doratheexplorer

Like this? http://diesel.afmm.org.uk/

If you overnight at Stratford on the river, you'll hit locks straight away the next morning whichever way you go.

Aspley Wharf in Huddersfield sell diesel if you don't mind a detour.

500GB one seems a far better deal. Work out about £3.50pm

Why would anyone start a genny for toast? I've always made toast under the grill anyway. As I and others have already said, using electricity on any appliance which produces heat, while off-grid, is a bad idea. I suspect, as usual, we have a lot of commenters on this thread who have never continuously cruised and lived aboard permanently through the winter. It's a very different game, and in my experience, the only way to play it, is to minimise your electricity consumption.

It's not just about cost. If your electricity consumption is high, then for 4-6 months a year, when solar is insufficient, you're left with having to charge your battery a lot, just to replenish what you've used. However you do that is likely to be noisy, and a general nuisance to you and others. The OP suggests they'll be cruising a lot which would help, but I doubt it will be anywhere near enough to keep those batteries in good condition throughout the winter, hence my comment about wrecking batteries. Will they really be cruising 4+ hours a day 7 days a week?

I'm not saying Nick's wrong, it's just that I think a newish boater would do better by going down the simple route. Nick's set up is, I'm sure very impressive, but it's also complex and requires considerable understanding to use it in the best way. It's also very expensive, and I'm not sure a cost-benefit analysis would support the necessary investment.

Honestly, if I was doing it all again, I wouldn't bother with an inverter at all. I'd run all my regular stuff off 12v (laptops, tv, fridge etc). Don't use electricity to run anything which produces heat (so use the hob/grill for kettle and toast). I'd have a generator for the occassions when I really need to run 240v (power tools, washing machine), and that way I'd have another way to charge my batteries in case of engine issues. A reasonable quality genny is cheaper (for the same power) than a reasonable quality inverter. Doing it this was will also put less strain of your batteries, so they'll last longer, saving you even more money. To the OP, it's not until you go cruising permanently, that you'll realise just how important it is to minimise electricity consumption. Until you do, repeatedly wrecked batteries will be the order of the day. Also, get solar panels fitted.

Are you sure you mean Birmingham International? Perhaps you mean Birmingham New Street?

I vaguely remember HS2 originally being promoted along the lines of being able to step onto a train in Birmingham or Manchester and stepping off it in Paris. Even if it gets to London, not linking with HS1 is just daft. Stopping some way short of London will negate any time saving, but not to worry because apparently the main reason for HS2 is capacity. If that's really true, why not raise all the rail bridges on the West Coast Mainline and give us double decker trains - hey presto: capacity doubled. Right now I'd just settle for having a rail system which provided me with any confidence that my train won't be cancelled for no apparent reason. The last couple of years rail travel has become such a lottery than I'm considering abandoning it altogether in favour of the Megabus.

I don't know if this has been answered already, but I assume 4 days actually means, pick up Friday afternoon, return first thing monday morning? If I'm wrong and you've somehow got 4 full days cruising, my advice would be totally different. Assuming it's the former and given that you've implied you've done the Shroppie north of Nantwich, I'd narrowly go in favour of the Llangollen Canal, but don't assume you'll get any further than Whitchurch. The trouble is, you'll struggle to get further than the top of Hurlston on the first afternoon, then see how far you get on the second day, but delays at Grindley Brook will impact that. Your other suggestion of south on the Shroppie would involve a lot of locks so you probably wouldn't actually get very far. If it were me, I'd head down the Middlewich branch, unless you've already done that. I really doubt they'll see any aqueducts or tunnels.

If by 'most' you mean about 60/40 in favour, then I'd agree. But in my experience, quite a lot of pubs say no. I remember Olive's daughter (Elaine?) at the Anchor, High Offley being very firm about this, despite having loads of space and nowhere else nearby to park.

Creighton 32s are older GRPs, from the 60s/70s. Not sure if they made any after that. They were very well made, which is why there's still quite a few about. The thickness and quality is a notable step up from Normans/Shetlands etc. (not that theres anything wrong with them). The 32 with the centre cockpit is big enough to be a liveaboard and even has a clever hidden shower just behind the cockpit. If I was buying one, I'd look for one with an inboard diesel, but also a standard drive/propellor. Some have been fitted with Z-drives which are notoriously unreliable.

There's a winding hole on the offside just above the top lock. What's happened to it?

It works really nicely for a Friday to monday hire period. Friday: Pick up boat and cruise north to Wheaton Aston (pub right next to the canal). Saturday: Continue north and finish at one of three places - 1. Top of Tyrley Locks and walk down to the Four Alls Inn (10 minutes away). 2. Goldstone Wharf and go the the Wharf Tavern next to the canal. 3. High Offley and go to the Anchor (no food but one of the most famous canalside pubs). Sunday: Head south to Brewood (4 pubs in the village I think?) Monday: return to Autherley. And there are other options for nice places with pubs including Gnosall and Norbury Junction. The surrounding countryside is really pretty and there's some canal interest too, especially Woodseaves Cutting.

I wouldn't say that fits the bill of not too many locks, or not going through a city. I'd recommend hiring from Napton Narrowboats at Autherley Junction and heading north. Plenty of pubs, and probably only 2 locks, depending on how far you get.