Best route for a family of newbies please

[BeaBirch23]

Hello,

 

We are looking to book our very first narrowboat holiday after years of walking the towpaths. We are a family of 4 - with 1 x 8 year old and 1 x 13 year old - and 1 dog.

 

We are slightly overwhelmed by the choice but as we are looking to travel the last week of August we also worried about being stuck in queues for locks if there are particularly popular routes.

 

We are looking at either Great Hayward to Market Drayton or Beeston to Lymm. Do you think these would be a good choice for first timers? Or would you suggest anywhere else?

 

I was looking at the Black Country Ring but think it might be a bit ambitious?

 

Any advice would be very welcome!
 

Thanks so much in advance :)

[Rob-M]

Starting at Great Haywood gives a good choice of options especially if there are anymore failures.  You could do Great Haywood to Fradley then Fazeley, have a trip to Drayton Manor for the kids.  Or Great Haywood and head down the Staffs and Worcs towards Stourport.

 

 

The trip up to Market Drayton is a bit dull as once you turn at Autherley there is only one lock at Wheaton Aston and then 5 just before Market Drayton so the kids may get a bit fed up.

[nealeST]

You mention - Lymm, Slightly south of there you have the Trent Mersey/Middlewich/Shropshire union which will head you toward Beeston if you wish. I did a Monday to Friday from Anderton Marina with my two youngest sons 8 and 13, also and my wife. Their first time too and we had a great time. Keep it simple and turn around at Nantwich or a little more ambitious and do a bit of the Llangollen. Nice mixture of landscape and variety. Not stressful.

Edited July 20, 2023 by nealeST

[booke23]

Beeston on the Shropshire union? If so, without question the Llangollen canal. It’s beautiful, rural, and spectacular. The kids will never forget going over the Pont-thingy aquaduct. 

I’ve done it a total of three times from Beeston with the kids and it never gets old. Two of these trips were in August and congestion wasn’t really a problem. You can do Beeston to Llangollen basin and back in a week quite easily. Oh and apart from the few hours cruising from Beeston to Hurleston junction, all the locks are narrow so the kids can operate them much easier!

Edited July 20, 2023 by booke23

[BeaBirch23]

Thank you very much for your replies.

We had initially discounted the Llangollen as we were worried about it being busy in the hols but you’ve convinced us so we’re going to do that route! The aqueduct looks amazing all though I think I’ll be driving that bit as my OH is no good with heights!

 

Thanks again

[IanD]

25 minutes ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Thank you very much for your replies.

We had initially discounted the Llangollen as we were worried about it being busy in the hols but you’ve convinced us so we’re going to do that route! The aqueduct looks amazing all though I think I’ll be driving that bit as my OH is no good with heights!

 

Thanks again

Assuming you're hiring from Chas Hardern at Beeston, Llangollen and back is a reasonable week so long as you don't mind spending most of most days travelling.

 

According to Canalplan it's about 45 hours of cruising, an average 7 hours a day for 6 days (no problem in summer) plus a bit on the first afternoon and last morning. But you'll need to adjust stops (e.g. to get an overnight stay in Llangollen) so will end up with some days with a least 8 hours cruising and some with maybe 6, and will also need to allow some extra time for queues at locks in August -- go here and hit the "Calculate Route" button...

 

https://canalplan.uk/journey/19550_cp

 

If you want to spend more time visiting places instead of travelling then you might want to choose a shorter route, especially because the best bits on the Llangollen are right at the end and if you don't get there it's a bit disappointing... 😉

Edited July 21, 2023 by IanD

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Thank you very much for your replies.

We had initially discounted the Llangollen as we were worried about it being busy in the hols but you’ve convinced us so we’re going to do that route! The aqueduct looks amazing all though I think I’ll be driving that bit as my OH is no good with heights!

 

Thanks again

 

I dont think there is any doubt it will be busy in August, its one of the most popular waterways in the UK afterall but worth it to do the aqueduct, and if you have kids you dont really have a lot of choice other than doing it in the school hols.

 

Enjoy..

[booke23]

Yes it is busy in August, however I did it in mid September a few years back and that was the busiest trip out of the three times I've done it. 

 

I found the only real pinch points were the Grindley brook staircase locks and New Marton locks. In both August trips we got up Grindley brook pretty much right away, but had maybe an hour wait when coming back down, and the same at New Marton. 

 

It's tempting to just go over the aquaduct, turn and come straight back over. But definitely make the effort to do the last few miles up to Llangollen.....it's spectacular. Remember the trip back is quicker as there is about a 1 mph flow from Llangollen to Hurleston, so don't be disheartened by how long it takes to get to Llangollen. We cruised for about 8 hours a day and very easily did it in a week. 

