smwhitaker

Well put, OldGoat. I noticed that difference in watching videos of both areas.

Thank you, Tumshie. I agree they do all look so inviting! The UK canals are all too beautiful to choose just one! We don't get to take big trips like this one very often so I want to choose wisely. I am having fun with all of the research. If you have any narrowboating video diaries of cursing, please send me the links

I'm looking at photos of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal now and the scenery really is lovely. And Beacon Park Boats have some lovely boats for hire. I have been seriously considering the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Should I consider this canal too? Do you have any insights on each for comparison?

Not more beautiful than The Pennines?

We are planning a narrowboat cruise for next June and are looking for some of the same things as you...beautiful scenery, enough locks to be interesting but not so many as to be a chore, and interesting things to do/see along the way. There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread and I'm wondering what route you ultimately chose...

Thank you, JP. I see that that I posted incorrectly. I meant to ask the OP which route she chose and meant to reference your post about stern types in trying to find more boats with the Napton Narrowboat type stern. Thank you, OldGoat. I have seen some cruiser sterns with a narrow strip on the rail for sitting and that would be a fine option too. The semi-trads with high sides do look uncomfortable.

We are planning a narrowboat cruise for next June and are looking for some of the same things as you...beautiful scenery, enough locks to be interesting but not so many as to be a chore, and interesting things to do/see along the way. There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread and I'm wondering what route you ultimately chose... Also, I too have been wondering about the stern and considering long days at the helm with no where for the skipper or company to sit. It will just be two of us so I think the stern will be the primary hang-out location during the day. I just love the design of the stern on this Napton Narrowboat. Does anyone know of other hire companies with similar seating at the stern?

Thank you for taking a canal option OFF of the table for consideration!

What is a Midge? One of these?

Thank you, IanD. A wonderful, though sometimes a bit overwhelming, part of researching these canals and this forum is the wide variety of choices in where to go and what to see. So much to choose from when you only have a week or so to plan....cities, countryside, castles, pubs, north, south, etc...and I haven't even included the possibility of Scotland!

Thank you, hawkesmith, for your suggestions. Chester looks lovely and we are looking for a "steady stream of nice pubs." I will add this route to my growing list of options. Thank you for the Shire endorsement, Ray T. Good to hear from those with personal experiences when considering hire companies. I bet the lure of having your own boat is a strong one!

This is a wealth of information! Thank you, OldGoat! Mooring in such central proximity to so many sights sounds very appealing. Birmingham (Brum!) is in one of my guidebooks so I will look at the areas and sights you have mentioned. Thank you again.

Thank you, hawkesmith. I think that route is in one of the guidebooks I already have so I'll check it out. When considering that area I initially planned to hire in Stoke on Trent and travel the Caldon Canal and then over to Chester and back. I think that might be doable in 10-11 days. Is the route you suggested preferable in your opinion?

Thank you, OldGoat. I appreciate your involvement in trying to get us the best possible experience! My husband is a teacher so my vacations generally have to follow his schedule. Are you suggesting a trip to Birmingham instead of a week on the canals? I think - no, I know - that I am now too invested in the lure of the canals to consider a trip that doesn't include them. If you suggest Birmingham I will definitely consider a few nights there. Depending on airfare, I'm thinking we might fly into Manchester, train to York for a few nights, train/bus to Barnoldswick or Skipton to rent the narrowboat and then our itinerary is free for about 1 week after that. If we need to fly out of London we'll probably go to Bath since neither of us have been there. Or perhaps a nostagic trip to Stratford for a play or two. If we fly out of Manchester then we probably wouldn't want to go south for our last days. Or are you suggesting a canal trip through Birmingham? I have read that traveling on canals through cities can be a bit dodgy in some areas. No?

Thanks, Mike

No tunnels but found an aqueduct along this route (Dowley Gap Aqueduct) on canalplan.org. What a fantastic resource!

Fabulous information and suggestions here! Thank you all. Barnoldswick to Saltaire seems very doable in a week at a leisurely pace and time for Skipton. There doesn't appear to be any tunnels or aqueducts along that route. The closest aqueduct appears to be the Stanley Ferry Aqueduct but that is roughly doubling the trip length (still possibly doable in 10-11 days perhaps?). Would we really be missing out if we didn't include a tunnel and/or aqueduct in our route?

Excellent, thank you!

Thank you, Nightwatch, IanD, and howardang for your latest input and suggestions. I'm awaiting delivery of my "Northwest and the Pennines" guide today and watched "The Rochdale" episode of Great Canal Journeys last night. I'm not too leery of the locks as I'm sure I'll get the hang of it quickly as others do, but I don't want so many on a route that it becomes more like work and less like vacation. Other than the scenery in the Pennines, are there any must-see attractions or places to visit? When I was considering the 4-Counties ring area, I preliminarily chose the Caldon Canal, Wedgwood Pottery, and Chester as points we would not want to miss.

I'm more than a little concerned about getting hooked on narrowboating!

Thanks for sharing your experiences, IanD. I would have thought there would be more to do and more places to stop on a river than a canal. And I was thinking about being on a narrowboat on the rivers, not a cruiser so yes, that's a totally different experience. Good info.

Good to know, thank you. I was hoping that my post here would help me narrow down my choices and decisions but on the contrary, I have many more options now to consider. The research and planning is half the fun so it's all good

Great information here, OldGoat. Thank you. We have been to Oxford, Hampton Court and Windsor. In fact we met on a university trip to England almost 35 years ago and these are some of the places we visited, and London and Stratford-upon-Avon as well (where we saw 7 plays in a week - fabulous). I have considered returning to these sights for our anniversary trip but thought these sights would be much more crowded in the summer than the 4-Counties area I have been researching (and now the Pennines too). I really don't want to be a tourist this time if that makes sense. But your post does make it sound so inviting... Good points, thank you

Yes, of course! My mind automatically associates Thames with London. Still learning Great info, thank you, IanD!

Thank you, Senor Chris! Wonderful! Thank you Tumshie!! Thank you. I've heard about Pearsons also but bought Nicholson's for my first guide because they have a 2019 edition and I've read a lot about some info re: pubs and other establishments being out of date in older versions