Four counties perspectives

[CruisingRobin]

We're planning our second hire cruise, two weeks in May on the four counties ring starting at Great Haywood.  Would love any thoughts, recommendations, favorite places, etc. from the experienced community.

 

One question for sure:  clockwise or anti-clockwise? 

[Ken X]

We would go anti-clockwise as transiting the Harecastle tunnel needs to be planned and we like to be flexible as to timings for the majority of the route.  We aim to go through first thing in the morning, others may have differing opinions.🙂

 

As to places to visit, a small detour to the Anderton Lift might interest you.  We are into industrial archaeology so tend to go for walks and look at the land to see how its use has changed.  The parkland around Anderton is regularly walked.

 

What interests you?  Stately homes?  Shugborough Hall springs to mind, there may well be others.

 

We pop into Middlewich to eat at Il Padrino, an Italian restaurant which we enjoy.  Pubs are subject to rapid change so will leave to others, more familiar, to comment.  Having said that, the Barbridge Inn is regularly visited and suits us.

 

What is your style of boating, do you do long days or just wander along.  If you do the miles, a detour up the Caldon may be possible, but might work better going clockwise as you will have a better idea of the time you have left to travel when you get there.

 

Looking forward to see what other people come up with.

 

 

[Rob-M]

I would go anti clockwise as the last few years each time I've planned on going clockwise part way round there has been an issue that has closed Harecastle or the Trent and Mersey between Stoke and Middlewich.  So get up through Harecastle over the first couple of days and you will hopefully be ok.

 

If you make a good start then with two weeks you could go up the Llangollen as well.

[Arthur Marshall]

33 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I would go anti clockwise as the last few years each time I've planned on going clockwise part way round there has been an issue that has closed Harecastle or the Trent and Mersey between Stoke and Middlewich.  So get up through Harecastle over the first couple of days and you will hopefully be ok.

 

If you make a good start then with two weeks you could go up the Llangollen as well.

Two weeks for the ring is comfortable length days and time to explore some of the towns. Any additional trips (Chester , Llangollen, Caldon) will leave you with ten to twelve hour days to get round and no time for walking about. It all depends on how many crew you have and how like travelling.

Nantwich is good to visit, Market Drayton very run down but still worth a look, Stone also. Middlewich for shopping, but moor round the corner on the link away from the very noisy road.

[Captain Pegg]

I’d have thought there’s plenty of time for detours. I reckon you could go round the Four Counties twice in two weeks without resorting to 10 to 12 hour days.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Was there any month last summer (June July August)

when there wasn’t a stoppage of some sort on that route which could have scuppered any race around the counties?
 

Mind, OP is going in May so 🤞

Hopefully the repairs to the rescue boat at Harecastle last til then.  
 

Real point being, if I were hiring at any time of year I’d be very wary and err on the side of caution when planning  

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

I’d have thought there’s plenty of time for detours. I reckon you could go round the Four Counties twice in two weeks without resorting to 10 to 12 hour days.

First time, I think I did it in a week (with a crew) and it felt like a rush. There again, I'm singlehanded these days so tend to stick to 4 or 5 hour days at most, my memory might be wrong. So you're probably right. But where's the fun in hurtling up and down the Llangollen in a week?

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

I’d have thought there’s plenty of time for detours. I reckon you could go round the Four Counties twice in two weeks without resorting to 10 to 12 hour days.

I agree, the first time the wife and I did the 4CR we did it in a week and the days were 8-9 hours long. Mind you there were a lot fewer moored boats in the early 80's.

Edited November 22, 2023 by cuthound
spillung

[IanD]

Four counties plus Caldon is a relatively easy 2 week cruise, IIRC we did it in 10 (long summer, typically 8 hour) days.

[Captain Pegg]

1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:

First time, I think I did it in a week (with a crew) and it felt like a rush. There again, I'm singlehanded these days so tend to stick to 4 or 5 hour days at most, my memory might be wrong. So you're probably right. But where's the fun in hurtling up and down the Llangollen in a week?

