llangollen canal in aug

[woolies]

How busy is the Llangollen canal in aug as we’ve hired a boat 9th aug from chasharden hire for a week, at Beeston we were thinking of going Llangollen its self....do you think this realistic bearing in mind I’m only planning 5 hours cruising a day...thanks.......mark.

 

Also any nice over night stops and fav pubs be helpful

Edited February 1, 2008 by woolies

[bottle]

Hi

 

According to Canalplanac http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi

 

 

 

This is calculated based on 5 full days travelling.

 

 

Each full day will be approximately 5 hours and 25 minutes cruising

 

First day of trip On the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line) at Swanley Bridge No 8

(9 miles, 5¼ flg and 11 locks)

Second day of trip On the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line), half way between Willey Moor Lock No 12 and Povey's Lock No 13

(8 miles, 6 flg and 6 locks)

Third day of trip On the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line) at Cornhill Bridge No 47

(9 miles, 2 flg and 8 locks)

Fourth day of trip On the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line) at New Marton Top Lock No 2

(12 miles, 1¾ flg and 1 lock)

Fifth day of trip On the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line) at Llangollen

(12 miles, 3 flg and 1 lock)

 

Remember you will not get the boat till late afternoon on the first day and will have to back early morning on the last.

Edited February 1, 2008 by bottle

[Klong]

Hi

The Llangollen Canal is extremely busy during August.

Cheers

 

Steve

[onthecut]

How busy is the Llangollen canal in aug as we’ve hired a boat 9th aug from chasharden hire for a week, at Beeston we were thinking of going Llangollen its self....do you think this realistic bearing in mind I’m only planning 5 hours cruising a day...thanks.......mark.

 

Also any nice over night stops and fav pubs be helpful

 

It's about as busy as it gets in August (which is busy !) and you'd have to be going 25 hours a day -- not five. I'd take it easy and potter as far up as your two or three days takes you and then potter back. Nothing worse than rushing to a tight deadline. Plenty of watering holes along the way. Enjoy.

 

Mike.

[Hobbler]

How busy is the Llangollen canal in aug as we’ve hired a boat 9th aug from chasharden hire for a week, at Beeston we were thinking of going Llangollen its self....do you think this realistic bearing in mind I’m only planning 5 hours cruising a day...thanks.......mark.

 

Also any nice over night stops and fav pubs be helpful

 

9688 boats passed through Hurleston Locks at the start of the Llangollen last season and when added to the resident hire fleets and private craft arguably makes it the busiest canal in the country. The busiest months were June, July and September but August was not far behind. A four or five hour wait for the locks at Grindley Brook is not unusual and delays at every lock can be expected ,so you need to be prepared to put in some long days if you intend to get from Beeston to Llangollen and back .

[Pie Eater]

Don't worry about how busy it gets, it is well worth it. Just allow extra time for the queues at the locks or start your day extra early.

 

Grindley Brook staircase is usually the worst bottleneck and the lockkeeper works 3 boats up then 3 boats down - try to time it to go through early morning or in the late evening.

 

Relax and enjoy it.

 

Steve

[purplehaze]

We did the llangollen last September and it was very slow going, and didn't seem that busy, nearly 4 hours each time at Grindley Brook though, so if you plan to only cruise 5 hours per day you may feel under pressure to try this in August.

 

But it is a beautiful canal and the Welsh hills are fantastic

 

Julie

[dor]

I moor near Hurleston and basically we avoid the Llangollen from mid june to the end of august. Having said that, ther eis nothing wrong with going up in the peak season as long as you are prepared to take your time and accept that you will have to queue for locks.

 

Best thing to do, especially in the height of summer, is to move early, and I mean early - 7 am is ok, and aim to moor up by mid-afternoon.

 

Personally, I think in the middle of summer 5am is one of the best times on the canal, anywhere.

 

And Llangollen is often quieter at the weekend, as the hire-boaters tend to chase up, starting at the weekend so arrive there mid-week.

 

And don't forget it is quicker coming back than going up due to the flow, by about a day.

[5thHorseman]

Also any nice over night stops and fav pubs be helpful

 

I think if you try to do LLG in August you will not need to concern yourself about pubs, as you will be so cream crackered and worried about timing. Bottle's itinerary shows 5 days at 5 hours just to get to Llangollen and that assumes no delays

 

What you are proposing to do will stretch you and any unforseen delay will mean you have to use the tunnel light for more than just the Chirk Tunnel.

 

 

The narrow feeder from the aqueduct to Llangollen is like wading through treacle going up because of the current and several long stretches are so narrow that boats cannot pass - so it is single way working (500 yds+ with corners), not the sort of thing to be trying to do if you are in a hurry - remembering that there will be others, like you, in a hurry coming the other way. Grindley Brook can be a nightmare and you can, if you are unlucky on timing, lose the best part of a day in a queue (each way).

My suggestion would be if you must try to do it in a week, do it in late March when there are fewer boats and no school holidays. Aim for Llangollen by all means but be prepared to turn round, before you get there.

 

Too much stress, too little time.

 

 

 

5th

[cotswoldsman]

I love the LLangollen for me its the best!!!

Just thought I would say that I am a CC and came up the Llangollen on 11th of December 2007 and since the canal was closed on 7th January 2008 only 1 boat has gone passed. Having said that I was also on the Llangollen last year during Easter for 8 weeks and it was not to busy with the exception of the two weeks during the school holidays but even then it was not to bad, and for those with good memories the weather during that period was fantastic!!!!

[woolies]

Thank`s for all your replies, think moor up outside pub watch traffic go bye .....cheers mark

[Tim]

Great canal, once was 14th in line to descend New marton Locks on a Sunday afternoon! (about a 3 hour wait).

[Philip]

You could go for 9/10-hour days if that's what you're into - we do it but some prefer shorter cruising hours with more time allowing for stops/visiting places.

 

Assuming the weather isn't too bad or too hot, you shouldn't have a problem getting to Llangollen using that schedule, but it'd be more energetic and a more relaxing holiday would be just as enjoyable, even if you don't get all the way up. We did the exact same route in October one year and went up to Trevor and that included a very long wait at New Marton going up!

 

On summer short break weekends we've sometimes done 16-17 hour days (basically using nearly all of the daylight for cruising) but I wouldn't advise doing that for a whole week!

Edited February 3, 2008 by Philip

[RichardH]

You'll have a great time and in my opinion have picked the best company to go with (we have used them 3 times, most recently, Snowmane last August)

 

I'd say forget trying to get all the way and relax and enjoy.

 

There are some pretty decent watering holes all the way up (if only the same could be said for water points) The key is Grindley Brook and, if you hit it on the Sunday like many hirers do it will take 4-6 hours. Equally Wed pm/Thurs am takes a long time going back down.