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Three month winter cruise - suggestions please


Bristolfashion

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Subject to closures you could head to Braunston, then from there you could head to Market Harbourough to experience the Foxton staircase locks, or continue on the Oxford canal to Hawkesbury junction and enjoy a beer in the Greyhound.  From there head in to Birmingham and then head back towards your end point via the Grand Union

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1 hour ago, Bristolfashion said:

However, you are obviously someone that appreciates precision, so the start point is  

 

52.1756773,

-1.369984552

 

The finish point is a little south of that - that's towards the bottom of the map of the UK - as long as you've got it the right way up.

Sigh.... 

A place-name, bridge number, hyperlinked google maps location or what.three.words identifier would be easy for forum members to locate. A raw latitude and longitude is more hassle.

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1 hour ago, Bristolfashion said:

Thank you for your response - although I'm not sure I could rely on any directions you gave if you're unsure which way is North!😀 I might end up in London when I'm heading for Birmingham.

 

However, you are obviously someone that appreciates precision, so the start point is  

 

52.1756773,

-1.369984552

 

The finish point is a little south of that - that's towards the bottom of the map of the UK - as long as you've got it the right way up.

 

Cheers

Ah, yes, I rather forgot that those on the canal tend to navigate by pubs - perhaps the CAMRA app will prove more useful than the Nicholson's Guide! 😀


Those coordinates come up as the Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton, bit confused by that as there in no hire base near there.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Subject to closures you could head to Braunston, then from there you could head to Market Harbourough to experience the Foxton staircase locks, or continue on the Oxford canal to Hawkesbury junction and enjoy a beer in the Greyhound.  From there head in to Birmingham and then head back towards your end point via the Grand Union

He's got three months. 'Subject to closures' he could reach just about any part of the connected network and back in that time. But because of the stoppages he can't. It is more than likely that all he can do is head off in one direction after another, and turn round when he reaches a stoppage, and then try a different route where the same happens, and if he is lucky there will be a stoppage-free route back to base at the end of the trip.

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If Fenny Compton is indeed the start, and with a quick look at the stoppages.

 

before Christmas

Braunston, North Oxford, Coventry, T&M, S&W, Shroppie

 

after Christmas

Middlewich Branch, T&M, Coventry, B&F, GU to Napton.  You will not be able to get back down the South Oxford until the stoppages are over as Napton locks are closed.

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10 minutes ago, David Mack said:

He's got three months. 'Subject to closures' he could reach just about any part of the connected network and back in that time. But because of the stoppages he can't. It is more than likely that all he can do is head off in one direction after another, and turn round when he reaches a stoppage, and then try a different route where the same happens, and if he is lucky there will be a stoppage-free route back to base at the end of the trip.

I was just trying to give the OP some points to look at.  If it was me going out for three months at that time of year I would probably flip a coin at each junction and see where I end up but keep a list of stoppages to hand to ensure I didn't get trapped somewhere.

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3 minutes ago, john6767 said:

If Fenny Compton is indeed the start, and with a quick look at the stoppages.

 

before Christmas

Braunston, North Oxford, Coventry, T&M, S&W, Shroppie

 

after Christmas

Middlewich Branch, T&M, Coventry, B&F, GU to Napton.  You will not be able to get back down the South Oxford until the stoppages are over as Napton locks are closed.

Thank you - yes, we have talked about the Napton Locks closure & the end of hire - there will be 6 hire boats waiting to go thru on the opening! Good suggestions, thanks again.

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27 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Subject to closures you could head to Braunston, then from there you could head to Market Harbourough to experience the Foxton staircase locks, or continue on the Oxford canal to Hawkesbury junction and enjoy a beer in the Greyhound.  From there head in to Birmingham and then head back towards your end point via the Grand Union

You have to get past the very holey Watford Flight first..

If it goes, it could be a Loooong stoppage.

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29 minutes ago, matty40s said:

You have to get past the very holey Watford Flight first..

If it goes, it could be a Loooong stoppage.

There is a closure at a convert at yelvertoft before Christmas, so that is probably not the way to go anyway

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Most canal routes are wonderful in their own way and have their merits and liked to a lesser or greater degree depending upon an individual's viewpoint. So how about you work out your proposed route, and when you've finished, share it with us and we can all add our opinions and recommended places to see, stop at, things to do etc, along your route?

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Not sure it's been mentioned yet but also worth bearing in mind that if you are planning to use any river navigations you will need to keep a close eye on the weather and plan ahead places where you can safely moor should flood conditions occur.

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5 hours ago, Grassman said:

Most canal routes are wonderful in their own way and have their merits and liked to a lesser or greater degree depending upon an individual's viewpoint. So how about you work out your proposed route, and when you've finished, share it with us and we can all add our opinions and recommended places to see, stop at, things to do etc, along your route?

