Karis

Thanks for all the replies & suggestions. "Four hour days" is not set in stone but I have never seen the point in steaming 8+ hours a day just for the sake of it, If there are places to stop & things to see along the way, I prefer to split the day into one or two stops before mooring overnight. One time on the Thames & with two kids under 10, we had such bad weather we made the decision to "about turn" & motored non-stop all the way from Henley to Kingston where we used to moor overnight before the tidal passage next day back to Essex. Not much else was moving on the river but we were accompanied for much of the way by a guy on a 60ft narrow boat, I did feel sorry for him stood at the back out in the open & sopping wet as we paired up & navigated through each lock but he didn't seem too bothered!

Hi again So, Covid 19 & upcoming Boris lock down announcements permitting, we are due to collect our boat at Weedon on Monday afternoon. It seems I've got two options; Head North towards Welford or Head South towards Cosgrove No experience of the area at all & wondered if anyone has any suggestions as to which route might suit us best for our 4 day break? One or two overnight moorings/meals at/near a decent pub/restaurant would go down well if they are open.

Now you've reminded me, yes it was indeed Osney bridge but many years ago, thanks again to all for the info.

Many thanks for the link.

Oh, oh; a quick check seems to indicate most kids probably don't go back on Monday Nov 2nd so perhaps I'l have t forget about being away for my birthday & go the following week! Sorry, could you possibly elaborate on what effect winter stoppages may have to navigation? Does it just mean lock operation is DIY or are there other restrictions?

Thanks I'l have to check out the kids holiday periods, ours have long since gone so I tend to forget about them. I wan't to be away for my birthday on 27th so should be able to adjust things around that. I have been up as far as Oxford on the Thames but could not get under the very low bridge they had there; does the canal run separately or is there a connection between the two? What's affected by winter stoppages, just lock operation or more than that? On the Thames it just meant you had to operate the lock gates manually yourself years ago!

Many thanks for all the response, it will be a great help. Must admit I didn't think there would be a problem hiring late October as it can get pretty nippy on the water by then but, I suppose, it's down to the current Covid situation & holiday options for folks here in the UK; we would normally be in Spain until the middle of November!

Hi all. I have owned boats of one sort of another since the early 70's & have extensive experience of both the tidal & non-tidal Thames & the Medway. We sold our last Thames based cruiser in 2006 but we have also hired cruisers on the Norfolk Broads where we now live. We have considerable boating experience, including lock operation & sea passages. Although I have never skippered a canal boat before, I am pretty confident I'l get the hang of it pretty quickly & so we are thinking of taking an initial, 4 days autumn canal boat break on the Grand Union Canal. Our time will obviously be limited & we don't really want to be cruising more than around 4 hours a day. I know the canal stretches from the Thames up into Birmingham & so is quiet extensive so, bearing in mind our short hire, can anyone advise the best location for us to start our cruise to appreciate & experience some of the best/most interesting parts of the canal?