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canal maps


hugh dumbarton

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Hi, welcome to the forum.

It all depends what information you want to focus on ….. locks …. history …. shops …… pubs …… sanitary and rubbish points ……. where everybody congregates …….. where you can be alone without being bothered by anyone.

 

So shoving your question into Google you get ….. A slice of this

Others will come along now and tell you what they recommend based on what they like to focus on. 

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3 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

Hire companies sometimes 'issue' maps. Worth checking. Anyway, there are two popular choices. Nicholson and Pearsons. Both are very good. WH Smith is a good source. Chandlers and Amazon.

Nichollsons are based on Ordnance Survey maps and are very factual.

 

Pearsons have less formal maps and whimsical descriptive prose.

 

Both are equally accurate so choose to suit your preferred style.

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3 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Nichollsons are based on Ordnance Survey maps and are very factual.

 

Pearsons have less formal maps and whimsical descriptive prose.

 

Both are equally accurate so choose to suit your preferred style.

I buy both, one can never have too much journey information. The older Pearsons are utterly charming with beautiful line drawings and although out of date regarding canalside buildings and amenities, they give an idea of what is was like when canals were so much freer for travel, and as such make a trip more memorable. Catching glimpses of things still standing is comforting in a vastly different world now from then. 

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Nicholsons are probably more accessible to the newcomer as the mapping is conventional.

 

Pearsons mapping is logical in its way but completely different to OS maps and road atlases and therefore can be hard to fathom. On the other hand the guides are delightful and entertaining, where Nicholsons are dry and factual.

No single guide from either publisher covers all your routes from Anderton so you're best to sort you route out before picking your guide.

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i’ll just chuck another hat in the ring, Waterway Routes, we find them excellent for knowing what services are coming up or moorings en route. we use them in combination with a Nicholsons so we can see where pubs used to be :(

  • Greenie 1
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Nicholsons on Amazon were cheaper than we could buy them wholesale direct from Nicholsons!

I like OS maps so they are my preferred map.  Pearsons however do show visitor moorings which might be more useful to a hirer.

 

ETA: Do check that you get an up-to-date copy, some bookshops have very out-of-date ones, especially Pearsons (check website for latest publication dates).  Nicholsons come out every three years, but don't rely on them for pub information, even if relatively new.

Edited by dor
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Thanks to everyone who has replied after looking at various options we will probably be on the trent and mersey and the macclesfield. The north west and pennines from Nicholson would appear to cover that area. Information we need locks,water points, eating places,winding holes,shops within walking distance etc.

Any other suggestions please.

 

Regards

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9 minutes ago, hugh dumbarton said:

Thanks to everyone who has replied after looking at various options we will probably be on the trent and mersey and the macclesfield. The north west and pennines from Nicholson would appear to cover that area. Information we need locks,water points, eating places,winding holes,shops within walking distance etc.

Any other suggestions please.

 

Regards

 

Although no longer maintained and thus potentially some info is out of date, the free downloadable first mate guides are excellent.

 

http://www.firstmateguides.co.uk

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On 14/03/2019 at 17:56, cuthound said:

 

Nichollsons are based on Ordnance Survey maps and are very factual.

 

Pearsons have less formal maps and whimsical descriptive prose.

 

Both are equally INaccurate so choose to suit your preferred style.

Just corrected that for you! Water points and so on are often either present but not shown, or vice versa - (certainly on Nicholsons) for example.

 

Another useful source of info is crt's own website with map - though again not wholly accurate .

 

On another point - have you seen the prices? I'm saving nearly three grand a week! https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/boat-holidays/anderton-marina-and001/?clickcd=50124&s_kwcid=AL!2504!10!79920784498505!79920812200826&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Anderton+Marina&utm_campaign=M-HB-050-AND001-Anderton+Marina&ef_id=Wj6JkwAAAKC_5Tfn:20190316141606:s

 

 

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20 hours ago, hugh dumbarton said:

Thanks to everyone who has replied after looking at various options we will probably be on the trent and mersey and the macclesfield. The north west and pennines from Nicholson would appear to cover that area. Information we need locks,water points, eating places,winding holes,shops within walking distance etc.

Any other suggestions please.

 

Regards

Pearsons Canal Companion Cheshire ring covers your intended route. Each page on Pearsons gives you the time taken, distance & no. of locks so are handy to work out your daily timings.    https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/michael-pearson/pearson-s-canal-companion-cheshire-ring-south-pennine-ring-10th-edition-pearson/GOR006238642?keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwvbLkBRBbEiwAChbckU9JyW4Frin0q7Mjg3ZWjji2s_vNDcJ-7M2MOqcR2D-k9kXtKP5tChoCdhoQAvD_BwE

Edited by Flyboy
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15 minutes ago, starman said:

Just to add that you can usually pick up all these guides cheap as chips secondhand on Fleabay -  and the canals don’t change much ?

That's true - the "interesting local pub with a real fire" remains as just closed as it was in the earlier editions too! :D

 

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On 16/03/2019 at 14:32, IanD said:

If you have a phone with data, opencanalmap is good too.

It also has the advantages of showing where you are, and being easily zoomable in and out so you can see lots of detail or an overall route.

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On 15/03/2019 at 08:46, Hudds Lad said:

i’ll just chuck another hat in the ring, Waterway Routes, we find them excellent for knowing what services are coming up or moorings en route. we use them in combination with a Nicholsons so we can see where pubs used to be :(

We use Waterway Routes too. I run it on an old Samsung tablet which has built in gps so shows you exactly where you are. The cruising info is very accurate and up to date. For pubs, shops etc. we use google maps.

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  • 3 weeks later...

As already pointed out, strongly suggest you check with Google Maps for things like pubs and restaurants since they change rapidly and no guide is ever up to date -- this has saved us several times stopping at a "really nice pub" (or chippy, or restaurant) that's closed ?

 

Pearson's is a lot more readable and interesting than Nicholson's, Open Canal Map and Google Maps (both free!) are much more accurate and up to date -- I think Nicholson's has fallen down the gap in the middle by being dry and factual but inaccurate and out of date...

Edited by IanD
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The Macclesfield Canal Society has a good map of the Macc, showing all the facilities. Bit are now out of date (the water point in Macc is now on the off side and there are good pontoon VMs) but it's otherwise pretty good. Its on their website so you can print it out or get it at the stop lock in the box there. 

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  • 1 month later...

Together with the Nicholson and Pearson's Companion I also use the downloadable PDF maps from https://www.waterwayroutes.co.uk/wr/index.html they are cheap and have detailled mooring info (where and how long). Especially handy if there's a color laser printer in your employer's office :)

 

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Reading out of date guides can be very entertaining often in a perverse sort of way.  My favourite is the 2003 Nicholson guide flowery description of Stalybridge on the HNC.  "a vibrant waterway.......colourful with boats.........reminiscent of a Dutch town.."  I think the author must have been on LSD when he wrote that.

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On 15/03/2019 at 20:20, hugh dumbarton said:

The north west and pennines from Nicholson would appear to cover that area. Information we need locks,water points, eating places,winding holes,shops within walking distance etc.

The great thing about your own 'paper' map is that you can accumulate your personal scribbles and notes for future reference (stopping places, good meals eaten, etc, etc) - use post-it notes if you have a moral objection to scribbling in a book. Your guides (in my case Nicholson's) quickly become old friends.

 

(BTW - a medium size freezer bag is just the right size for an open Nicholson's - stops the pages turning in the wind and keeps the rain off!)

Edited by zimzim
afterthought
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