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Visiting the seaside


SandyD

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Hi All,

 

My partner and I were discussing, if we were to become continuous crusers, where could we go to visit the seaside from the canal network. It looks to me the best place would be Lancaster - have I missed anywhere closer (we are at Napton at present) and can you walk to the beach if you did moor at somwhere like Hest Bank?

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On the L&L,   moor at Burscough or Scarisbrick and catch a train or bus to Southport.  It is about 4 miles.    There will be sand, but  sea as well is an occasional thing.  As well as beaches there are the  usual seaside things.  Lord St is also worth a look.

 

OR, Turn left from Limehouse or Brentford and keep going.  Beaches at Margate, Whitstable etc. on your right after a while.

N

 

 

 

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The Rochdale canal ;) 

 

Hear me out. You moor in Littleborough and then its a brisk walk up the road to Hollingworth Lake. There’s a nice walk round the lake with a few “beaches” and “coves”, a Watersports centre for paddleboards/kayaks, a pub called “The Beach” which does food carvery style, and just across the road from the lake are a chippy, cafés, diners and even an amusement arcade with grabbers and penny pushers!! You can probably even get harassed by gulls for your food, just like at the seaside!

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You can get a train from Reading to Bournemouth. Could be interesting ?

You can get a train from Reading to Bournemouth. Could be interesting ?

 

Only 1 hour 21 minutes apparently. 

Edited by magnetman
ETA I see there is a return as well.
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7 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

The Rochdale canal ;) 

 

Hear me out. You moor in Littleborough and then its a brisk walk up the road to Hollingworth Lake. There’s a nice walk round the lake with a few “beaches” and “coves”, a Watersports centre for paddleboards/kayaks, a pub called “The Beach” which does food carvery style, and just across the road from the lake are a chippy, cafés, diners and even an amusement arcade with grabbers and penny pushers!! You can probably even get harassed by gulls for your food, just like at the seaside!

I have always regarded Hollingworth Lake as an inland mini Blackpool!

The closest point on the canal is Smithy Bridge.

Edited by David Mack
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25 minutes ago, magnetman said:

You can get a train from Reading to Bournemouth. Could be interesting ?

You can get a train from Reading to Bournemouth. Could be interesting ?

 

Only 1 hour 21 minutes apparently

 

.ETA I see there is a return as well. 

 

Wouldn't the return be Bournemouth to Reading

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If you feel adventurous you could make Hull Marina a destination and if reasonably experienced and with a properly equipped boat it would make an interesting and different destination. 

 

Their Website gives a flavour of what is on offer, and there is always the opportunity to visit York, Goole the Trent.

 

https://www.aquavista.com/find-a-marina/hull-waterside-marina

 

Howard

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1 hour ago, SandyD said:

Hi All,

 

My partner and I were discussing, if we were to become continuous crusers, where could we go to visit the seaside from the canal network. It looks to me the best place would be Lancaster - have I missed anywhere closer (we are at Napton at present) and can you walk to the beach if you did moor at somwhere like Hest Bank?

 

If you're continuous cruising you wouldn't be in any one place for more than a couple of weeks, or perhaps a couple of months if you're moving along slowly and stopping at moorings in the same vicinity. The point is that you wouldn't always have easy access to the coast if you're CCing.

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2 hours ago, SandyD said:

Hi All,

 

My partner and I were discussing, if we were to become continuous crusers, where could we go to visit the seaside from the canal network. It looks to me the best place would be Lancaster - have I missed anywhere closer (we are at Napton at present) and can you walk to the beach if you did moor at somwhere like Hest Bank?


Yes you can moor at Hest Bank and walk to the sea in a few mins

C05A9DDB-16FA-4CCF-A1B5-07361CA18C98.jpeg.6d24bce40536984a7a9a746ee8070d79.jpeg
 

You also get a bit more personal with the “sea” when crossing the Ribble Link

71B0AD38-B9D3-4AD0-B7FB-1FC9D1818FB2.jpeg.8c79c7a5facc78bf9b79cd800fdc744c.jpeg


 

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It's an interesting question, and narrowboat liveaboard CCing is a bit of an issue if you love the seaside (although less so if you keep a car). 

