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Hi All, Booked a boat called Little Pea from Clifton Cruisers in Rugby for a week in August. Can you suggest some routes to take from Rugby ? Open to all suggestions for routes: Rings, out and back, long days, leisurely cruising. Hopefully your advice will help my planning. Thanks Mark

Hello Everybody, Last year, together with my wife and daughter, I had my first narrow-boat holiday (a mid-week break) going from Congleton to the Bugsworth Basin and back, and had received a lot of really useful suggestions prior to my trip. Though we had a lovely time, I did not think I would be doing one again a year later. But as my daughter's school vacation is approaching, I find myself trying to put together another narrow-boat trip! I am planning to make this a week long, and would be accompanied for around half of it by a friend, his wife and their 1 year old son. I am looking for a route that has very nice scenery, not too crowded, and stays as rural as possible. A bonus would be sections with somewhat hilly scenery (I loved the view down into the valley at the Peak Forest Canal), and some interesting walks. Right now, the Leeds and Liverpool canal looks very very appealing, but for the dates I am interested in, there is only one boat available at Skipton. Also, if I want to confine myself to the more rural part, I am not sure if there is enough for a whole week. Another possibility is to start at Congleton as I did last year, but plan a longer route. I do not have too much choice anyway as most boats on any canal for the period I am interested in are booked - I will have to finalize something soon! I would be happy to receive suggestions for routes on these canals (or even other canals). The last time around, I had also asked questions about safety in and around Stoke-on-Trent (after reading reports on this forum), but finally never headed in that direction. I thought this was something particular to some of the larger urban centres, but today I chanced upon several posts talking about vandalism and troublemakers on the Leeds and Liverpool, and even in Skipton. Any advice or suggestions? Is, for example, the Macclesfield better in this regard? Or these are just very rare isolated events that get blown out of proportion? Thanks !

Hi, I'm looking for advice from experienced canal users. I actually have an 18 ft sailing boat, based in Cumbria. I have had to move to Essex and instead of trailing it, I am wondering about the feasibility of sailing her down to glass on dock, dropping the mast, maybe even leave it there and take it down by road, and then making my way down to the Thames to get to my ultimate destination near canvey island. She has a six hp outboard, with separate fuel tank and spare cans, enough for around a hundred miles per hop. Is is possible? Anyone done it? How long would it take? What problems might I encounter. Is April a problem for doing this? Thanks. Steve