Dragon Pilot

CanalPlanner recommends several canal guides for this trip, but it looks like we'd have to have more than one Pearsons or Collins Nicholsons to cover this particular trip...am I reading that right? On a previous trip from Stone up the Caldon including a side trip to the bottom of Harecastle Tunnel one guide book covered it.

More concerned with advice on local beer not to be missed, but would never turn down help taking a turn or two on the windlass. Thank you!

Well, needless to say...overwhelmed by the welcoming and informative responses to my OP. Everything has gone into the trip folder! Thank you all ever so much!

Does one buy the mooring permit before venturing out onto the river? How is one assured that mooring is available? How far up/down the river is one permitted to travel with just a mooring permit in hand searching for suitable mooring? In our case we wouldn't want to go very far due to time constraints, but I could see how someone might want to stretch the limits a bit. If any tolerance is allowed, it will always be exceeded (my military flight instructor used to say when he insisted I land precisely on the runway centerline).

You are SO right! I got sucked in by that big Saltisford basin on Google Earth. A little more attention to detail, Dragon Pilot!

Sorry...the plan is to depart the Kate Boats base at Saltisford Basin (not Stockton) and cruise to Stratford Upon Avon. However, since hire boat pickup isn't until after 2:30 and by the time we get our boat checked out, loaded and ready to go we'll be pushing 4 PM or later. We don't want to do the Hatton Flight into the evening, so it was suggested to cruise up to the Cape of Good Hope for dinner and spend the night then tackle the Hattons the following day. So, since we'll be heading back down toward the Hattons the next morning...is there a suitable place to turn around near the Cape? If not, maybe we'll just overnight in the basin and take in the city sights...and walking up to the Cape isn't beyond our ability...we both take daily walks anyway...but it would be nice to get in some lock practice beforehand.

Thank you John Brightley! Duly noted! And I may have missed it, but if we do an overnight near the Cape is there a spot to turn the boat around when we head back down toward the Hattons? There's no obvious winding hole near the Cape unless the wide spot just east of Cape Top Lock #25 would suffice.

Great plan! Definitely in consideration! Thank you!

Love this plan! Thanks!

All excellent suggestions! Thinking a night near the Cape is an excellent idea, ply my sweetie with a nice dinner to get 'er stoked up for the Hattons next day! We may even have another couple joining us by then...but it's not easy finding folks on the same wavelength. We'll prolly be cruising in June, so perhaps we'll be breasted up with another boat. Even if we run out of time and can't make it all the way to Stratford (we don't want to cruise more than 5 hours a day) it'll still be a lovely trip. Love the camaraderie on this forum...reminds us of our last cruise chatting it up at the lock queues...convo soon turns to the best beer ahead!

Stratford on Avon. Cape sounds inviting. Brief the crew...my 70 year old lovely wife. Can we hire a couple of teens for the flight? Richard We've got until 2020 to sort things out. Thanks, but no way we're gonna be motoring up until 9 PM. We're experienced narrowboaters, but mid-70s, so...

In that case, how is the mooring then just west of the Warwick Basin prior to Hatton #27. Upon reflection, stopped by a major flight might not be the best choice for us route-wise. We'll look for other departure points. If we had more time it wouldn't be a big issue, but we don't so....

We're picking up a hire boat at Kate Boats in Warwick...plan to head west. Canal Planner wants to overnight us just at the bottom of Hatton Lock #27, only 11 minutes from the marina. We're going to have a late'ish start, likely after 3-4 PM and don't want to do the whole Hatton Flight given the late start, but would like to get through some of it to get a good head start on the trip (7-day planned). Is it permissible and are there suitable overnight moorings between the Hattons? Looks like some long stretches between locks up to Hatton #35 or so, putting us within walking distance of the Hatton Arms for dinner. Cheers!