeks and have heard that the Bridgewater, Ashby, Lancaster, Northern Trent and Mersey, and Shropshire Union are good for beginners, but don't know much else about them.

 

Most likely, we will be arriving into Heathrow and making our way to and from our canal boating starting and ending place by public transportation - train, preferably - and also will be looking for the most "inclusive" hire boat company we can find - don't want to have to pack linens, etc. and don't want a lot of surprise fees and charges above the stated rental rates.

 

Any help and/or suggestions will be gratefully accepted.