Blisworth tunnel south end winding hole

[welshmike]

Hiya,

 

Need some local knowledge please-when coming south through the tunnel to visit Stoke Bruerne is it best to spin round and then reverse towards Stoke to find a mooring, or find a mooring first and then reverse back up to the winding hole to go back north again? The plan is to go back north the following day and I didn't want to go down the Stoke flight to turn round.

 

Any ideas?

 

Mike

[alan_fincher]

Hiya,

 

Need some local knowledge please-when coming south through the tunnel to visit Stoke Bruerne is it best to spin round and then reverse towards Stoke to find a mooring, or find a mooring first and then reverse back up to the winding hole to go back north again? The plan is to go back north the following day and I didn't want to go down the Stoke flight to turn round.

 

Any ideas?

 

Mike

How long is your boat ?

 

As you correctly guess the full sized winding hole is quite near the tunnel, and it's a reasonable reverse to get right back to the top of the locks, (although often you can't moor that close anyway).

 

But depending on what's obstructing the place you can turn quite a long boat at the head of the locks anyway, (I'd have thought 50 feet with ease, quite possibly more).

 

I have also been told you can turn a full length boat a couple of pounds down the flight, without going the whole way, but I'm by no means certain if that's right.

[welshmike]

61ft so would probably have to go all the way down the flight. Do the visitor moorings start immediately at the tunnel mouth and go all the way to Stoke B?

[alan_fincher]

Do the visitor moorings start immediately at the tunnel mouth and go all the way to Stoke B?

More or less.

 

But the first stretch from the Locks / Museum is reserved for....

 

Trip boats

Day boats

Museuem related exhibits - like Sculptor

Disabled moorings, (I think)

 

So the reality is you will not often be able to overnight moor within say 100 to 200 yards of the locks, and often you'll not find a slot without going some way towards the tunnel.

 

Towpath mooring is possible right up to the tunnel, (other than in the winding hole, obviously!).

 

It's a very good quality towpath if you are walking along in your pub-going best.

 

I doubt you can get 61 feet turned at the top of the locks, but someone may say otherwise.

[Keeping Up]

61ft so would probably have to go all the way down the flight. Do the visitor moorings start immediately at the tunnel mouth and go all the way to Stoke B?

Yes they do. It's only a few minutes walk - so personally I'd just motor on past the winding point then look for a mooring as soon as convenient, so as to be able to reverse back easily and wind the next morning. It's a straight line, fairly wide, and protected from the wind by being in a cutting.

 

If you get as far as the narrows just before the bend, reversing back would be quite difficult (although not impossible). The advantage of going forwards is that if all the moorings are taken (which is quite possible at busy times) you can drop down through 2 locks and there are plenty of moorings in the long pound.

 

I confess I don't know how much further you'd have to go to wind a 61-footer. I suspect you may manage it in the pound just below the road bridge, but I've never tried it.

[churchward]

61ft so would probably have to go all the way down the flight. Do the visitor moorings start immediately at the tunnel mouth and go all the way to Stoke B?

You won't turn a 61ft boat at the top of the flight outside the Boat Inn.

 

The moorings go pretty much from the turning point down to SB top lock. Unless it is very quiet you won't get a slot closer than about halfway down. I would go to the moorings without turning and reverse back to the winding hole in the morning that way you may have more maneuverability to slot yourself into a tighter spot. Although the closer to the tunnel the quieter it is and it isn't a long walk down to the pub from there.

[Keeping Up]

I just measured on Google Earth, and I was wrong it isn't the pound below the bridge which is widest, it's the pound above that (2 down from the long pound) and Google Earth shows it as 70 ft wide so you could turn there. Even the one above that shows as 65 feet wide.

 

Edited to add - Alan's point about trip boats, museum, disabled mooring, is correct. But it's interesting to note that when the disabled mooring was provided BW stated that it was not intended to reserve the mooring for disabled boaters, and that able-bodied boaters were perfectly free to continue to use the mooring provided that they were prepared to "give priority" to any disabled boater who may subsequently need to use it. Just how that would work in practice I really don't know.

