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A Bloody Yankee on the Canals


Greg K

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Just now, noddyboater said:

Mmmm..  Greg K.

Somehow the name rings a bell, I'm sure we've met before.  Maybe it was over a plate of tripe n mash somewhere quaint. 

Unfortunately I've never stepped foot in the UK, mate.

 

That must change, which is part of this entire exercise.  It was either one of those all-paid holidays to London or narrow boats on canals.  I'm more of an "off the beaten path" tourist, so narrow boats then ! 

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1 hour ago, Greg K said:

It was either one of those all-paid holidays to London or narrow boats on canals.  I'm more of an "off the beaten path" tourist, so narrow boats then ! 

You can also take a narrow boat into the centre of London, and moor to the towpath for free (albeit that lots of other people are doing the same), and see some of the London sights.

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One of Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" stories has a footnote for the benefit of non-English readers  saying that Toad-in-the-hole and Spotted Dick are the names of actual English foods and explaining what they consist of! 

 

Good luck in finding a boat.  A couple of decades ago while we were queueing for the staircase locks on the Llangollen, we got chatting to the crew of the boat in front of us. They were two American couples who said they had been coming over every year as it was so relaxing and enjoyable. 

Edited by Ronaldo47
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14 hours ago, Greg K said:

Toad in the Hole.

 

Alls I know is that involves nice fat sausages, beef drippings, and a suet pastry.  As an American, I have a slight love of fat and drippings and the like.  And sausages.

 

"Mmmmm...sausages."

-Homer Simpson

Toad in the Hole does not involve any suet pastry.  It's batter.

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I guess companies are wary of single hirers for 2 reasons: the hirer possibly inviting all their mates along for a stag/hen do, and the safety aspect.  More mature hirers might be able to persuade companies that the first is not an issue.  Managing locks single-handed is always going to be more of a risk for a novice: e.g. climbing greasy lock ladders or bow hauling the boat in/out of the lock.

 

If you can find a company prepared to hire, I would choose a popular route in the hope of sharing some locks (or lock duties) with someone going the same way.  E.g something like the Warwickshire Ring can be done in a week, so over a fortnight you could afford to wait at Hatton and elsewhere for another boat to share with (or a volocky where available).  On a Ring you can of course still turn back after 6 days if you haven't reached the mid-point.

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14 hours ago, Greg K said:

How about the spring and autumn solid fuel run the Narrowboat Trust operates?  I've been invited on that by a very generous fellow.  Great way to learn narrowboats and help a good cause at the same time.  And what way to learn!  On working boats.  Start w/ that and maybe a single hire from the right boatyard might be possible one day.

 

My first introduction to canalling was on a self drive ex-working boat converted into a camping boat (12 bunks in the hold under the canvas) hired from Union Canal Carriers of Braunston (who are still trading)  in 1973.

 

Beware, it can be a slippery slope leading to boat ownership and eventually canalcoholicism! 😂

 

 

Edited by cuthound
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On 27/07/2021 at 03:45, Greg K said:

Greetings!

 

Yes, I'm another one of those bloody yanks who've seen the canal boat documentaries (some better than others) and it's piqued my interest in a narrowboat holiday.

 

It's be a major undertaking in travel just to GET to the narrowboat, so I wouldn't consider anything less than a fortnight on the water.  And definitely not this year, and definitely not during a school holiday.  TOO CROWDED.   I very much enjoy the fall, and fortnight on the canals in mid-September 2022 would be the plan.

 

To that end I'll be lurking about the message boards absorbing all the knowledge and wisdom I can.  It's over a year until the trip so enough time to plan the whole lot.  Only one hitch; I'm traveling solo, so don't know if any of the for hire companies will rent to just one bloke like me.  Hope so, and I better settle that bit first before I get too deep into the plan.

 

I know this much; I'd like to hire a narrowboat, and then one that's 45ft maximum so I'm not limited in the route I choose.  A nice "circle" tour would be ideal.   Don't fear locks, just don't want the trip to turn into a locking exercise.  Tunnels?  I ain't scared.  Pubs aren't important since I'm not that much of a boozer, more interested in the classic English countryside and small towns and village.  And I'll be cooking on board most nights and mornings with an occasional lunch.  That one guy w/ the narrowboat program that cooks a lot has me wanting to try steak & kidney pie, toads in the hole w/ gravy, Yorkshire pudding, and of course that classic big English breakfast.

 

I'm sure to have a lot more questions after I dive into the research, and that's the fun end of it for me.  

 

So thanks to the mods and those who maintain this website, and for the members who participate actively.  Look forward to learning a lot.

 

gpk

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome, Greg. If you're looking forward to those classic British cuisines, I suggest buying the eggs, bacon, and sausages for your full English breakfast from a local farm shop you pass on your travels on the boat. It'll be all the more delicious than anything from a supermarket. 