But it does make me wonder about the thought process that is at work, and the relative importance of waterways living vs a love of the seaside. 

 

Yes you can have both if you can find a way to moor permanently within cycling distance of a place like Hest Bank, and especially if you have a car.

But that means hardly ever moving very far, which feels like it defeats one of the advantages of boat life (for me anyway). 

 

It seems from the replies so far that there are a number of seaside locations that, as a CCer, you can get within a few miles of, and maybe stay for a few weeks. But they aren't terribly common, and some are a long way apart from each other, with weeks of boat cruising separating them.

Making the trip down to Saul Junction is worth it just for the journey, but I guess you will have the added bonus of your extra love of the seaside location itself. But its a good old trip on a boat for the sake of a two week stay.  

Also, the idea of rail travel to a seaside location might sometimes mean an overnight stay, so there might be a cost with that. Or it might be limited to a day trip only, whereas I suspect you would want more than just a single day in a nice seaside spot.

 

If the seaside thing is so important that you would stay in one location to enjoy it, you might ask why make all the sacrifices of space, limited water, winter issues, etc, when you could just live in a house near to the sea.

I honestly don't want to want to sound like a smart-a**e in saying any of that, because everyone who lives aboard for long periods makes some sort of sort of compromises to do so. 

In my case the payoff is that my neighbourhood changes every week or two, which adds a feeling of novelty and interest to one's life. For others, the attraction is just to be living on a boat. 

 

I think you might have to accept that if you travel a lot of the network as CCers, you wont be seeing an awful lot of the seaside unless you make a significant and regular effort to do so. That said, if you keep a car, that would make the travel easier to make day trips to beaches within 50-100 miles.

But will occasional day trips to the coast satisfy your desire to spend time there? 

If your priority is to spend as long as possible living near to the seaside, then you won't be moving your boat very often, or very far. 

So with the info the posters here have given, its probably a case of thinking through what kind of lifestyle you want, how important the two competing priorities are, and then making a call. 

This is a bit off the wall I admit, but there may be an option to have both types of lifestyle you are looking for. You could buy a cheap 30ft GRP cruiser to get afloat and cruise during the summer months, and then also be able to afford a static caravan in a seaside location (or within easy reach with a car), and you can divide your time between the two? 

 

 

 

Edited by Tony1
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Hi all,

 

Thanks for all the replies - all very interesting - this is all hypothetical, we live in the middle of the country and just wondered where we could go to see the sea for a day or two rather than having a need for log exposure!

Love the idea of the wash, but I don't think we are up to that for a number of years!

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58 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

If the seaside thing is so important that you would stay in one location to enjoy it, you might ask why make all the sacrifices of space, limited water, winter issues, etc, when you could just live in a house near to the sea.

I honestly don't want to want to sound like a smart-a**e in saying any of that, because everyone who lives aboard for long periods makes some sort of sort of compromises to do so. 

In my case the payoff is that my neighbourhood changes every week or two, which adds a feeling of novelty and interest to one's life. For others, the attraction is just to be living on a boat. 

 

Why not just buy a coastal cruiser - moor up in quiet bays and estuaries - no charge "just drop the hook". No need to move every XX days.

Tender to the beach to take the dog for a walk and everyone is happy.

 

Call into a marina every few days top up the water, fuel and Vittals , shave and shampoo, empty the black tank and toddle off for a few more days / weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

Small Picture 2.jpg

 

 

 

 

CAM00472.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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5 hours ago, howardang said:

If you feel adventurous you could make Hull Marina a destination and if reasonably experienced and with a properly equipped boat it would make an interesting and different destination. 

Hull isn't really the seaside but  worth a visit , perhaps by  rail .

