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Thanks Scarlet, good to know moorings should be easily available, on some of our coastal stuff – we had to start early and be moored by 2pm if we wanted an easy location. If we were expecting conditions like that, we would have taken our inflatable dingy and (tiny) outboard. Thanks Scholar, the Ouse sounds great but the short car journey (under an hour?) to M&B has made our minds up. May well visit the Ouse in the future. Just got off the phone, have booked a boat on the Mon & Brec. The boat yard was keen to point out the lack of ‘Party Boats’ on this canal. I hadn’t given much thought to that, I’d always assumed there would be some noisy boaters where ever you go. Time for some online research for good places to stop. Looking forward to the flight (?) of locks. Because this forum has many knowledgeable boaters with personal experience of the M&B, once I’ve done a bit of research, I’d like to start a new thread for M&B specific advice/planning. Thanks everyone, this process would have been much harder (and riskier) without your friendly and informative advice. Kris

Hi Naughty, Sounds fantastic – its exactly what I would like to do. Due to the health (and associated stresses) of one member of the party, we’ve decided to avoid airports and longer car journeys this year. Next year we want to return to coastal Med but if our situation has not improved enough then the Caledonian could be our choice. Thanks for the info Kris Hi Grassman, Hi Athy, Thanks for the reassurance. The M&B sounds like the one. If it’s a closed section, the traffic level should be fairly predictable. Will make some calls today. Thanks again, Kris

Hi Neil2 That’s good to know. As we were there a few years ago, we’ll keep that one as a second choice. See what happens with the Mon & Brec enquiries. Thanks for the great info Kris Kris

Hi Paul, That sounds like a really good compromise. Will read in depth later and hope its ok to ask more tomorrow?

Thanks Goatie, Do you feel we will see less traffic on the Thames rather than Wales? Not done Wales before but did go past Hampton court etc in a fibreglass ‘mini gin palace’ some years ago (out of season). It was pleasant but not too many quiet places to overnight. Nice green walks also seemed limited. That ugly hunk of fibreglass suited us better than a narrow boat as it offered a bit more privacy and steered by engine (vectored). Of course, a steel narrow boat is far more elegant but for pure convenience, the plastic fantastic suited us. I’ve always been a bit ‘London Phobic’ and it seems to be considerably more expensive than alternatives but if it likely to be quieter then it may be the chance to get a broad plastic tub then it could be the answer. I’ll look at their website. Kris

Thanks Old Goat, The reason I specifically asked about Wales (and said that Scotland was too far) is; This will be the first holiday for someone recovering from a long illness. They are fully mobile but currently appreciate quiet surroundings. The long journey to Scotland (from our Cardiff home) is probably too much. We have three fully able persons who are qualified boaties. We want to stay as local as possible but could manage up to 4hours in a car/train. Thanks Mr Smelly - I had worried that Wales may be too busy. Athy - do you have experiance of the Mon & Brec being less than nightmareic during July/August? That was the canal that grabbed our interest. Sorry if OP was unclear. Kris

Hi all, We are hoping to take a UK holiday late July or August. We appreciate traffic is at its highest at that time of year but we have no choice (this year). Like the look of the Welsh canals. Where is it likely to be least busy? We are looking to hire for one week. How busy does it get? how likley are we to meet bad tempered holiday makers struggling to control their hire vessels? The (south) Wales canals are close to us (so must be our first choice). If all our party was able to travel easily, the Scottish waterways (wide fibre glass boats) would be our first choice. Have done the Thames previously and would like somewhere different. We are experianced enough for long narrow boats (providing its not too windy). Thanks in advance for any advice. Kris