hmallett

I forgot to mention that it's only the ground paddles that are hard work, not the gate paddles. If there are four of you, what we did is to have one steerer, one working the boat through the lock (i.e. paddles and gates), one working ahead to the next lock to prepare it (we needed this as 90% of locks were against us), and one sweeper-upper (i.e. closing the gate behind the boat). Ideally you should also have another crew member to be continuously supplying coffee. The BP base is (IIRC) between locks 1 and 2 of the Tardebigge flight.

Black Prince provided an anchor which was a sort of flat one about 2' x 1'. When we picked the boat up we were asked if we wanted life jackets. We declined. We shouldn't have really - when you see the ones BW staff wear (self inflating?), they're not obtrusive like the big orange foam-filled ones of old. No advice was given about a "best direction" by anyone. I don't think anyone made any reference to it at any point (and we chatted to a few people while waiting for the river to drop while in Stourport.

I came down the Severn from Stourport to Worcester a couple of months ago . We'd had to wait a day in Stourport as the River was too high, an BW wouldn't allow you through without you signing an indemnity form. As we were on a hire boat we had to wait for Black Prince to decide what was best. After 24 hours, only the section to the first lock (Lincombe Lock) was restricted, and a chap from Black Prince came to oversee us down that section. I found it pretty easy going once I'd been told not to try and go too slow (as the river was fairly fast). The locks were no problem at all, and the lockkeepers were helpful, offering advice on what to do at Worcester to get in the lock. Because the river is wide it feels like you're going really slowly. When you get to Worcester to lock is at an angle which makes it hard to get round in one go, so instead go below the canal lock, towards the river lock, so the water is slower, and turn there. Then you can come up to the pontoon to let your lock workers off. I did not work that lock, but I was informed that it was hard work, as it's quite big! We did Stourport to Worcester in about 2.5 hours.

I did the same as you a couple of months ago. We went up the Tardbigge flight. We got to the top (apart from the top lock, which is slightly further apart than the others) at about 7:30pm, having started at about 2:30pm. Some of the lock gear is very hard work, as it has no gearing on it. We had most of the locks against us, but very little traffic, and we only stopped for about 10 minutes for a drink. It was a roasting hot day too.

Montgomery Canal is pretty quiet. no trippers - not entirely, but not exactly a lot connected or on mainline - yes no moored boats - Only at Maesbury Marsh and the arm at Gronwen no marinas - Only the the arm at Gronwen could count, and it's tiny naff all towns - Maesbury Marsh is as big as it gets. Which is not very. few or no dog walkers, fishermen, pikeys - Pick a more rural bit, then pretty much yes

The Nicholson guides seem to be somewhat more than £6. However I've found the Pearson guide for £4. So I ended up ordering both anyway... They're only going to get used once y'know! In a nutshell, picking a boat up from Bradford upon Avon, and returning it back there about 5 or 6 days later (we have some flexibility). Basically I thought head towards Reading for 3 days (which should easily get us up Caen Hill), then turn round and go back!

In the past I've only bought two canal guides - a Waterways World one (for the Llangollen and Montgomery), and a Pearson one (for the Stourport Ring). In a few weeks time I'm supposed to be going on the Kennet and Avon canal. The only two guides I can find for this are a Pearson one (updated 2002) and a Nicholson one (updated 2006). I'm veering towards the Nicholson one as it should be more up-to-date. Does anyone else have any other recommendations or suggestions?

I think the pictures do it a disservice - it seems higher when you're up there! And when on the back of the boat with just a sheer drop, you know the risks are tiny, but you still take that little bit of extra care...

The locks are now open only once a day at lunchtime, so you've really got to overnight on the Montgomery. That's no hardship though, as it's lovely! (And I live right next to it ) We hired a boat from Black Prince at Chirk, and as others have noted, we haven't seen any other hire boats that seem as smart, clean and well-furnished.

Right, I can comment on this as I've done most of it myself (Horseshoe Falls to Grindley Brook, and Burland to Hurleston Junction). At Maestermyn Marina the towpath is closed. It was closed due to erosion in May 2006, and is currently being repaired. Before repairs started it was basically unusable, as the towpath was falling into the canal. You can detour from bridge 6 to the main road, then walk along the road to Frankton Junction, though this is a boring slog on roads with no pavements. The rest of the route is fine. In terms of whether it's sensible to walk that much, as long as you're reasonably fit, you should be OK. At least (apart from the detour) you won't have any hills! It might be an idea to take a small torch for the tunnels, though it's not necessary. In terms of pubs, Ellesmere has the Red Lion (I think), which isn't exactly next to the canal, but has pretty good food. It's generally a pretty nice, scenic walk. Let us know how you get on. H

I'm planning to do the Stourport Ring this April, and this thread contains answers to all the questions I wanted to ask! We're starting from Stoke Prior, and will be going anti-clockwise, straight up Tardebigge locks. Just to recap, it seems the general feeling is: Take the slightly longer route through Wolverhampton Take the BCN old main line rather than the new main line Stop at the Black Country Living museum as it's good Mooring in and around Birmingham isn't as bad as I thought it might be (except Kings Norton!) The Boaters Guides from Waterscape have a worrying number of warnings about stone throwing from bridges, so I guess you just need to pick your mooring points with care. (Didn't have to worry about stuff like this on the Llangollen and Montgomery canals! ) Also we've never been on a river before. There's nothing to unduly worry about is there? Is there anything else we should be considering? TIA

Eh? It only opened about a month or two ago! It had been empty for years before that.

That's right. Currently navigable to Gronwen Wharf, and the next 800m is in water, but not open to navigation yet to give the plantlife a chance.

We hired a boat from Black Prince (Chirk) in May this year. We were talked through everything on the boat, shown (with the aid of diagrams) how a lock worked, and advised of ettiquette too (sg, slow past other boats). We were very happy with the handover. On the other hand another boat we encountered a couple of times, also from Black Prince, left a paddle partially up at the Grindley Brook staircase (resulting in our boat catching on the cill), left the paddles entirely up on another lock at Grindley Brook, and then moored up in the short pound between locks, right in the middle of the mooring posts. On the other hand we did get to see them wedged in the entrance to the marina at the end of the week!

Whoops, wrong thread!

Imagine if all the 17 year-olds on their first driving lesson were told, "Of course, you'll be rubbish at this, as you can't handle a boat"!

Thanks for all your suggestions so far. I like the look of the Stourport Ring. Quite a few locks, but many of them grouped together. One of our party is interested in going up to Falkirk though.

I quite fancy doing the Cheshire Ring, but as we'd be hiring a boat, is it feasible to do it in a week without putting in 10 hour days? We've done a week on the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, but found that our plans were fairly ambitious. Being on the back of the boat in the rain wasn't the most fun!

That's a comparatively massive 18 inches!