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Which is the more leisurely?


pomkitanner

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3 hours ago, captain birdseye said:

If opting for the four counties and you would like to go to chester you could opt to fly into Manchester and hire from either Chas Harden at Beeston or Anglo Welsh at Bunbury

Or for the 4 counties Black prince at Acton Bridge, ABC at Anderton or Andersen or Floating Holidays at Middlewich.... I'm pretty sure some of them will do pick-ups from Manchester Airport.

5 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

I'm assuming there are buses into Chester from Barbridge, there are trains from Nantwich as well, although the station is a bit of a walk from the canal. 

There are buses from Barbridge, or at least there were a few years ago when we used them. The train from Nantwich isn't very practical though, as you would have to get a train into Crewe to get one to Chester as well as the long walk (and a bit of one from Chester station into the city as well).

Edited by John Wareing
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20 hours ago, pomkitanner said:

Excellent idea . Knew about Manchester flights, but not BHX . and not only Emirates, Qatar, Swiss and others all fly into BHX  depending on our chosen stopover . Much shorter taxi ride . Thanks for the idea. 

Bear in  ind that Swiss would require an extra stop in Switzerland so 3 flights rather than 2 from Auckland. Also the Emirates and Qatar options are not very well balanced - one very long flight from AKL to the Middle East followed by a relatively short one into the UK. Singapore Airlines fly into Manchester (or at least they did before covid) and their flights are more balanced.

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29 minutes ago, John Wareing said:

Or for the 4 counties Black prince at Acton Bridge, ABC at Anderton or Andersen or Floating Holidays at Middlewich.... I'm pretty sure some of them will do pick-ups from Manchester Airport.

There are buses from Barbridge, or at least there were a few years ago when we used them. The train from Nantwich isn't very practical though, as you would have to get a train into Crewe to get one to Chester as well as the long walk (and a bit of one from Chester station into the city as well).

I only mentioned the companies on the Chester cut as these are just as easily reached from Manchester and have the advantage that should the OP wish to go down to Chester at the end of the trip they will know how long they have and it is only half a day each way. Also Chas is a good guy to hire from

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4 minutes ago, captain birdseye said:

I only mentioned the companies on the Chester cut as these are just as easily reached from Manchester and have the advantage that should the OP wish to go down to Chester at the end of the trip they will know how long they have and it is only half a day each way. Also Chas is a good guy to hire from

True enough although the options at Acton Bridge and Anderton are quite a bit nearer the airport than Chas or Anglo-Welsh.

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3 hours ago, captain birdseye said:

I only mentioned the companies on the Chester cut as these are just as easily reached from Manchester and have the advantage that should the OP wish to go down to Chester at the end of the trip they will know how long they have and it is only half a day each way. Also Chas is a good guy to hire from

I will only hire from a company that offers armchair seating . At my age bench style seating is not an option , and Chas hardern  do not seem to offer this level of comfort. I have yet to find a better equipped boat than those of Napton Narrowboats, but happy to entertain others who meet this requirement. 

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4 hours ago, pomkitanner said:

I will only hire from a company that offers armchair seating . At my age bench style seating is not an option , and Chas hardern  do not seem to offer this level of comfort. I have yet to find a better equipped boat than those of Napton Narrowboats, but happy to entertain others who meet this requirement. 

Napton are good, but for that reason are popular, especially at the moment. Have you actually asked them if they have *any* suitable boats available for when you want to hire?

 

(in my experience, for most hire firms it's far quicker to ring them up and ask than trying to find out online which boats are available when)

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1 hour ago, IanD said:

Napton are good, but for that reason are popular, especially at the moment. Have you actually asked them if they have *any* suitable boats available for when you want to hire?

 

(in my experience, for most hire firms it's far quicker to ring them up and ask than trying to find out online which boats are available when)

Bit of a catch 22 at the moment . Until our borders are again open I cannot commit to a date . I would like it to be this September, but recognise it may not be possible, and as such must accept it may now be next year . The up side is that if and when vaccines begin to make some impact, UK travellers may again opt for overseas travel, therebye freeing up more boats. It is what it is . 

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15 hours ago, pomkitanner said:

I will only hire from a company that offers armchair seating . At my age bench style seating is not an option , and Chas hardern  do not seem to offer this level of comfort. I have yet to find a better equipped boat than those of Napton Narrowboats, but happy to entertain others who meet this requirement. 

You could also try Anglo-Welsh, some of their posh boats (Admiral/Constellation/Bond classes) have comfy leather armchairs, we hired one (boat 4 layout below) a couple of years ago and were very pleased with it.

 

https://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/Our-Boats/Our-Boats/constellation-class

 

They've also got quite a big fleet of them from multiple bases so it might be easier for you to find one that's available.

 

https://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/Locations/Bases

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On 30/12/2020 at 03:48, pomkitanner said:

When planning on the canal planner I get different answers to the advice from c&rt

I've always got excellent answers from Canal Planner if the variables such as hours per day are set correctly, and info from CRT is so often questionable, that I'd be interested to know further details here.

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1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

I've always got excellent answers from Canal Planner if the variables such as hours per day are set correctly, and info from CRT is so often questionable, that I'd be interested to know further details here.

 

About the Four Counties ring 

Duration; A solid 2 weeks cruising

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/cruising-rings/four-counties-ring

 

About the Leicester ring 

Duration:  A little over 3 weeks to cruise this ring

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/cruising-rings/leicester-ring

 

I'd be more likely to believe canalplan timings too!

 

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5 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

About the Four Counties ring 

Duration; A solid 2 weeks cruising

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/cruising-rings/four-counties-ring

 

About the Leicester ring 

Duration:  A little over 3 weeks to cruise this ring

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/cruising-rings/leicester-ring

 

I'd be more likely to believe canalplan timings too!

 

Thanks for confirming this,  c&rt evidently way off the mark. Seems the 4 counties is a comfortable 2 week trip with time for a diversion too..  now for that vaccine ?

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