Granted it is a full on week but two would be very leisurely if it didn’t involve something extra like some visits to local attractions and/or the odd detour.

 

First - and only time I actually did the full ring in one go - was a weeks hire from Macckesfield. The plan had been to do the Cheshire Ring but a stoppage put paid to that. 1990s that, not 2020s.

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Captain Pegg

[Rincewind]

9 hours ago, Ken X said:

Stately homes?  Shugborough Hall springs to mind, there may well be others.

FYI, Shugborough Hall, (Lord Litchfields 'Pile')  as mentioned by Ken is a 15 minute walk from your starting (or finishing) point.  https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shropshire-staffordshire/shugborough-estate

It will take up most of a day to visit the hall and walk around the gardens so if that is your thing, build it into your planning.  The potteries in and around Stoke on Trent (Thomas Wedgewood etc.) is another tourist attraction.  https://www.worldofwedgwood.com/ 

Plan to overnight at Nantwitch (ample mooring available). Its well worth a visit for its old world charm and has a good selection of pubs and places to dine out.

[Annie cariad]

4cr we took a month off and soo much enjoyed.,...if you can it's a delightful trip

[CruisingRobin]

A fortnight is all we can manage now (I long for a month or six), and we will do our best with it!

11 hours ago, Ken X said:

 

What interests you?  Stately homes?  Shugborough Hall springs to mind, there may well be others.

...

 

What is your style of boating, do you do long days or just wander along.  If you do the miles, a detour up the Caldon may be possible, but might work better going clockwise as you will have a better idea of the time you have left to travel when you get there.

Our boating style, I guess you'd say, is low and slow.  We're not into eating up miles along the cut, just 4-6 hours  on cruising days and the occasional 2-night layover in places we really like.  We are probably not looking into any detours off the ring for this trip.  Everywhere will already be new to us.  We just want to see what we can along the ring and get back comfortably in time for the handover.

 

We enjoy stopping and getting the feel of towns and villages, especially if they have traveler-friendly amenities like cafes and the occasional shop.  I am a pub hound, my wife is not, but she's happy to hang around the boat while I'm off for pints.  She's not one for big cities and wants to avoid industrial areas and hooligans, where as I'm less fearful.  We would also like tips on countryside walks easily accessible from the canal.  Oh, and targeting launderettes is a logistical thing for us, as we fly in with only a carry-on if possible and can't pack a full two weeks clothing.  (I keep talking on that point on this forum, and maybe I should shuddup about it.)

 

[Tracy D'arth]

The canals are not motorways, take longer, see more, enjoy visiting places, chillout and have a pleasant cruise rather than a pressured dash that will annoy other boaters. Consider what you would do when half way round the weather turned grim for a few days but you had to keep going in pouring rain and winds.

[Arthur Marshall]

You would have time to a short way north on the Shroppie and walk up to Beeston Castle. Little Moreton Hall is a walk from the T&M, as is Mow Cop.

4 - 6 hours a day is all I do, and that'll get you round the ring nicely in the time, wirh a stopover or two.

[Ronaldo47]

Myself and my wife did do it clockwise in a week some 40 years ago, but it didn't allow time for detours. It was at Easter, and the only real issue we had was on that long straight stretch of the Shopshire Union on the Western side of the ring  where the canal runs on an embankment which, at the time, had no vegetation to provide shelter, and a strong wind was blowing in from Wales at right angles to the canal.  To stop ourselves being blown against the towpath, we had to give the engine full throttle and hold the tiller over, thereby proceeding with the boat at an angle to the direction of travel, with the bows a couple of feet from the far side and the stern a couple of feet from the towpath, quickly straightening the tiller when we passed the occasional clump of trees. 

[Grassman]

Each to their own of course, but I can never understand those who are hell bent on going as far as they can during their week or fortnights hire. They miss out on exploring some wonderful places they're passing by, they often have to travel in awful weather, and it can add pressure in trying to achieve it.

