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Narrowboat holiday 2022


Pomers

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Looking to take a canal break in 2022, having last been on the canals 30 years ago up the Oxford.

 

Will be a weeks worth between May-September and wondering best start point (boatyard, marina) for a reasonably relaxing week of scenery, nice villages, pubs nearby. I do love locks but not too many!!  Travelling from near Southend, Essex we are a 55-63 year old couple.

 

Also looking for guidance on best tools/apps to use, journey timers etc. to assist with choices; things like mobile apps, online resources. I'll be taking a trawl of the forum now that I've registered.

 

Many thanks in advance.

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Wyvern Shipping of Leighton Buzzard have well turned out boats, the scenery of the Chilterns and the museum and tunnel at Stoke Bruerne all within reach.

 

For next to no locks, Ashby boats or something similar at Stoke Golding on the Ashby canaalso have well looked after boats.  You could visit Coventry, next year's City of Culture I think, and The Greyhound at Hawkesbury Junction.

 

Further Norf there are Napton Narrowboats at Autherley, Countrywide Cruisers at Brewood and a small hire fleet at Norbury Junction.  All are on the Shropshore Union and there are several decent pubs, including the Anchor at High Offley.  Some locks, but easy ones, and neatly arranged in flights.

 

The big chain hire companies are Anglo Welsh, ABC, and Black Prince.  They all have multiple bases across the system.

 

N

 

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I think you will find fewer canalside pubs in some parts of the system than there were 30 years ago, many having closed well before covid. There will also be more semi-permanently moored boats that you have to slow down to pass. 

 

On the positive side, you should find more towpaths in better condition due to the extensive use of piling, and the occasional  presence of volunteer lockies to help you through certain flights, although some posters on this forum consider them to be a mixed blessing.  

Edited by Ronaldo47
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I think that is a bit too much of an open question to get good answers.  You must have some thoughts on the part of the country that you are interested in?  As you are in the south, are you looking for somewhere in the south, or would you travel to say the Midlands?

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2 hours ago, john6767 said:

I think that is a bit too much of an open question to get good answers.  You must have some thoughts on the part of the country that you are interested in?

Yes indeed, far too open a Q. We’re thinking Coventry, Nottingham way, certainly Midlands. 

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4 minutes ago, Pomers said:

Yes indeed, far too open a Q. We’re thinking Coventry, Nottingham way, certainly Midlands. 

I may be biased, but look at the hire companies in the Napton/Braunston/Rugby areas, there are a number to choose from so you can see what you fancy in terms of the boats they have on offer.  I don’t think there is a bad choice, it is all personal preference.

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11 minutes ago, Pomers said:

Yes indeed, far too open a Q. We’re thinking Coventry, Nottingham way, certainly Midlands. 

Aqua Narrowboats from Barton Turns Marina, top quality narrowboats, but attract a premium price for the higher quality. Along the Trent and Mersey to Fradley, then the Coventry and Ashby or go a bit further south until you need to run around. I think a couple of others on the forum have hired from them before.

 

I am not sure what 2020 will be like, but a lot of fleets have had very high occupancy this year.

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18 hours ago, Pomers said:

Looking to take a canal break in 2022, having last been on the canals 30 years ago up the Oxford.

 

Will be a weeks worth between May-September and wondering best start point (boatyard, marina) for a reasonably relaxing week of scenery, nice villages, pubs nearby. I do love locks but not too many!!  Travelling from near Southend, Essex we are a 55-63 year old couple.

 

Also looking for guidance on best tools/apps to use, journey timers etc. to assist with choices; things like mobile apps, online resources. I'll be taking a trawl of the forum now that I've registered.

 

Many thanks in advance.

Starting on the Ashby you have a choice of hardly any locks to Braunston or a trip down and up Atherstone flight the other way with lots of countryside.

 

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18 hours ago, PeterF said:

Aqua Narrowboats from Barton Turns Marina, top quality narrowboats, but attract a premium price for the higher quality. Along the Trent and Mersey to Fradley, then the Coventry and Ashby or go a bit further south until you need to run around. I think a couple of others on the forum have hired from them before.

 

I am not sure what 2020 will be like, but a lot of fleets have had very high occupancy this year.

Another vote for Aqua, but they're popular so tend to be booked up early...

 

Napton's top end boats are also good (and pricy), as are Anglo Welsh, and also booked early. There's a certain common theme here...;-)

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Many thanks all. Had a good look around the network from all your replies and we've booked Aqua Life for late April 22.

 

What's the best resources to take; maps, paper, Apps? Nicholsons etc.

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23 minutes ago, Pomers said:

Many thanks all. Had a good look around the network from all your replies and we've booked Aqua Life for late April 22.

 

What's the best resources to take; maps, paper, Apps? Nicholsons etc.

Nicholsons and Pearsons guides are both good but different; Nicholsons is more like an annotated OS map with a lot of detail and facts, Pearsons is more figurative and hand-drawn but much more readable and with more interesting information. The OpenCanalMap app is free and good for keeping track of exactly where you are, locks, bridges etc. CanalPlanAC (alos free) is the best online resource for journey planning.

 

How long have you booked for, how much time do you want to spend travelling vs. visiting places, what are your priorities (food/pubs/country/town/sightseeing/locks), and do you have any ideas of where you want to go yet?

 

If you give a clue on any/all of this, you might get a lot of helpful advice on where to go and stop 🙂

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