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Hire from Gailey- Advice please!


jo dee

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Hi there - first posting from novice (but keen to learn), so please be gentle!

We have one weeks narrowboat hire from Gailey. I don't want to spend too much time in Brum, so don't plan to do the entire black Country ring. Not enough time for the stourport ring. Quite fancy going to the Black Country museum ( we have 12 year olds)

I had considered a gentle couple of hours on the first day, to about the Fox & Anchor or Anchor and then on to the BCM on the second day. Most of the third day at the BCM and then a couple of hours to about Netherton Bridge, then up to Stourton Junction and a little way towards Stourport, before turning round (Where?!) and heading back to Gailey - most of this has to be completed on the 6th day as the boat has to be back by 9 a.m. on day 7.

 

does this sound feasible?

 

Or should we forget the BCM and head to Stourport and back? Or are there other 'must see/dos' at the northern end of the BCnavigation?

 

Previous experience is a week on the Llangollen canal - not many locks, but very beautiful!

We will have a lot more locks to contend with - am I right to feel very daunted by the prospect of the Delph, Stourbridge and Wolverhampton locks?!

 

All advice/alternative suggestions gratefully received!

 

Many thanks.

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Taking it easy, it should take you 2 days to get to the Black Country Museum, where there are good safe overnight moorings. You can easily spend the whole day at the Museum.

 

The Wolverhampton flight we didn't find that bad, just take your time. There is a good bacon buttie wagon near one of the locks near the top, in an easily got-to Industrial estate.

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I`ve never found the flights of locks particularly daunting, bear in mind they are close together so your "crew", assuming you have one, will be able to walk between each lock getting them ready. Unless you are really unlucky and you get behind someone with no boats coming up (or down) you will be able to go straight out of one and into the next.

 

Also bear in mind that last week the water point at the bottom of Delph was out of action. Wouldn`t advise mooring overnight or leaving the boat unattended in Kidderminster and if you get to Stourport don`t go into the basins with a view to mooring, moor up before the last lock.

 

Have a good holiday.

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The Wolverhampton flight we didn't find that bad, just take your time. There is a good bacon buttie wagon near one of the locks near the top, in an easily got-to Industrial estate.

 

There's a private zoo at the top of that flight - some guy's eccentric hobby - full of caged animals - kept our 12 yr olds busy for a few moments! There's a good 'greasy spoon' cafe we nipped into near the top - bacon butties were out of this world!

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Taking it easy, it should take you 2 days to get to the Black Country Museum, where there are good safe overnight moorings. You can easily spend the whole day at the Museum.

 

The Wolverhampton flight we didn't find that bad, just take your time. There is a good bacon buttie wagon near one of the locks near the top, in an easily got-to Industrial estate.

There were 25 of us moored there a couple of weeks back and the bacon butty wagon had run out of gas so could not serve anyone.

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Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond - we're all getting very excited now at the prospect of our trip.

 

A more pleasant route, but no museum, is Gailey to Stourport and back.

 

Yes, I thought so, but husband very keen to go via museum!

 

I`ve never found the flights of locks particularly daunting, bear in mind they are close together so your "crew", assuming you have one, will be able to walk between each lock getting them ready. Unless you are really unlucky and you get behind someone with no boats coming up (or down) you will be able to go straight out of one and into the next.

 

I'm the crew..! But no doubt 12 year olds will be of some assistance! (Bribes may be necessary by the time we get to the top!)

 

Are there any safe moorings anyone can recommend between the top of the wolverhampton locks and the Black Country museum in case we don't mange it all the way on sunday. I think we will moor at the Fox and Anchor on saturday, which according to canal planner then leaves us with about 12 hours to the BCM!

 

many thanks!

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