Bristolfashion

We are doing a slow, 3 year circumnavigation of the UK - year 1, Southampton to Newcastle. Next year is Scotland, including the Caledonian (probably). Prior to that we did 3 1/2 years yacht cruising in Australia. We did get lightly tapped by a whale in Australia - quite scary enough!

I take your point entirely. After the last 5 months sailing our little yacht, it seems that, even with thorough planning, stuff ups, weather, people, opportunities to party, fate and mechanical, er, issues, will give us quite enough chance and adventure. I also know that we just cannot resist the ooooooh, that looks interesting! Here's to immaculately planned fun. 🎉

Crumbs, I'm just on 60 and I still have fun with coloured pens! Over a 3 month cruise, it seems that the timing of a stoppage is pretty important and some way of seeing, at a glance, within which period the stoppage occurs could be useful. I will get in my playpen and experiment! 😀

Good points, the boat has both multifuel & diesel heating - but we'll keep stocks high!

Thanks, I just wondered if people favoured post-it notes, coloured pens or even digital overlays to make a visual planning tool?

That's a nice plan. When I come up with a tentative plan, I'll lay it out here for comment. And, on planning a longish cruise which is subject to various stoppages, does anyone have a groovy, convenient way to show these on a planning map (digital or paper) which makes planning easier?

Yes, I thought I'd do a little blog - although slightly apprehensive of the opinions I might get back! 😀

We moved on to a tiny 28' yacht as our first boat - things that have worked really well for the minimal lifestyle include a good ebook reader/tablet and membership of the free libraries, a tough, small travel/parlour guitar and a strict approach to chucking out/selling anything that wasn't earning it's keep. Good luck.

Thank you - yes, we have talked about the Napton Locks closure & the end of hire - there will be 6 hire boats waiting to go thru on the opening! Good suggestions, thanks again.

It is, in fact, correct - the hire pickup has had to be relocated due to - you guessed it - a stoppage!

Gentle teasing surely!

Thank you for your response - although I'm not sure I could rely on any directions you gave if you're unsure which way is North!😀 I might end up in London when I'm heading for Birmingham. However, you are obviously someone that appreciates precision, so the start point is 52.1756773, -1.369984552 The finish point is a little south of that - that's towards the bottom of the map of the UK - as long as you've got it the right way up. Cheers Ah, yes, I rather forgot that those on the canal tend to navigate by pubs - perhaps the CAMRA app will prove more useful than the Nicholson's Guide! 😀

I think I've got the picture that this is considered an impossible question to answer. Perhaps we could consider this thread closed. Thank you for your input. I think it's been rather interpreted as a request for a detailed itinerary rather than for some nice places, routes or circuits to consider when planning a trip such as this during the winter. Subject to stoppages, weather, travel times and all the rest of course. I'll go back to the stoppages list & planning map to see what is possible and the guides & magazines for what looks interesting. Cheers

Just to clarify, I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to try and derive routes taking into account stoppages - that pleasure is all mine!

I don't wish to labour the point - especially in a first post, but I do understand the point regarding stoppages. Perhaps I have not really been clear enough in my original post. With the resources I have, I can easily plan a number of executable routes over that period. What I am trying to get a handle on a present is some preferred sections of canal, routes or rings that I might look at trying to visit - at the moment, I'm struggling to differentiate between, for want of a better word, the quality of various options. Any recommendations that are not possible on this trip will be gratefully filed away for subsequent adventures. As might be expected of a cruise at this time of year, I'm already in discussions with the hire company about stoppages and ensuring, barring the unexpected, that we can get back on time. I'm pretty relaxed about the up and back approach or having to wait in a (hopefully) nice location for a stoppage to clear. Whilst it is often said that there's no such thing as a stupid question, there are questions with no sensible answers- I apologise if I've asked one. Thanks to everyone for their responses so far. I shall get back to my stoppages list and my planning map and see how I go.

Yes, thank you. As yachties, we are very used to the vagaries of boat travel. If freezing up is likely, we'll ty and find a nice spot and enjoy bracing walks and the multi fuel fire with a few good books. I'm not sure what the narrow boat equivalent of the yachting maxim, "plans are written in the sand at low tide" is?

Thank you. I do appreciate this, I'd be happy with a selection of recommended rings/canals from which we can select as stoppages & other restrictions emerge.

Thank you - yes, I've already been studying the various stoppages.

Good morning and thank you for having me on the Forum - First post! We have hired a narrow boat for December through to February this winter. We'll be starting North of Oxford. Whilst I know bits and pieces of the canal system both from time on boats and the tow path, I'd love your input as to suggested itineries, must see and (possibly) must miss sections. I appreciate that this is a "bit of string" question, so I'll try and narrow it down. The boat is a 56' narrow boat. We will be 2 on the boat for most of the time. We like to make a bit of progress, but are certainly not aiming to break any records - we will have our folding bikes with us and also enjoy a good walk. We can get tempted to a few days stop in particularly nice places. Whilst we love the countryside and peace and quiet, we also enjoy towns and some industrial heritage. Again, whilst not aiming for a "most locks" prize, we're not averse to 'em. We have seen quite a lot of the K&A, Grand Union down to London, the Stratford / Sharpness area and have also headed across to Llangollen before. As to experience, we have spent quite a few months on narrow boats through the years, but are in no way experts. We have also spent the past 5 odd years living and traveling on a relatively small yacht, so this boat will be rather luxurious! We are using this as an opportunity to see if we want to purchase our own boat and, if so, garner as much information about every aspect of canal life. I grew up in Tring and my family now live in Devizes, so I've knocked around the canals quite a bit. I find the various articles and books about canals and various "rings" very attractive and inspirational, but I'm having trouble putting it all together into some sort of sensible route or wish list. I have the Nicholson large scale map for planning, the various on-line maps for drilling down, intend to get the relevant Nicholson guides for detail, the on-line OS maps for the country for walks/cycles, the CAMRA app for essential pub planning, on-line subscription to all the Canal magazines and good waterproofs and wellies! We are very used to a bit of cold, rain, wind and MUD! I've also worked out the information for the various stoppages, so can plan that into any intended route. So, thank you for reading and any suggestions for "must see" bits of the network & itineraries are gratefullly received. I you have any tips, tricks, equipment advice and so on, I'd love to hear them. Let me know if I've omitted any essential info. Cheers.