JohnEW2912

Thanks Alan. I and he are well aware of the 14 day rule and between us the boat will be moved in good time. meanderingviking - very helpful - thanks.

My son is currently trundling our boat west along the K&A and is having trouble finding moorings as he goes. I know of its reputation, so it was always going to be a challenge. He needs to leave the boat tomorrow for a couple of weeks and he's currently by Guyer's Lock. Is he likely to find anywhere between where he is and Kintbury/Hungerford? Obviously on pins for two weeks the boat could be floating about frequently with passing traffic and soft verges.

This just out from CRT: - Please be advised that an emergency navigation closure is required between Bridges 104a (Gorse Street Bridge) and Bridge 106 (Side Beet Bridge) on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, whist we carry out investigations into a severe leak at Whitebirk Aqueduct. Survey works will be completed to ascertain the origins and severity of the leak. We anticipate that the area will be closed for approximately three weeks. The towpath will remain open. We will provide an update on Tuesday 30 May 2017. You can view this notice and its map online here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/10850/whitebirk-aqueduct-leeds-and-liverpool-canal You can find all notices at the url below: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

So we craned the boat pout in late April and took it down to Calcutt Marina. That's obviously a lot further than we needed to but as most of the cost of doing this is in the cranes at each end we thought we might as well move the boat further down and take off any pressure in getting it down to London. That, and Calcutt is very cost effective! The boat is now in Little Venice awaiting the final journey down to Limehouse on Thursday ready for wedding duty on Saturday.

Mine's the same as Bastion and Nightwatch - from the bow - saloon, bathroom, fixed double bedroom, dinette and galley - this layout doesn't seem to have a name. It works very well for us, giving two separate living areas, still allowing us to use the bow as an extended saloon under the cratch, helped by a lowered bow floor. Our first boat was a standard layout but this one is much better, for us anyway.

It's perfectly possible to walk back from Castlefield.

Unfortunately we can't. We have a number of pieces of work on the boat that need doing and we have people set up to do them, who could not do the work further south. In any case the extra mooring costs we would incur mean that it is virtually as economic to crane the boat out round the stoppage in April.

It strikes me that Peel should consider an agreement with CRT whereby the latter run the canal navigation for them whilst Peel retain the land for development. For Peel running the canal is a pain they could do without, only really leading to bad publicity.

It would be a good idea and I did think of it but have now decided against. We have quite a bit of work planned to be done in the next three months and would prefer that we use the people we have lined up to do it - we couldn't if the boat was further south. Whilst we could get the boat into a marina around Anderton the costs mean that it won't be much more to crane the boat round the stoppage when we are ready to set off in April. That looks like the favourite option as taking the route via Leeds looks challenging given what time we have. Moomin Papa - neither the boat nor I are really geared up for tidal waters.

We could but I don't think either the boat or me are geared up for tidal cruising!

We had until yesterday a really nice plan to take our boat from Scarisbrick down to London in early Spring so that we can use it to deliver our son's fiancee to the wedding do at Limehouse Town Hall at the end of May. Then spend the Summer going over to Bristol and then back north the slow way. Now the delay to the closure of the Bridgewater near Leigh until mid June means we either abandon the plan or take on the "slight" diversion round the stoppage via the L&L to Leeds and then back to Manchester via the Rochdale or Huddersfield. Going via the Rochdale will increase the journey from 285 miles and 186 locks to 419 miles and 396 locks!

Well that's really messed up my son's wedding plans. We had planned to take our boat down from Scarisbrick to London in April/May so that we could convey his lovely fiancee from Limehouse Basin to their do at Limehouse Town Hall at the end of May. I suppose we could still do it by going across to Leeds and back over the Rochdale or Huddersfield to Manchester. Looking at canal planner that will extend the journey from 20 x 7 hour days to 33 via the Rochdale or 31 via Huddersfield. 134 miles and 94 locks further on the Rochdale.

We went with Newton Crum when we bought our first boat in 2003. Within a month we had our cratch damaged by vandals - they paid the claim with no questions and as a result we have been with them ever since. The premiums have always seemed reasonable. I have occasionally checked other companies but have never got a quote to compare.

There are cafes at both the marinas in Rufford so a walk from Sollom or from the Ship by the junction with the main line at Lathom to Rufford would work well.

According to canal planner its 104.5 miles and 80 locks for the round trip from Riley Green, taking 7 days 3 hours at 7 hours a day. So a few longer days and you should be fine. What you won't want to do is hire on a Saturday, as that will leave you ready to go into Liverpool on a Tuesday, when you can't. Any other day would be fine. You want to get a good start on the first day, say to at least Adlington. Then you can be going down Wigan locks early on the second day.

It's really straightforward - if you want the best map then it has to be Nicholsons as you can't beat an OS map for accuracy. But if you want a detailed and entertaining commentary on the canal and the places you;re going through then it's Pearsons. I try to have both available.

I think you'll find that you will be turning towards Wigan if you want to get to Liverpool. The centre of Wigan is close to the canal at the bottom of the 23 locks, the bottom two of which are below the junction with the Leigh branch.

We came through bridge 47 about 10 days ago. I operated it and don't recall any problems at all?

Ours is a mixture. A 58' boat with a corridor because we want to be able to get from one end to the other if we need to when under way. But the doors to the bathroom fold out to provide a larger closed space for showers when moored up. For us cassettes, no question.

We were there last week and struggled to get a TV signal. Not normally an issue for us (we didn't have one on the last boat) but it was the last night in the Velodrome at the Olympics and as a keen cyclist I wanted to see the final races - got most of the night but it failed again just as Jason Kenny won the keirin.

Bridgewater marina only have one boat currently but that would be the nearest to Liverpool - it also seems to be very keenly priced but it's only a 4 berth. Claymoore will also be easy with just 9 locks each way (excluding those on the link itself). Black Prince not much further with an extra stop lock and Preston Brook tunnel. Canal Boat Cruises would also be handy but you will need to do the 23 locks at Wigan and the 7 at Johnson's Hillock twice from there. An enthusiastic crew might prefer that. Interestingly canal planner suggests a bit over 30 hours from Acton Bridge but only 26 from Riley Green. Therefore it's eminently doable in a 10/11 night holiday. You need to complete a form to access the link but I assume the hire company could help with that and with advising you on timing. These days you can go into Liverpool on any day except Tuesday.

I opened bridge 47 last Wednesday and it didn't seem to me any different to any other swing bridge and a deal easier than a few on the L&L.

We have just travelled from Napton to Fradley via Leicester. We have a 4g router on our boat and we found the signal good nearly everywhere, just one or two spots we did not have anything. The signal (EE) was generally better than the mobile signal (O2).

Both when I did my inland helmsman's certificate in 2002 and on a refresher day three weeks ago I was told always to raise fenders when moving. Mind you I am rarely on the tiller with my shirt tucked in........

We were there twice recently, once at the end of June and again at the end of July. Both times the food was decent and the beer excellent, with plenty of choice. The second time we moored right outside the pub and were by ourselves on the Cape moorings although there were others on the towpath.