 

.

 

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Why not just buy a coastal cruiser - moor up in quiet bays and estuaries - no charge "just drop the hook". No need to move every XX days.

Tender to the beach to take the dog for a walk and everyone is happy.

 

Call into a marina every few days top up the water, fuel and Vittals , shave and shampoo, empty the black tank and toddle off for a few more days / weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

Small Picture 2.jpg

CAM00478.jpg

 

What I dont get is- why aren't more people already doing that? 

Is all of that really possible around the UK coasts? Are there enough anchorages to do that safely, given how the weather can change so quickly?

And in winter, I would imagine things are just too wet and wild for small craft to anchor safely in bays etc, surely?

Every time I see yachts in winter, they are either in a marina, or heading for one. 

There has to be a reason for that? 

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24 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

Is all of that really possible around the UK coasts? Are there enough anchorages to do that safely, given how the weather can change so quickly?

And in winter, I would imagine things are just too wet and wild for small craft to anchor safely in bays etc, surely?

 

In theory - yes.

There are probably getting on for 50-100 safe anchorages / harbours around the coast of Anglesey alone, every little sheltered cove  - you just need to make sure you have an anchor in which you have the confidence to be able to go to bed and sleep.

 

It could be done the same was as Canal CCers do it, cruise for 7 or 8 months of the year and take a Winter mooring for the other 4-5 months

 

Cable Bay Anglesey (where the first trans-atlantic telphone cable came ashore in GB)

 

A real sheltered long narrow cove with a sandy beach.

 

 

IMG_20210902_135314_381 (2).jpg

 

 

A nice bay at Porth Dafarch (but easy road access so busy in the Summer)

 

 

20220828-103053-2.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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18 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I suspect part of the reason it is not that popular is that it would be toweringly boring and a lot of people don't deal with boredom well. 

 

 

 

But Mr M, where is your sense of adventure? Where is your inner swashbuckler? 

Surely the idea of motor-sailing around a wild headland into a lovely bay is a wonderful thing? 

None of those pesky marina mooring charges, just drop the anchor and break open the beer chest. 

I understand that the Caribbean is a more suitable cruising ground for those who like 'wild anchoring', so to speak, but if there were enough suitable bays around the UK and Ireland (which I don wonder about) , then why not? 

You could get ashore in two minutes in a dinghy to mount a pincer movement on the local pub, woo the local wenches, and retire to the vessel full of chicken curry and beer. 

I'm not seeing the down sides yet.  

 

 

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

In theory - yes.

There are probably getting on for 50-100 safe anchorages / harbours around the coat of Anglesey alone, every little shektered cove  - you just need to make sure you have an anchir in which you have the confidrncr to be able to go to bed and sleep.

 

It could be done the same was as Canal CCers do it, cruise for 7 or 8 months of the year and take a Winter mooring for the other 4-5 months

 

Cable Bay Anglesey (where the first trans-atlantic telphone cable came ashore in GB)

 

A real sheltered long narrow cove with a sandy beach.

 

 

IMG_20210902_135314_381 (2).jpg

 

My dear Mr Enfield, you really must desist from this treacherous talk, or I shall find myself aboard a coastal motor sailer before the year is out! 

 

(although realistically, the cost of a coastal-capable vessel with a reliable engine (because we dont want to make personal friends of the RNLI crews, after all) might be beyond my budget, unless/until I sell my small house) 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Tony1
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4 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

My dear Mr Enfield, you really must desist from this treacherous talk, or I shall find myself aboard a coastal motor sailor before the year is out! 

 

(although realistically, the cost of a coastal-capable vessel with a reliable engine (because we dont want to make personal friends of the RNLI crews, after all) might be beyond my budget, unless/until I sell my small house) 

 

 

A lot less than you think, and probably half-the-price of a 'reasonable' narrowboat.

(Add an "S" to engine - don't venture offshore with only one)

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