Travelling in a narrowboat from Stourport-on-Severn to London

[Noviceboata]

Hi all,

Buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn and thinking the best way to get it to London. Would it be possible to drive it all the way from Stourport to London on the Canal system? how long would it take? Or would it be easier and cheaper to just transport it by truck? I have a lot of time on my hands so I think the trip down to London (If possible) would be a wonderful expierience

[john6767]

If you are talking about doing this say next month, then you need to look at the winter stoppages to see what routes are going to be possible, if any.  Also as we start to go into autumn you might want to choose to avoid rivers, eg the Severn and Avon, and the Thames and stick to canals.

 

So in principle up the S&W, then through Birmingham to pick up the GU, or round Birmingham, T&M, Coventry, North Oxford, GU.  You can use canalplan.co.uk to plan a route.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

 

38 minutes ago, Noviceboata said:

Would it be possible to drive it all the way from Stourport to London on the Canal system?

Yes. A variety of routes are possible. Limitations, if you are planning to do it this time of year are stoppages and maintenance closures, of which there are a lot over the winter. See Canal and tiver trust web site for details and you'd need to plan around them. Also, short days, limiting the distance you can go in daylight. Inclement weather is harder to boat long hours in, also any rivers on the system are more likely to go in to flood. Routes can be planned on canalplan.org.uk. There are maps of the canal system to determine plausible routes, then use canalplan to get a rough idea of days required.

38 minutes ago, Noviceboata said:

how long would it take? Or would it be easier and cheaper to just transport it by truck?

See above. Not cheaper, if you are steering the boat yourself for the trip. You need to pay for a crane at each end, plus the truck. Quicker and easier yes. Lots and lots and lots of people on here asking the truck question. Been answered umpteen times. The search facility will answer your questions.

38 minutes ago, Noviceboata said:

I have a lot of time on my hands so I think the trip down to London (If possible) would be a wonderful expierience

Definitily. Lots more fun and memorable than using a lorry. An excellent adventure. I reckon you've answered your own question!

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jen-in-Wellies

[matty40s]

It is indeed a wonderful trip with a choice of routes. Unfortunately you steal coming to the season of stoppages( as opposed to the semipermanent Northern season of stoppages) so careful planning will be needed if your journey is soon.

[Noviceboata]

45 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

Yes. A variety of routes are possible. Limitations, if you are planning to do it this time of year are stoppages and maintenance closures, of which there are a lot over the winter. See Canal and tiver trust web site for details and you'd need to plan around them. Also, short days, limiting the distance you can go in daylight. Inclement weather is harder to boat long hours in, also any rivers on the system are more likely to go in to flood. Routes can be planned on canalplan.org.uk. There are maps of the canal system to determine plausible routes, then use canalplan to get a rough idea of days required.

See above. Not cheaper, if you are steering the boat yourself for the trip. You need to pay for a crane at each end, plus the truck. Quicker and easier yes. Lots and lots and lots of people on here asking the truck question. Been answered umpteen times. The search facility will answer your questions.

Definitily. Lots more fun and memorable than using a lorry. An excellent adventure. I reckon you've answered your own question!

Thanks fot that. I guess I plan to travel to travel after winter during spring. It seems the distance is around 160 miles. How long would it take to travel this distance? How many miles would one expect to travel in one day? (guess it depends on the top speed of the narrowbvoat)

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, Noviceboata said:

Thanks fot that. I guess I plan to travel to travel after winter during spring. It seems the distance is around 160 miles. How long would it take to travel this distance? How many miles would one expect to travel in one day? (guess it depends on the top speed of the narrowbvoat)

 

That depends upon the route you choose, the number of locks, any stoppages you hit and how willing you are to boat regardless of weather. Canalplan (mentioned above)  will give an idea of the time needed. Reckon on 3 to 4 lock miles per hour. That is count the miles and add the locks you will pass through to get the number of lock miles.

[Alan de Enfield]

42 minutes ago, Noviceboata said:

(guess it depends on the top speed of the narrowbvoat)

 

You will be unlikely to travel at anything above 3mph and will probably be lucky to achieve above 2mph average.

 

Taking that and your 160 miles I'd suggest that 80 hours cruising time for the trip would not be far out - but as suggested Canal Plan willl give it to you 'to the minute'.

[Tracy D'arth]

Where in London have you arranged to moor? Its a big city!

[Captain Pegg]

It’ll take two weeks in round terms.

 

Probably more notable than the mileage is that it involves 200 locks.

[ditchcrawler]

Put your route details in here and it will give you a very good idea how long it will take.  I hope its not  a FAT Narrowboat but a standard one  https://canalplan.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi

[Cheese]

6 hours ago, Noviceboata said:

I have a lot of time on my hands so I think the trip down to London ... would be a wonderful expierience

Absolutely, and a first class way of getting to understand your new boat.  But if you are completely a novice then the overall time needed may depend as much on other factors as Canalplan timings.

