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Best canal to learn


Drizzt

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Our first day when we purchased our first liveaboard having never been on a narrowboat was leaving Coventry basin........................dodging several 3 piece suites and cars etc etc didnt put us off ?

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First hire trip was a one week trip with Simolda.  I had arranged to ring (about 8 of us on two boats) at a different tower on every night of the week (including Chester Cathedral), with a somewhat optimistic idea of how fast one could travel. And how it rained. But it didn't put us off.

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23 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

We were booked with Duhampsted but when we got there the boat we had hire hadn't returned so the sent us up to Penkridge with I think it was Bijou Line in 1987

The Milwards taught me all I know about boating on the canals - we hired from Teddesley for many years until I decided to 'build my own boat'. The canals were a much more friendly place in those days. Poor internet, no forums.  You had to rely on the "towpath telegraph" for information (No CaRT either - just BW folks that you could contact and talk to...)

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15 hours ago, The Dreamer said:

Sharpness and Gloucester, hiring from Gloucester Boats.  No locks and wide enough for a coaster! Mind you, a fair few (manned) swing bridges to navigate!

Good idea, except that's more like 1-2 night than 3-5.  You can cruise from end to end in about 6 hours.

I'd stick with the Shroppie idea.  If you struggle with those locks, there's something wrong with you.  Even a feeble little mite like me can do them.  Hire from Napton Boats at the south end. That way you get a very slow introduction to locks.  First a solitary one.  Then a couple of mini flights, then a proper flight.  Although in 3 nights you probably wouldn't even make it to Audlem top lock. 

 

Day one:  pick up and shortish cruise to Wheaton Aston.

 

Day two: to Market Drayton.

 

Day three:  back to Brewood.

 

Day four:  return to start.

 

Total 12 locks.

 

If feeling really lazy then turn at High Offley for you-know-what.  2 locks total.

 

 

Edited by doratheexplorer
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We learned our boating mostly on the River Kennet. Met a couple last week who got their first boat and just days later tackled the Rochdale up through Manchester. Sometimes in at the deep end is good but don't think I would recommend it. :)

 

..............Dave

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The Lancaster Canal.  42 miles of mostly wide lock free canal.  Lovely countryside. Plenty of pubs and moorings by those.  Carnforth can be tricky for mooring of a night, and also Lancaster itself although I've managed to get a space there three times arriving at about 3pm.

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On 06/11/2019 at 12:25, Drizzt said:

I am conscious of that canal being quite tight and narrow - & as we are total novice boaters would this be suitable?

There is less to this boating lark than meets the eye.  Let’s be honest, hire from any of the big threes yards on the Worcester and Birmingham, and you are at either the top, middle or bottom of the longest flight on the network.  Yet, you get no more, or less, tuition than at any other yard, and they still let you trundle off with a 100k of asset.  Now, if you are nervous I wouldn’t suggest the W&B, but you ain’t going to be much harmed (nor is your boat) most other places...

22 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

But how are you going to learn on a piece of open water with no locks

Cracking point, well made, sir!

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On 07/11/2019 at 14:50, Ray T said:

The first canal I took the current Mrs T, when we were courting, was on was the Roachdale from Sowerby Bridge, to Summit and return.

 

It will sort out "The men from the boys." You will learn much about boating and relationships.

Survive that and you will manage any canal.

 

Stunning scenery and Hebden Bridge is well worth spending a day or two in: http://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/

 

Shire Cruisers: https://www.shirecruisers.co.uk/index.php

Well appointed and turned out boats.

2006_1220Rochdale_Canal10181.JPG

We met a Shire cruisers boat at the summit a couple of weeks ago, and had seen them the previous year, they hire a boat from Shire and do the same trip every year. Sowerby to Summit is probably the best bit of canal in the country (if you Really like Lots of big wide locks) so why go anywhere else :).

 

I like the way the power cables go one side of the valley to the other, as long as you have the height then a very big gap between pylons appears fine.

 

...............Dave

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  • 3 months later...
On 11/11/2019 at 14:11, dmr said:

We learned our boating mostly on the River Kennet. Met a couple last week who got their first boat and just days later tackled the Rochdale up through Manchester. Sometimes in at the deep end is good but don't think I would recommend it. :)

 

..............Dave

Picked mine up in Dewsbury then took it to Tattenhall (Chester) via the Calder and Hebble/ Rochdale route. A nine day trip according to Canalplan. Took me 6 weeks but I learned a lot! Almost everyone I met along the way told me I'd picked a baptism of fire. They weren't wrong! Luckily I missed the floods by a few weeks!

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