 

And if you're going to have Yorkshire Pudding, you gotta have a proper roast dinner to go with it, to really appreciate it. (Lots of decent pubs do a good roast beef with Yorkie puds dinner or carvery on a Sunday lunchtime, if you're not making your own. Lots of pubs are eateries too these days and you don't have to drink booze. There's always tea, coffee and soft drinks served in pubs.  Although you might want to try a good British ale at least once while you're here - all my American friends think we drink warm lager on this country, until they come to the UK and actually try a nice cool glass of proper ale, which is totally different to lager. We have lager too, but that is served very cold, as it should be).

 

And don't forget desserts like Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble for the full British weight-gain experience :)

 

Keep us posted how you get on. 

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1 minute ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

Welcome, Greg. If you're looking forward to those classic British cuisines, I suggest buying the eggs, bacon, and sausages for your full English breakfast from a local farm shop you pass on your travels on the boat. It'll be all the more delicious than anything from a supermarket. 

 

And if you're going to have Yorkshire Pudding, you gotta have a proper roast dinner to go with it, to really appreciate it. (Lots of decent pubs do a good roast beef with Yorkie puds dinner or carvery on a Sunday lunchtime, if you're not making your own. Lots of pubs are eateries too these days and you don't have to drink booze. There's always tea, coffee and soft drinks served in pubs.  Although you might want to try a good British ale at least once while you're here - all my American friends think we drink warm lager on this country, until they come to the UK and actually try a nice cool glass of proper ale, which is totally different to lager. We have lager too, but that is served very cold, as it should be).

 

And don't forget desserts like Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble for the full British weight-gain experience :)

 

Keep us posted how you get on. 

Look you, I am not cooking a full roast for you it's too bloody hot, be happy with your salad

:)

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16 hours ago, Greg K said:

That Hector on the Leicester Ring is what I'm after.  151 miles, 100 locks (!), 5 hours cruising per day.  That may be a bit to much of a P.O.R. Rally (push on regardless) and while I'm looking for a definitely active working holiday, I would like to have some time to stop spend a day if a town catches my fancy.  But that's all academic if I can't hire the boat ! ! 

 

I've got a message in to Armada Boat hire about the single handed thing.  Even offered to arrive a day early to some helmsman training and orientation at my own expense (fuel, hourly boat charge, etc..)  Reviewed their terms of hire thoroughly.  Nothing about prohibiting single hires.  Fingers crossed.....

Good luck with Armada, Hector would suit you just fine. In case you hadn't realised it's also got a rare advantage for a narrowboat of being very quiet when cruising along because the engine is in the bows with hydraulic drive to the prop.

 

 

I did the Leicester ring last year with my wife in two weeks, by my standards (typically 7-8 hours a day cruising with 4 of us) it was relatively easy (five and a half hours per day average according to Canalplan), but actually it was quite hard work at times, especially with unexpected delays due to bad weather including a temporary closure on the Soar -- and some of the locks there are difficult for one person to operate even with another one on the boat, they'd be harder still for you, and there aren't many boats along there so the chances of regular lock sharing to help you would be slim. Given your experience and solo nature I really wouldn't recommend it -- here's a link to the kind of thing you'd need to do if you did:

 

https://canalplan.uk/journey/13442_cp

Edited by IanD
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22 hours ago, IanD said:

Opinions on the Llangollen differ, depending what you consider boring 😉

 

The Four Counties Ring is very pleasant (I've done it several times) and has some lovely offshoots like the Caldon, without any of these it's 94 locks and easy to do in a week if you like long days of cruising and not much stopping. How suitable this (or any ring) is for a novice single-hander like Greg is difficult to say without knowing how many locks he considers "a lot", how many hours a day he wants to travel, and how much time he wants to spend looking round places he's stopped at. These are all known by experienced forum members, but our idea of what constitutes "easy" may well

 

 

If they'll hire to a single-hander (need to ring them?), Hector from Armada (could go down the Oxford Canal from here) would be a lovely little boat for one...

 

https://armadaboathire.co.uk/boat-hector.html

We've admired 'Hector' more than once, it's very appealing craft and looks ideal for one person.

If Armada is the boatyard near Newbold tunnel, we did find an older member of their staff curmudgeonly to the point of rudeness a couple of years ago, but of course you'd only encounter him when picking up the boat and when returning it.

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5 hours ago, IanD said:

Good luck with Armada, Hector would suit you just fine. In case you hadn't realised it's also got a rare advantage for a narrowboat of being very quiet when cruising along because the engine is in the bows with hydraulic drive to the prop.

 

 

I did the Leicester ring last year with my wife in two weeks, by my standards (typically 7-8 hours a day cruising with 4 of us) it was relatively easy (five and a half hours per day average according to Canalplan), but actually it was quite hard work at times, especially with unexpected delays due to bad weather including a temporary closure on the Soar -- and some of the locks there are difficult for one person to operate even with another one on the boat, they'd be harder still for you, and there aren't many boats along there so the chances of regular lock sharing to help you would be slim. Given your experience and solo nature I really wouldn't recommend it -- here's a link to the kind of thing you'd need to do if you did:

 

https://canalplan.uk/journey/13442_cp

If I can ever get my hands on a single hire, it would be the Hector.  Notice straight away that the engine is in the bow.  All canal boat videos I've viewed, shot from the helm position mostly, there's the definite sound of the engine.