[john6767]

Have you considered hiring from Anglo Welsh at Bunbury for a trip to Llangollen.  Before we had the boat we did that.  
 

As has been said the only busy locks you will probably find are Grindley Brook (it just takes a long time when there are lot of boats as there is a staircase) and New Marton (I think because for a lot of hirers these are the only two locks they will do, so for most of them they will never have seen a lock before, and they are understandably slow.  By the time you get there you will be experts).

 

I would say it is a must to work your timing so you spend a night in the basin at Llangollen, I think you will find that quite special, and a real sense of achievement.

[cuthound]

The locks at Grindley Brook can be a bottleneck. 

 

I always try to overnight there and go up or down first thing in the morning, thus avoiding the queues.

[enigmatic]

I think the reality is you will end up in queues at locks on the Llangollen, but you're not in a car stuck on the A30, you're on a boat when you can make a pot of tea and sandwiches and step outside to have a look around and chat with other boaters

 

It's slow going at the very pretty bit at the end too, but again, who cares... boats aren't fast!

[IanD]

1 hour ago, john6767 said:

Have you considered hiring from Anglo Welsh at Bunbury for a trip to Llangollen.  Before we had the boat we did that.  
 

As has been said the only busy locks you will probably find are Grindley Brook (it just takes a long time when there are lot of boats as there is a staircase) and New Marton (I think because for a lot of hirers these are the only two locks they will do, so for most of them they will never have seen a lock before, and they are understandably slow.  By the time you get there you will be experts).

 

I would say it is a must to work your timing so you spend a night in the basin at Llangollen, I think you will find that quite special, and a real sense of achievement.

Those were the only places we've ever had to wait -- but for a couple of hours or more on more than one occasion, so allow time for this.

 

Llangollen is lovely, and to get there you have to go over this... 🙂

[BeaBirch23]

Thank you all for the tips, we are going at the very end of the holidays as for once the kids are going back a bit later, so hopefully that may help.

 

We’ll also try and plan our overnights near the locks as cuthound suggests.

 

We really appreciate all the advice and if anyone else has any thoughts, please feel free to chip in! This has all been really helpful

 

 

[BeaBirch23]

4 minutes ago, IanD said:

Those were the only places we've ever had to wait -- but for a couple of hours or more on more than one occasion, so allow time for this.

 

Llangollen is lovely, and to get there you have to go over this... 🙂

Wow! What amazing pics!! And sunshine!!

[IanD]

21 minutes ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Wow! What amazing pics!! And sunshine!!

The previous time it was pouring with rain... 😞

[Rob-M]

Our last trip over...

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

I’ve no photos

I was too terrified to look

[Rob-M]

9 minutes ago, Goliath said:

I’ve no photos

I was too terrified to look

I've got a bit of video when we were going the other way but it was so windy I had to put the phone down.  The first time I went across as a young child we all sat inside the boat as it bumped across with no one steering as my dad has serious vertigo and we weren't allowed outside the cabin.

[cuthound]

I've always said that crossing the Pontycyssllte Aqueduct is the nearest that you can get to flying in a narrowboat   

 

[alias]

16 hours ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Thank you all for the tips, we are going at the very end of the holidays as for once the kids are going back a bit later, so hopefully that may help.

 

We’ll also try and plan our overnights near the locks as cuthound suggests.

 

We really appreciate all the advice and if anyone else has any thoughts, please feel free to chip in! This has all been really helpful

 

 

 

If you are talking about this August you might find this site with price reductions for late bookings interesting. https://www.latelink.com/

[Rob-M]

3 minutes ago, alias said:

 

If you are talking about this August you might find this site with price reductions for late bookings interesting. https://www.latelink.com/

We used to use that site for last minute bookings, always got a good deal.

[IanD]

10 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

We used to use that site for last minute bookings, always got a good deal.

If you haven't booked yet it might be difficult getting a boat from a particular hire base in August, many are fully booked up -- somewhere like latelink.com might well be your best bet...

[enigmatic]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

I've always said that crossing the Pontycyssllte Aqueduct is the nearest that you can get to flying in a narrowboat   

I dunno, when both my ecofans are going it's practically a helicopter!

[BeaBirch23]

Thanks very much for all the info and links, really appreciated!

We booked a boat yesterday leaving from Beeston…and have ordered a Welsh Waterways book.

 

From your stories, it sounds as though the aqueduct will be the high (!!) light! 
 

Are there any particular mooring points you would/wouldn’t recommend?  I need to have a proper look at the timings website kindly posted above alongside the book but we depart at 10am so could aim for a fairly full days travel?

 

Thanks again all

[John Brightley]

All the Llangollen is interesting in different ways. I like Ellesmere and Whitchurch towns as much as Llangollen and the aqueduct. And don't miss the walk up to Chirk Castle ( you can do this without having to pay to go in the castle itself).