Edited March 23, 2009 by Keeping Up

[Hairy-Neil]

61ft so would probably have to go all the way down the flight.

 

 

72 foot will wind in the first pound above the A508 road bridge. I have regularly winded Nuneaton and Brighton there.

[Nickhlx]

72 foot will wind in the first pound above the A508 road bridge. I have regularly winded Nuneaton and Brighton there.

 

 

"Winded" or "Wound " ?

 

Nick

[alan_fincher]

"Winded" or "Wound " ?

 

Nick

Just as long as it wasn't

 

"Wounded".

[welshmike]

Many Thanks for the info Aiming to get there on a Thursday - so here's to hoping it won't be too busy......

[ditchcrawler]

You won't turn a 61ft boat at the top of the flight outside the Boat Inn.

 

The moorings go pretty much from the turning point down to SB top lock. Unless it is very quiet you won't get a slot closer than about halfway down. I would go to the moorings without turning and reverse back to the winding hole in the morning that way you may have more maneuverability to slot yourself into a tighter spot. Although the closer to the tunnel the quieter it is and it isn't a long walk down to the pub from there.

How long is "Chieftain" They wing that at the top of the locks.

[chris w]

How long is "Chieftain" They wing that at the top of the locks.

I can't see the length quoted but it looks to be at least 60 feet if not longer.

 

clicky

 

Chris

[churchward]

How long is "Chieftain" They wing that at the top of the locks.

 

You are right they do. It is over 60ft I think but the thing is when it is not in use it is moored outside the Boat Inn so narrowing the turning space and there are often boats the other side too further restricting the space. It's not an official turning point after all. Personally I would turn at the winding point by the tunnel unless you like an cast of Gongoozellers looking on by the Boat Inn of course!!

[bottle]

I did watch the trip boat turn at the top outside the Boat Inn but only just.

 

It then promptly moored outside the Inn, I would as others have said, do any winding at the tunnel wind hole.

[canalchris]

Hiya,

 

Need some local knowledge please-when coming south through the tunnel to visit Stoke Bruerne is it best to spin round and then reverse towards Stoke to find a mooring, or find a mooring first and then reverse back up to the winding hole to go back north again? The plan is to go back north the following day and I didn't want to go down the Stoke flight to turn round.

 

Any ideas?

 

Mike

How long is your boat, a couple of years ago i turned in the early morning outside the pub , tie up to the lsst bollard towards the lock on the museum side and motor round then get crew member to untie and pull you rest of way We did this with FAULKNOR at 60'..

[Kraken]

I regularly wind a 61 foot boat in front of the pub, so there is a good chance you will be OK, but it will depend on how vertical your bow is (that is, how much it overhangs the edge). The canal gets wider, closer to the lock, so you have to put the bow in quite close to the trip boat. Crew holds the bow with a rope on the bollard, letting it drift down 6 or 8 feet from the bollard towards the trip boat. Stern clears the other side by an inch or two with the tiller hard over. Rear button skimps over the tow path. After 90 degrees the rope comes off the bollard and the boat spins around in one. Any further up the canal and it won't go. Bamboozlers at the pub are occasionally impressed (Especially the one time I was too far up the canal and got just a tiny bit wedged).

Edited March 23, 2009 by Kraken

[David Schweizer]

More or less.

 

But the first stretch from the Locks / Museum is reserved for....

 

Trip boats

Day boats

Museuem related exhibits - like Sculptor

Disabled moorings, (I think)

 

So the reality is you will not often be able to overnight moor within say 100 to 200 yards of the locks, and often you'll not find a slot without going some way towards the tunnel.

 

Towpath mooring is possible right up to the tunnel, (other than in the winding hole, obviously!).

 

It's a very good quality towpath if you are walking along in your pub-going best.

 

I doubt you can get 61 feet turned at the top of the locks, but someone may say otherwise.

The disabled boater mooring is a bit further up, opposite the open green bit next to the museum shop. Although my wife is a Blue Badge holder, we have never been able to use the mooring beacause someone who does not understand the term "for disabled boaters only" has always got there first, quite often a BW work boat!!.