 

Will you have made short trips beforehand, out / back to Stourport, to check everything is running smoothly?  And ensured you have all the necessary tools, spares, fuel, food etc on board?  Will anyone be accompanying you (as a solo boater you may be quite slow handling lines and dealing with locks etc for the first few days)?  Will you be on the move from dawn to dusk, or take it more leisurely?  Have you got somewhere in mind to moor when you get to London? 

[mrsmelly]

4 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Where in London have you arranged to moor? Its a big city!

I was wondering who would be first to say that 😂

He/She/they/it may well have a residential mooring? 

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

I was wondering who would be first to say that 😂

He/She/they/it may well have a residential mooring? 

 

It appears that he /she / they / it are currently "thinking about buying a boat" and 'it will be Spring" before they make the trip to London - I doubt they are paying for an unused residential mooring (yet).

[alan_fincher]

16 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It  appears that he /she / they / it are currently "thinking about buying a boat" and 'it will be Spring" before they make the trip to London - I doubt they are paying for an unused residential mooring (yet).

 

The initial post says "Buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn ".  I took that to mean "I am buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn" not "I am thinking of buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn".

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, alan_fincher said:

 

The initial post says "Buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn ".  I took that to mean "I am buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn" not "I am thinking of buying a narrowboat in Stourport-on-Severn".

 

Fair enough.

You may be correct & he has probably already had the survey and negotiated the final price.

[Victor Vectis]

Why on Earth do they want to go to London?

I was there a fortnight ago on the boat.

It's 'orrible and I ain't going again!

(Not on the boat that is)

[OldGoat]

22 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

Why on Earth do they want to go to London?

I was there a fortnight ago on the boat.

It's 'orrible and I ain't going again!

(Not on the boat that is)

C'mon _ Lunnon is 'where it's at'; must ne as anywhere that's moorable has two or three boats abreast....

Look at (any) videos on the U-tube and you'll see there's a buzz around. Not only that, but there are jobs to be had (may be) and few out in the sticks.

It's very difficult for seasoned boaters to offer caution (after all experienced boaters are over the hill and completely out-of-touch)

'We' can make measured sugestions based on experience - but who listens?

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, Victor Vectis said:

Why on Earth do they want to go to London?

I was there a fortnight ago on the boat.

It's 'orrible and I ain't going again!

(Not on the boat that is)

It's a great experience for a short visit, go down, through the Regents, up the Lea and Stort, back down to Limehouse, drop onto the Thames, back in at Brentford or carry on up to Teddington and beyond.

At no point has the OP said they want to keep the boat in London, just get it there.

[mrsmelly]

1 hour ago, Victor Vectis said:

Why on Earth do they want to go to London?

I was there a fortnight ago on the boat.

It's 'orrible and I ain't going again!

(Not on the boat that is)

One of our kids went to uni there, I went there to move her stuff when she came out of her uni digs into a house there when she started work in London, she is 48 so this must have been about 25 ish years ago, what a crap hole. Ive not been back since, that was the fifth visit I have made in my lifetime. She saw the light and left herself about five years later, now owns a fabulous bungalow in Bristol. There is work everywhere and anywhere is better than London, even Beirut lol.

[Noviceboata]

9 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Put your route details in here and it will give you a very good idea how long it will take.  I hope its not  a FAT Narrowboat but a standard one  https://canalplan.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi

Thankyou! this is awesome)

[Noviceboata]

On 22/10/2022 at 10:07, Tracy D'arth said:

Where in London have you arranged to moor? Its a big city!

Dont need a mooring. Will CC and stop for 2 weeks like I have thevright to do

[cheesegas]

1 hour ago, Noviceboata said:

Dont need a mooring. Will CC and stop for 2 weeks like I have thevright to do

Please don't just shuffle from Hackney Wick to Stonebridge and back like a lot of people...between Brentford, Uxbridge, Limehouse and the Stort there's a lot of nice spots that take you out of town whilst being commutable.

[Noviceboata]

6 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

Please don't just shuffle from Hackney Wick to Stonebridge and back like a lot of people...between Brentford, Uxbridge, Limehouse and the Stort there's a lot of nice spots that take you out of town whilst being commutable.

I fully agree with you and thats what I plan on doing

[Victor Vectis]

10 hours ago, Noviceboata said:

Dont need a mooring. Will CC and stop for 2 weeks like I have thevright to do

The prosecution rests m'lud.

[Tracy D'arth]

42 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

The prosecution rests m'lud.

Its going to be a steep learning curve for this wannabe boater!