Advise for newbie

[Morthin]

Hi

Well my dream has been realsied I am able to take my family on a canal boat holiday.I have always fancied this, so this is completley new to me.

Can you help me ? I ahve hired a 8 berth boat on the Llangollen canal, starting from Whitchurch then aming towards Ellemere etc.

What is the best advise that I can have with regards to taking food on the boat, that is are there any provisions readilly available on the route ( shops etc ) ... my family are adults so we can stop in the evenings in any pubs to have evening meals, but what about during the day ?.

The simplest of advise would be most welcome does not matter how trivual.

Many thanks

[Dr Bradley]

I would suggest you buy a guidebook for the area, available from chandlers and some bookshops. They list mostof the facilities within easy reach of the canal, though theydo get dated by the time they are published so not 100% reliable. Personally I would take abox of staples and buy perishables on route. A little planning and it should be no problem.

 

Enjoy your holiday but don't catch the bug or it could cost you many thousands of pounds next year.

[Chris J W]

Have a great holiday!

 

Adding to the advice above, may I suggest you also have a gander at the info on the Waterscape website CLICKY LINKY - some very useful stuff when starting out.

 

Let us know how it went. (and don't forget to bring us back some sticks of rock!)

[John Orentas]

Hi Morth.

 

Yes, for the Llangollen canal you need a guide book /map you can feel a bit remote on some days though you may be only a couple of hundred yards from shops and pubs, a personal preference, I like the Nicholsons, the 'Central' one will be best for you, it will cost a tenner or so but as the Doctor implies you will get many years use out of it.

 

The principle is to take as much food as you will need for the next 24 hrs and shop for the rest as you go. The most important thing with the Llangollen is to 'take with a pinch of salt' a lot of much exaggerated dire warnings of waiting in queues for hours on end to get through a lock. The canal is thought by many, including me to be about the best rural canal on the system especially for the first timer, oh yes you may pick up on some rather snobby ideas about it being the Blackpool of the canals, but only before you set off, not when on the canal.

 

I guarantee you will enjoy your trip.

[Morthin]

Great thanks to all for the advise.

Cheers

Morthin

[saltysplash]

Only ever done the welsh canal once and that was at christmas 1 year, on a dartline boat called 'Clee Hill'..i think

spectacular and beautiful even at that time of year. Swmbo even went for a swim. (not intentionally)

 

Oh how we...I.....laughed

[KenK]

Hi Morth,

 

We did it a few years ago and it is a great canal. Don't know what its like now but many pubs and shops did not take credit cards when we went so the cheque book came in handy.

 

The main advice as its your first time is take care in the locks, last weekend on the K&A at Bath top lock I and a number of others were trying to help a family with three young children whose hire boat ended up nose down in the bottom of the lock because they caught the back of the boat on the cill, fortunately no one hurt, but the holiday was ruined. The next day we reached the Caen Hill locks to find one closed because a hire boat had lifted one of the gates off its hinge and smashed the top concrete support. Canals are lots of fun and I'm sure you will have a great time but there are dangers if your'e aware of them then it won't be you who has the accident.

 

 

Ken

[mayalld]

The most important thing with the Llangollen is to 'take with a pinch of salt' a lot of much exaggerated dire warnings of waiting in queues for hours on end to get through a lock.

 

It can be busy, but I can certainly think of many that have worse queues.

 

Plan for 30-60 minutes delay at Grindley Brook, and some hectic stuff in the narrows between Trevor and LLangollen, but apart from that it will be fine

 

The canal is thought by many, including me to be about the best rural canal on the system especially for the first timer

 

Odd, I've always regarded the Top pound of the Macc/PF as nicer. Sometimes you miss the beauty that is on your doorstep?