3-4 nights weekend/midweek holiday

[cp140405]

Although it is a bit late as you have already made a decision... perhaps someone else in the same situation might find it helpful.
We enjoyed a mid-week "out and back" along the Rochdale Canal a couple of years ago...Shire Cruisers out of Sowerby Bridge. 

 

[Tom Gabrielsen]

Hi

Thank you cp140405. I had that trip as an option, but it was too complicated with planes and connections from Norway.

Anyway, we are off in may, the weekend with Ascension day and bank holiday. Probably crowdy that weekend. What do you think, should I order a table in advance on the pub's along the canal (we plan to do all our eating and drinking on the pubs...the trip is a present to my oldest son on his 30 year birthday so I wont hold back on the budget this time :)

[IanD]

27 minutes ago, Tom Gabrielsen said:

Hi

Thank you cp140405. I had that trip as an option, but it was too complicated with planes and connections from Norway.

Anyway, we are off in may, the weekend with Ascension day and bank holiday. Probably crowdy that weekend. What do you think, should I order a table in advance on the pub's along the canal (we plan to do all our eating and drinking on the pubs...the trip is a present to my oldest son on his 30 year birthday so I wont hold back on the budget this time

If you only have one pub option where you're stopping (or one that you strongly prefer to the alternatives) I'd suggest ringing in advance (at least a couple of days) to reserve a table. We've been caught out several times in the past, including once where we rang to check if we needed to book, were told we didn't need to, and then when we turned up were told there was no space because a big party had booked that afternoon ? Also popular pubs with good food do tend to get booked up, especially on popular days like bank holidays.

 

Don't rely on canal guides (or even pub/beer guides) because pubs in England can change hands quite rapidly and beer/food can get better or worse -- always check for up-to-date reviews (Google maps, beerintheevening, whatpub.com, tripadvisor) as well as on the pub website if they have one. You could also ask at the boatyard you hire from, they may have good advice. If you haven't already done so, use canalplan to try and make overnight stops fit with places you want to be, and avoid places you don't want to stop...

 

There are sometimes better places to eat than pubs (you can always go for a beer afterwards!), England is especially good for ethnic restaurants (e.g. Indian, Chinese, Italian...) -- if you give details of where you're going from and exactly how long for (maybe with potential stopping places if you've planned these) I'm sure the helpful members of this forum will be able to give you useful advice about many things, moorings and pubs and restaurants included.

 

I'd strongly suggest having the ingredients for one "emergency dinner" on board just in case you end up not where you planned (middle of nowhere) due to unexpected delays, or where there's only one pub and it's full...

 

And don't forget -- have a great time, the English canals are brilliant! ?

Edited March 2, 2020 by IanD

[Tom Gabrielsen]

Hi all

 

Due to Covid, the trips was postponed to may 2022. We had a wonderful time. Two days in Oxford for seightseeing, and then 4 days on the Oxford canal. Very nice staff at the College Cruisers, nice boat, nice surrounding, nice pubs, nice nice nice.  Even the weather was nice. Not a drop from the sky. Absolutely something we will do again. We will off course try another canal for something else. Oxford have very nice landscape view, so next time we like maybe something with more of old industry buildings. We are fascinated by abandoned factorys, run down coal mines etc. But it MUST be typical british pubs along the canal....obvisually. Any suggestions ?

Edited August 31, 2023 by Tom Gabrielsen

[Captain Pegg]

12 hours ago, Tom Gabrielsen said:

Hi all

 

Due to Covid, the trips was postponed to may 2022. We had a wonderful time. Two days in Oxford for seightseeing, and then 4 days on the Oxford canal. Very nice staff at the College Cruisers, nice boat, nice surrounding, nice pubs, nice nice nice.  Even the weather was nice. Not a drop from the sky. Absolutely something we will do again. We will of course try another canal for something else. Oxford have very nice landscape view, so next time we like maybe something with more of old industry buildings. We are fascinated by abandoned factorys, run down coal mines etc. But it MUST be typical british pubs along the canal....obvisually. Any suggestions ?

The typical British pub is probably an abandoned one these days so you could kill two birds with one stone.
 

Anyway, how long are you thinking of hiring for?

[gatekrash]

19 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

The typical British pub is probably an abandoned one these days so you could kill two birds with one stone.
 

Or 'accidentally' burned down and demolished 2 days later ..

[Tom Gabrielsen]

Hi. I think a week or something! Best is if we could embark one place and disbark(if that's a term) in the other end so we don't need to see the same places twice. The challenge is of course to find a place with good communications from/to Norway.

[LadyG]

Good try, it's "embark / disembark"

Edited September 4, 2023 by LadyG

[IanD]

4 hours ago, Tom Gabrielsen said:

Hi. I think a week or something! Best is if we could embark one place and disbark(if that's a term) in the other end so we don't need to see the same places twice. The challenge is of course to find a place with good communications from/to Norway.

Stourport Ring could be a good choice for you for a week, plenty of industrial and country bits and pubs, and near Birmingham so accessible (we used Anglo-Welsh at Tardebigge) -- see here for a trip report:

 

 

[Tom Gabrielsen]

Disembark....of course LadyG. Thank's for the tip IanD. I will check out the Stourport Ring more closely. Sounds nice.