Uncharted Winding Holes

[Hairy-Neil]

Must be loads of people out there with local knowledge such as where you can turn shorter boats. Wonder if there's anyway we could get something set up on the forum to store all this information in some kind of sorted manner for quick and easy reference.

 

Start a new thread on it.....

 

My personal favorite is the full length (turned Nuneaton, 71' 6") winding hole just south of Tamworth Rd bridge on the Erewash canal. I'm certain it was built as a winding hole too, not just a particularly wide section of canal. There is a small indent in the, otherwise straight, canal bank walling on the non towpath side, no more than 2 feet deep. A GUCCC motor can wind there with inches to spare.

[bargeeboy]

Its the charted ones that are the problem

 

Since the demise of deep full length boats they shallow up at the apex.

 

I had plans to start the Winding Hole Preservation Society in the 80's with special note being made of the Cowley pound where all the old wides through Hayes and Southall were silting up.

 

But as usual it only went as far as the Shovel's boaties table.

[SarahB]

Start a new thread on it.....

 

My personal favorite is the full length (turned Nuneaton, 71' 6") winding hole just south of Tamworth Rd bridge on the Erewash canal. I'm certain it was built as a winding hole too, not just a particularly wide section of canal. There is a small indent in the, otherwise straight, canal bank walling on the non towpath side, no more than 2 feet deep. A GUCCC motor can wind there with inches to spare.

 

 

I'm sure there's another one a bit further up the Erewash too. Took Debonair out in November and I'm sure we only got as far as Ilkeston and managed to turn there. Not easy but hey. I dont remember which lock we were at though sorry.

[Keeping Up]

My favourite is the one a little way north of Yelvertoft on the GU Leicester section. It was built 10-15 years ago so they could turn there when they were doing some work in the area (dredging?). It's not signed, and doesn't look like it's anything at all, but it's a full 70ft and easy to use because it's deep (or was) right up to a steep grassy bank.

 

Edited to add, we used to use an uncharted one just above Watfrod locks and had a right old argument with BW for doing so. But we carried on using it, and suddenly they put up a sign and declared it an official winding point.

Edited January 20, 2008 by Keeping Up

[GUMPY]

I use two on the GU

The first just below lock 61 past the boat yard was dug out when our moorings were dredged in the early 90's not sure if it has become official yet there are no signs.

The second is just below lock 56 was done by the previous owner of the "pink" house

 

Oh and you can turn 50ft opposite the lone tree on the bend on the offside between locks 58 and 59

and 57ft just above Little Heath Lane bridge between 58 and 59.

[Chris J W]

GU - Pound between Marsworth 38-37

 

Did it this morning with my 57ft , and I think you could probably do up to about 60ft in there without hitting the sides.

 

 

[edit to add - you possibly could get a 70ft round, too - but I was just judging from what I could see of the back end and approximating where my front end was)

Edited January 22, 2008 by Chris J W

[BlueStringPudding]

Slightly but not entirely: According to the 40ft ish Nb Sunny Mary (I think that's what it was called), last Saturday the narrow area of the Grand Union canal between Lock 24 and Kate Boats, where a boat was moored, is a winding hole. One to be attempted at full throttle as if skidding a car round a hairpin bend at Silverstone.

 

Sunny Mary hit the side of the moored boat, bow first, at full pelt. I thought the moored boat was going to jump right out of the water - we were walking down the towpath next to it at the time. It made one hell of a crash. Sunny Mary f*cked off sharpish towards Saltisford/Hatton without even checking for damage to the other boat. There was no-one aboard the moored boat, so we checked it over ourselves, but couldn't hang over the narrow gunnels far enough to see whether she'd been badly dented.

 

Tw*ts.

Edited January 22, 2008 by BlueStringPudding

[Ray]

GU - Pound between Marsworth 38-37

 

Did it this morning with my 57ft , and I think you could probably do up to about 60ft in there without hitting the sides.

 

As mentioned elsewhere, you can get 70ft round there, admittedly touching the sides, if you turn immediately below lock 38. You can also get 70ft round immediately below the top lock of the Soulbury Three Locks, and that's also a squeeze.

[Chris J W]

As mentioned elsewhere, you can get 70ft round there, admittedly touching the sides, if you turn immediately below lock 38. You can also get 70ft round immediately below the top lock of the Soulbury Three Locks, and that's also a squeeze.

 

Have editted my post accordingly.