Yes, I thought I'd do a little blog - although slightly apprehensive of the opinions I might get back! 😀

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2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

You could explore the Birmingham Canal Navigations, there are seldom a great number of winter closures and it is very interesting and different. There are plenty of alternative routes in and out to get you back to Napton.


the Walsall Basin is a must see, always room in there

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If I were the OP cruising for three months in winter with no job and no stoppages and starting from Fenny Compton, I'd go:

 

1.  North to Napton.

2.  West on the GU to Kingswood Junction.

3.  Stratford Canal south to Stratford.

4.  Turn at Stratford and go North on the Stratford to Kings Norton Junction.

5.  Take the Worcester and Birmingham to Birmingham.

6.  Take the BCN mainline, new then old, to Aldersley Junction.

7.  Shroppie north to Middlewich Branch (with detour to Llangollen if you fancy).

8.  Middlewich branch to the Trent and Mersey.

9.  Trent and Mersey north to Bridgwater Canal.

10. Bridgwater ---> Leeds and Liverpool canal.

11.  L&L all the way to Leeds (detour to Liverpool or not).

12.  Aire & Calder, then Calder and Hebblem the Huddersfield Broad to Huddersfield.

13.  Huddersfield Narrow to Ashton.

14.  Peak Forest ---> Macclesfield Canal

15.  Macclesfield Canal ----> T&M and south to Fradley Junction.

16.  Coventry Canal ----> Oxford Canal, and back to Fenny.

 

17.  Have a rest.

 

Now the problem is, this is all impossible because of stoppages.

 

I've carefully avoided rivers because they'd probably be in flood.

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5 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

If I were the OP cruising for three months in winter with no job and no stoppages and starting from Fenny Compton, I'd go:

 

1.  North to Napton.

2.  West on the GU to Kingswood Junction.

3.  Stratford Canal south to Stratford.

4.  Turn at Stratford and go North on the Stratford to Kings Norton Junction.

5.  Take the Worcester and Birmingham to Birmingham.

6.  Take the BCN mainline, new then old, to Aldersley Junction.

7.  Shroppie north to Middlewich Branch (with detour to Llangollen if you fancy).

8.  Middlewich branch to the Trent and Mersey.

9.  Trent and Mersey north to Bridgwater Canal.

10. Bridgwater ---> Leeds and Liverpool canal.

11.  L&L all the way to Leeds (detour to Liverpool or not).

12.  Aire & Calder, then Calder and Hebblem the Huddersfield Broad to Huddersfield.

13.  Huddersfield Narrow to Ashton.

14.  Peak Forest ---> Macclesfield Canal

15.  Macclesfield Canal ----> T&M and south to Fradley Junction.

16.  Coventry Canal ----> Oxford Canal, and back to Fenny.

 

17.  Have a rest.

 

Now the problem is, this is all impossible because of stoppages.

 

I've carefully avoided rivers because they'd probably be in flood.

That's a nice plan. When I come up with a tentative plan, I'll lay it out here for comment.

And, on planning a longish cruise which is subject to various stoppages, does anyone have a groovy, convenient way to show these on a planning map (digital or paper) which makes planning easier?

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6 minutes ago, Bristolfashion said:

That's a nice plan. When I come up with a tentative plan, I'll lay it out here for comment.

And, on planning a longish cruise which is subject to various stoppages, does anyone have a groovy, convenient way to show these on a planning map (digital or paper) which makes planning easier?

It is a good plan, but fails at step 2 as Hatton is closed before Christmas.  At the time of year you plan to travel you need to start with the stoppages in my view, or you just waste time on plans you can not execute.

 

canalplan.uk can show stoppages, but for me the simplest is to go the the CRT stoppages page, set it just to show navigation closures, and then set the start and end dates.  Look at the stoppages in the map view, and you have a good overview.  You can then click on any stoppage and check what the dates are.

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Just now, john6767 said:

It is a good plan, but fails at step 2 as Hatton is closed before Christmas.  At the time of year you plan to travel you need to start with the stoppages in my view, or you just waste time on plans you can not execute.

 

canalplan.uk can show stoppages, but for me the simplest is to go the the CRT stoppages page, set it just to show navigation closures, and then set the start and end dates.  Look at the stoppages in the map view, and you have a good overview.  You can then click on any stoppage and check what the dates are.

Thanks, I just wondered if people favoured post-it notes, coloured pens or even digital overlays to make a visual planning tool?

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As well as having a route, consider the heating required on a boat in winter for 3 months, especially as you could get iced in (though probably less likely with global warming). A solid fuel stove and plenty of smokeless coal would be good. If no solid fuel stove you may use a lot of gas, so consider where you will be able to buy refills. A trolley to collect fuel/gas would be useful.

 

Also check routes of fuel boats for diesel, gas coal etc.

 

Apologies if this is all obvious to you.

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46 minutes ago, john6767 said:

It is a good plan, but fails at step 2 as Hatton is closed before Christmas.  At the time of year you plan to travel you need to start with the stoppages in my view, or you just waste time on plans you can not execute.

 

canalplan.uk can show stoppages, but for me the simplest is to go the the CRT stoppages page, set it just to show navigation closures, and then set the start and end dates.  Look at the stoppages in the map view, and you have a good overview.  You can then click on any stoppage and check what the dates are.

That's exactly what I do.

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