[Hairy-Neil]

we have never been able to use the mooring beacause someone who does not understand the term "for disabled boaters only" has always got there first, quite often a BW work boat!!.

 

When I was last there the sign didn't say "For disabled boaters only".

 

I believe it actually says something along the lines of..... "please make available for disabled boaters".

 

When I have used it in the past I have always been prepared to make it available....

[David Schweizer]

When I was last there the sign didn't say "For disabled boaters only".

 

I believe it actually says something along the lines of..... "please make available for disabled boaters".

 

When I have used it in the past I have always been prepared to make it available....

Well you are clearly in the minority, when I have asked for a non disabled boater to move, my request has been met with a response ranging from indifference to rudeness.

 

It is the same at Braunston, but the Disabled Boater's mooring there is about the worst one available, but the people at UCC will always let me moor on their stretch (and use their car park)

Edited March 24, 2009 by David Schweizer

[alan_fincher]

It is the same at Braunston, but the Disabled Boater's mooring there is about the worst one available, and my freinds at UCC will always let me moor on their stretch (and use their car park)

Not sure if we are talking about the same one, David, but there was one at Braunston only identified by some very small text on the bollards themselves, and which wasn't exactly visible if you were actually tying up on it after night was falling.

 

Maybe with this obsession with signage it's now better marked for disabled use, but it certainly wasn't obvious when we say it a year or two back.

[David Schweizer]

Not sure if we are talking about the same one, David, but there was one at Braunston only identified by some very small text on the bollards themselves, and which wasn't exactly visible if you were actually tying up on it after night was falling.

 

Maybe with this obsession with signage it's now better marked for disabled use, but it certainly wasn't obvious when we say it a year or two back.

No there is no longer a sign at Braunston, it was "removed" almost as soon as it appeared, and has never been replaced.

 

To be honest, arriving after dark is unlikey to be so much of a problem, as most disabled boaters would probably prefer to find a suitable mooring well before dusk, to ensure that they found somewhere where the disabled crewmember could get on and off the boat with comparative ease.

Edited March 24, 2009 by David Schweizer

[Hairy-Neil]

when I have asked for a non disabled boater to move, my request has been met with a response ranging from indifference to rudeness.

 

I can understand that in today's society, no surprise at all. I feel there should be no ambiguity in the signage and probably benefit from being warden controlled.

 

I've only ever arrived at dusk or later and with historic boats and have always left again at first light. Had the disabled bay been unavailable I would have simply breasted up to 'Sculptor' or another of the old boats that frequent the area or DB's coal wharf.

[saltyseadog]

Welshmike,

 

Got stuck winding there a few years back. It was the height of summer & I couldn't have wished for a bigger audience & to top it off I was flying a dirty great big Welsh Flag off the stern.

What didn't help was that these English boaters (tories I suppose) decided to tie up virtually opposite the winding hole.

Fortunately, a good down to earth socialist guy from Barnsley gave us a hand in pulling the boat astern.

I turned after coming from Blissworth & reversed back towards Stoke Bruerne to tie up for the night. The boat I had then was a 58 footer. I put the mishap down to the wife - she's English.

Hiya,

 

Need some local knowledge please-when coming south through the tunnel to visit Stoke Bruerne is it best to spin round and then reverse towards Stoke to find a mooring, or find a mooring first and then reverse back up to the winding hole to go back north again? The plan is to go back north the following day and I didn't want to go down the Stoke flight to turn round.

 

Any ideas?

 

Mike

[welshmike]

My wife's English as well but I might just have to tie a flag to the tiller for the holiday....

 

Welshmike,

 

Got stuck winding there a few years back. It was the height of summer & I couldn't have wished for a bigger audience & to top it off I was flying a dirty great big Welsh Flag off the stern.

What didn't help was that these English boaters (tories I suppose) decided to tie up virtually opposite the winding hole.

Fortunately, a good down to earth socialist guy from Barnsley gave us a hand in pulling the boat astern.

I turned after coming from Blissworth & reversed back towards Stoke Bruerne to tie up for the night. The boat I had then was a 58 footer. I put the mishap down to the wife - she's English.