 

And likely an "out 'n back" trip for me, first time solo on the canals.  I can stop at some spots on the way out and mark other to see on the way back.  Plus no stressing about making a definitive number of miles per day.

5 hours ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

Welcome, Greg. If you're looking forward to those classic British cuisines, I suggest buying the eggs, bacon, and sausages for your full English breakfast from a local farm shop you pass on your travels on the boat. It'll be all the more delicious than anything from a supermarket. 

 

And if you're going to have Yorkshire Pudding, you gotta have a proper roast dinner to go with it, to really appreciate it. (Lots of decent pubs do a good roast beef with Yorkie puds dinner or carvery on a Sunday lunchtime, if you're not making your own. Lots of pubs are eateries too these days and you don't have to drink booze. There's always tea, coffee and soft drinks served in pubs.  Although you might want to try a good British ale at least once while you're here - all my American friends think we drink warm lager on this country, until they come to the UK and actually try a nice cool glass of proper ale, which is totally different to lager. We have lager too, but that is served very cold, as it should be).

 

And don't forget desserts like Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble for the full British weight-gain experience :)

 

Keep us posted how you get on. 

Oh, for SURE, locally sourced foods would be highly sought after.

 

And of course I'll be frequenting the odd pub along the route.  I used to brew me own beer in an all-grain system a few years ago so very familiar w/ beer style.  MUCH prefer ales myself, and no, in the UK beer is NOT served at room temperature.  

 

Cheers!

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5 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

My first introduction to canalling was on a self drive ex-working boat converted into a camping boat (12 bunks in the hold under the canvas) hired from Union Canal Carriers of Braunston (who are still trading)  in 1973.

 

Beware, it can be a slippery slope leading to boat ownership and eventually canalcoholicism! 😂

 

 

Totally depends on how long of a visa I can get.  Buying isn't out of the question when I stop working the day job in about 5 years or so.

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6 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

Toad in the Hole does not involve any suet pastry.  It's batter.

RIGHT!  Thanks.

 

The suet pastry was used in the steak & kidney pie, come to think of it.

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Greg K said:

If I can ever get my hands on a single hire, it would be the Hector.  Notice straight away that the engine is in the bow.  All canal boat videos I've viewed, shot from the helm position mostly, there's the definite sound of the engine.

 

And likely an "out 'n back" trip for me, first time solo on the canals.  I can stop at some spots on the way out and mark other to see on the way back.  Plus no stressing about making a definitive number of miles per day.

Oh, for SURE, locally sourced foods would be highly sought after.

 

And of course I'll be frequenting the odd pub along the route.  I used to brew me own beer in an all-grain system a few years ago so very familiar w/ beer style.  MUCH prefer ales myself, and no, in the UK beer is NOT served at room temperature.  

 

Cheers!

Hector engine noise video:

 

https://www.facebook.com/313479885704084/videos/577829629269107

 

If you do the Leicester ring, there are some overnight pub stopping suggestions in the Canalplan route I sent. The Wharf Inn at the end of the Welford arm was excellent, great beer and one of the best fish and chip dinners I've ever eaten -- and that includes legendary places like the Magpie in Whitby... 😉

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7 hours ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

And if you're going to have Yorkshire Pudding, you gotta have a proper roast dinner to go with it, to really appreciate it. (Lots of decent pubs do a good roast beef with Yorkie puds dinner or carvery on a Sunday lunchtime, if you're not making your own. 

 

Note the 'location' quoted by this heathen - ignore their misleading advice!! A true Yorkshireman/person will be served their Yorkshire pudding as a first course alone but with lashings of gravy.. I know that and I'm not even from Yorkshire. Well, when I'm boating I am.

And hows about a slightly left-field suggestion for your proposed holiday? About 98% of regular boaters have a YouTube channel in which they document their wanderings round the canal system and what is wrong with the way everybody else uses their boat/goes. So, sit yourself down with a map of the canal system, a laptop and suitable refreshment. Fire up YouTube and do a search on 'narrowboat'. That should give you a couple of dozen hits. Most vloggers indicate where they are cruising - link where they are when they film to your map and note down any locations/areas which appeal to you. Most of the primary vloggers have been everywhere so you should get a good flavour of where you would like to go. Tie that up to hire boat bases and, hey presto, you've got an idea of where to visit which is not coloured by the opinions of contributors on here. We all have our own favourite areas and we will defend our choice against all-comers (although I'm actually right!).

And, be warned. Hiring is a dangerous and expensive business. I only hired twice before I ended up buying - hey-ho! 😉

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32 minutes ago, Opener said:

A true Yorkshireman/person will be served their Yorkshire pudding as a first course alone but with lashings of gravy.. I know that and I'm not even from Yorkshire.

Or, the next day, with what we call treacle on (golden syrup to those from elsewhere).

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1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

See what happens what a seemingly  simple toads has led to, it's going to be civil war soon.

I did warn you :)

 

Civil war would be more likely if there was a Lancashire pudding (Hot Pot doesn't count). 😂

 

I mean if they fought for 32 years over roses, imagine how long it would have lasted over something important like puddings! 😁

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