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Selby to Birmingham


jckent

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1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Hi Peter,

I am sure it is for you. However, we don't know the boating experience, or the boat of the OP and the questions they have asked suggests they are at the least not familiar with the northern waterways and may possibly not have much boating experience at all. It is no drama for you, but a novice boater in a new to them boat might not have quite that experience. I met a very shook up boater a couple of years ago who went out of Naburn lock heading for Selby on a too powerful a flow. Got swept past Selby Lock, past Barmby Barrage and ran aground on a mud flat. They had to be dragged off and towed in to Goole by the rescue boat. Local knowledge and preparation is everything in making drama free.

 

Jen

oooooooooooo it can be fun twixt Naburn and Selby innitt ? we went out one time on a big spring tide with moocho dead cows and trees in the mix. Another boater lost his engine when a log stopped it dead and he ended up under a big overhanging tree, but luckily escaped with only damaged paint and pride!!  the south oxford it aint lol.

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6 hours ago, jckent said:

Thank you all.

Maybe the Huddersfield will be the choice since they are narrow locks - which we prefer. 

We are starting off in a couple of weeks so hopefully there will still be some water left for us.

 

I think that might be a good choice, if you don't fancy the tidal Trent. The Rochdale can be be hard going, especially through Manchester; and obviously you know about the Wigan flight and the swing bridges etc. on the L&L. The Huddersfield Narrow has an awful lot of locks, but once you find a rhythm it's not the slog you might think. Our routine is to start a lock filling/emptying and then have my wife go ahead on foot to set and open the next, so that I can cruise straight from one to the other without having to try and pull in at the sides (where it's very shallow and hence easy to go aground). Do a search of this forum and you'll find tips on good overnight mooring spots. The tunnel is 'an experience' but CRT don't leave you do it alone - a pilot accompanies you on your boat. No-one could say it's an easy canal - I'm not even sure I'd say it's easier than the L&L - but it really is worth doing (it's probably our favourite canal, in fact), and the obvious choice if you're not fans of broad locks and swing bridges. From there I'd suggest the Macclesfield (very attractive, narrow, few locks, avoids slogging through Manchester) and the Trent and Mersey (narrow again). Then it depends which bit of Birmingham you're heading for, I guess!

 

Oh, and don't forget to check for stoppages:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices#form

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Thanks all.

We are pretty experienced boaters, having had our present boat for 8 years now and having used it about 2 months each year - but it is not totally reliable since it is used by others when we are not using it. When we take it over we have to sort out any problems before becoming confident. So a tidal river is not going to be an ideal testing ground. Thank you for the info re the Standedge tunnel guage - our boat is somewhat taller than standard so that might be a problem?!  Maybe the Leeds and Liverpool all the way to Liverpool might be a better option. The only downside of that is the heavy swing bridges which from past experience can be almost impossible to get moving...   Perhaps they have been improved since we did them last, about 10 years ago?

 

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4 minutes ago, jckent said:

Thanks all.

We are pretty experienced boaters, having had our present boat for 8 years now and having used it about 2 months each year - but it is not totally reliable since it is used by others when we are not using it. When we take it over we have to sort out any problems before becoming confident. So a tidal river is not going to be an ideal testing ground. Thank you for the info re the Standedge tunnel guage - our boat is somewhat taller than standard so that might be a problem?!  Maybe the Leeds and Liverpool all the way to Liverpool might be a better option. The only downside of that is the heavy swing bridges which from past experience can be almost impossible to get moving...   Perhaps they have been improved since we did them last, about 10 years ago?

 

'Fraid not, some of the L&L swing bridges are still pigs to shift ?

 

If your boat will go through Standedge (not difficult to check) and there's enough water I'd also recommend the HNC, just take it easy and allow plenty of time. If you measure the boat and it's close to the limit so you might get turned back then the Leeds and Liverpool is less hard work than the Rochdale, in spite of the swing bridges.

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3 hours ago, jckent said:

Thanks all.

We are pretty experienced boaters, having had our present boat for 8 years now and having used it about 2 months each year - but it is not totally reliable since it is used by others when we are not using it. When we take it over we have to sort out any problems before becoming confident. So a tidal river is not going to be an ideal testing ground. Thank you for the info re the Standedge tunnel guage - our boat is somewhat taller than standard so that might be a problem?!  Maybe the Leeds and Liverpool all the way to Liverpool might be a better option. The only downside of that is the heavy swing bridges which from past experience can be almost impossible to get moving...   Perhaps they have been improved since we did them last, about 10 years ago?

 

You might well be OK through Standedge - though do check requirements obviously! For all the hype around it being low, the first thing CRT did when we went through was plonk foot-high floodlights on the roof front and back! Oh and why 'all the way to Liverpool'? Surely for Birmingham you'd turn off at Wigan and head along the Leigh Branch and the Bridgewater?

 

Yes those swing bridges can be heavy. But I guess with a bit of patience, you could be waiting for other boats to share the labour with you. E.g. if you waited at the bottom of a lock flight, you could travel with that boat through the locks and then through the next however many swing bridges, till your timetables diverged, then wait again at another lock flight. 

 

My wife (who works most of the locks!) has just asked me to add that if you do the Hudderfield Narrow, you'd then have the broad locks of the Huddersfield Broad and the Calder & Hebble to contend with - the C&H ones in particular being heavy work again.

 

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think trying to 'buddy up' with passing boats on the L&L might be your best option - it just might involve a bit of thumb-twiddling.

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53 minutes ago, magictime said:

You might well be OK through Standedge - though do check requirements obviously! For all the hype around it being low, the first thing CRT did when we went through was plonk foot-high floodlights on the roof front and back! Oh and why 'all the way to Liverpool'? Surely for Birmingham you'd turn off at Wigan and head along the Leigh Branch and the Bridgewater?

 

Yes those swing bridges can be heavy. But I guess with a bit of patience, you could be waiting for other boats to share the labour with you. E.g. if you waited at the bottom of a lock flight, you could travel with that boat through the locks and then through the next however many swing bridges, till your timetables diverged, then wait again at another lock flight. 

 

My wife (who works most of the locks!) has just asked me to add that if you do the Hudderfield Narrow, you'd then have the broad locks of the Huddersfield Broad and the Calder & Hebble to contend with - the C&H ones in particular being heavy work again.

 

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think trying to 'buddy up' with passing boats on the L&L might be your best option - it just might involve a bit of thumb-twiddling.

In case you haven't seen it here is the CRT info on Standedge tunnel passage, including a diagram showing clearances etc.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/standedge-tunnel-and-visitor-centre/boating-through-standedge-tunnel

 

Howard

 

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Yes, I think maybe our best bet is the 'buddy system' on the L&L. Birmingham is a middle point - we want to go via the Oxford on to the Thames then to London then North to Rugby - we have 21/2 months.  Going into Liverpool is something on my wife's wish list. She also has going past the Houses of Parliament on that list but I am resisting unless it is on someone else's boat ! Call me a coward if you must...

 

 

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54 minutes ago, jckent said:

Yes, I think maybe our best bet is the 'buddy system' on the L&L. Birmingham is a middle point - we want to go via the Oxford on to the Thames then to London then North to Rugby - we have 21/2 months.  Going into Liverpool is something on my wife's wish list. She also has going past the Houses of Parliament on that list but I am resisting unless it is on someone else's boat ! Call me a coward if you must...

 

 

If you do go past the houses of Parliament, please give a long loud blast on the horn and wake the eejuts up!!

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