 

With all our hireboat holidays we rarely did a ring, preferring instead to do a 'there and back'. This meant there was no time pressure, we had the time to stop, linger, and explore, and on our way back we'd notice things we hadn't spotted on our way out.

Our philosophy was that we spent the rest of the year rushing here and there, deadlines to meet, appointments to get to etc, particularly when working, so a leisurely relaxing boating holiday was our chance to chill out and unwind.

 

 

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Grassman said:

 

With all our hireboat holidays we rarely did a ring, preferring instead to do a 'there and back'. This meant there was no time pressure

During the first half of the holiday!

[CruisingRobin]

15 hours ago, Ken X said:

 

What interests you?  ...

 

Oh, and breathing.  We love breathing.  We did quite a lot of it on the L&L in September.  Delightful activity.  Don't get much of it at home.

[Grassman]

9 hours ago, David Mack said:

During the first half of the holiday!

 

No pressure in the 2nd half either, because we'd always allow enough time, then if we happened to get back to the hirebase early we'd carry on past it to an appropriately located winding hole.

[David Mack]

13 minutes ago, Grassman said:

 

No pressure in the 2nd half either, because we'd always allow enough time, then if we happened to get back to the hirebase early we'd carry on past it to an appropriately located winding hole.

Same would be the case if you had allowed plenty of time for a ring.

[Ken X]

Ah yes, I remember you now. 

 

Well if you had a good time on the L & L you are going to find the four counties much more relaxing and narrow locks.  It has its moments, the Harecastle being one of them and coming down the Cheshire locks will keep you fit, but, on the whole, much easier.  Some of the lock bywashes can prove a challenge at Audlem but, again, not too bad.  I imagine a hunt around Youtube will give you a feel of what you will see if you ignore some of the rubbish on that channel.  Hopefully there will be no sudden closures to cause problems. 

 

If you do encounter an unplanned stoppage on a cruising ring, a call to the yard to discuss is always good.  They are a great bunch at Great Hayward and will do all they can to help things run smoothly.  Occasionally the yard will ring you first to discuss options if they hear anything.  Happened to us a couple of times over the years.  Most of the yards and marinas chat amongst themselves and assist other companies boats if required.  Again, we have popped into an independent marina to fix a minor issue on a boat at the direction of the yard so you have plenty of support on your travels. 

 

If you are out for two weeks keep an eye on the pumpout tank level, you may possibly need to be pumped out during the second week.  Not a problem, plan to find a yard or marina a day or so before brim full and they will sort you out or advise where to go locally.  Cost varies, last time it was £17.00 for us.  Get a receipt and the yard should reimburse you.  Looking forward to your travel report🙂.

[captain birdseye]

I'd go clockwise and spend the night before Harecastle moored on the pound below the top lock at Kidsgrove, and spend the evening in the Blue Bell before doing the tunnel first thing and stopping at the Plume of Feathers the next night. Also I always find going down Audlem easier. Stone is a good stop for food, beer and shopping and an afternoon at Shugborough Hall is well worth the stop.

Edited November 23, 2023 by captain birdseye

[cuthound]

8 hours ago, captain birdseye said:

I'd go clockwise and spend the night before Harecastle moored on the pound below the top lock at Kidsgrove, and spend the evening in the Blue Bell before doing the tunnel first thing and stopping at the Plume of Feathers the next night. Also I always find going down Audlem easier. Stone is a good stop for food, beer and shopping and an afternoon at Shugborough Hall is well worth the stop.

 

I agree, the by-washes at Tyrely can be very fierce going up if it has rained recently.

[Rob-M]

3 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I agree, the by-washes at Tyrely can be very fierce going up if it has rained recently.

And if the boat at the next lock up opens both bottom paddles just as you are approaching the lock below.  Most revs I've ever put on going in to Tyrley locks but never touched the sides which was fortunate as someone decided to stand and watch.