Hire base that's cheap to reach from Heathrow?

[Clementine]

My husband and I are coming to Britain from the US in March and really want to take a narrowboat holiday our first week. After a few weeks spent blissfully comparing the merits of various canal routes and boats, we've come down to earth and realized that one factor in our decision really needs to be how cheaply we can reach the hire base to begin our holiday. We really liked the idea of the L&L or alternatively visiting Chester, but it seems that getting to those areas by train will be nearly as expensive as renting a boat for a week, which to be honest is already a bit of a stretch.

 

Can anyone suggest any good starting bases we can reach inexpensively? I'm looking into coach travel between Heathrow and Oxford, for example. Any boatyards/routes you'd recommend from there? Are there other particular cities that have fairly inexpensive travel connections (such as Birmingham or Rugby, maybe?) and narrowboat hire firms you'd recommend there?

 

Just to make it harder, we aren't terribly interested in cruising in toward London, and are also not too excited by the Kennet & Avon because we've spent a lot of time in Bath & Wiltshire (though on land) on past trips. The second week of our holiday we'll be in the Nottingham area -- renting a cottage there.

 

Thanks in advance for any hints or suggestions...

[Flyboy]

My husband and I are coming to Britain from the US in March and really want to take a narrowboat holiday our first week. After a few weeks spent blissfully comparing the merits of various canal routes and boats, we've come down to earth and realized that one factor in our decision really needs to be how cheaply we can reach the hire base to begin our holiday. We really liked the idea of the L&L or alternatively visiting Chester, but it seems that getting to those areas by train will be nearly as expensive as renting a boat for a week, which to be honest is already a bit of a stretch.

 

Can anyone suggest any good starting bases we can reach inexpensively? I'm looking into coach travel between Heathrow and Oxford, for example. Any boatyards/routes you'd recommend from there? Are there other particular cities that have fairly inexpensive travel connections (such as Birmingham or Rugby, maybe?) and narrowboat hire firms you'd recommend there?

 

Just to make it harder, we aren't terribly interested in cruising in toward London, and are also not too excited by the Kennet & Avon because we've spent a lot of time in Bath & Wiltshire (though on land) on past trips. The second week of our holiday we'll be in the Nottingham area -- renting a cottage there.

 

Thanks in advance for any hints or suggestions...

Have a look at http://www.anglowelsh.co.uk

They have a base at Oxford so you could take a trip up the Oxford canal or the upper Thames.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Flyboy

[Bones]

Oxfordshire Narrowboats based at Heyford is easy to reach. There is a bus from Heathrow (or gatwick) that goes into Oxford and then you can get a train up to Heyford.

[alan_fincher]

Yes,

 

One of the Oxford based hire fleets would sound sensible, as reaching it from Heathrow must be one of the easier options

 

If you don't fancy the Oxford, (or the Thames), then Wyvern Shipping on the Grand Union at Leighton Buzzard would not be impossible, either, (by rail sub two hours, one change, probably). Unfortunately most hire bases on the Southern Grand Union have now ceased operating, and that's the only one I can think of that's not too far from Heathrow. Boats at Wyvern are fine, but probably not one of the cheapest.

[Dawnie]

Just an idea if you wanted to be further north, you could pre book your train tickets I did London to Manchester last year £8 each way. The trick is to buy 2 singles and not a return

http://www.thetrainline.com/buytickets/?hr...CFUwA4wodU1z6Hw

[Clementine]

Just an idea if you wanted to be further north, you could pre book your train tickets I did London to Manchester last year £8 each way. The trick is to buy 2 singles and not a return

http://www.thetrainline.com/buytickets/?hr...CFUwA4wodU1z6Hw

 

Aha! Thank you so much! It certainly does bring the cost WAY down. We're considering the Leeds and Liverpool again...

[saltysplash]

Could you not fly into manchester?

[Dawnie]

Leeds and Liverpool is one of my favourites, absolutely stunning. Also the best fish and chip shop in my opinion is bizzy lizzies at Skipton. Worth the trip for those alone!

[saltysplash]

Leeds and Liverpool is one of my favourites, absolutely stunning. Also the best fish and chip shop in my opinion is bizzy lizzies at Skipton. Worth the trip for those alone!

 

 

I always thought Compo's in Oldham did a smashing haddock, but you'd have to bus it from Chadderton....i think

[OldGoldy]

My husband and I are coming to Britain from the US in March and really want to take a narrowboat holiday our first week. After a few weeks spent blissfully comparing the merits of various canal routes and boats, we've come down to earth and realized that one factor in our decision really needs to be how cheaply we can reach the hire base to begin our holiday. We really liked the idea of the L&L or alternatively visiting Chester, but it seems that getting to those areas by train will be nearly as expensive as renting a boat for a week, which to be honest is already a bit of a stretch.

 

Thanks in advance for any hints or suggestions...

I don't know if it's still the case but AFAIR Delta used to fly into Manchester from Ohio, and surely there's others?

 

Heathrow is not the centre of the 'world'

 

That way you are still relatively close to L&L or Shroppie/visit Chester.

[WJM]

Fly into Stanstead Airport and take a short taxi ride to Broxbourne - http://www.leevalleyboats.co.uk/boatslee.htm - or failing that, fly to Heathrow and take the connecting airport bus to Stanstead. Broxbourne is perfectly located for doing the London canals and the Thames.

[magpie patrick]

Fly into Stanstead Airport and take a short taxi ride to Broxbourne - http://www.leevalleyboats.co.uk/boatslee.htm - or failing that, fly to Heathrow and take the connecting airport bus to Stanstead. Broxbourne is perfectly located for doing the London canals and the Thames.

 

To which I would add, we have a good coach network as well as trains, and if you book in advance (which you can do over the internet) and be selective about travel times then train fares can come down a lot from the headline walk-on fare. By way of example, the walk on fair from Bath to London is £153, the cheapest SUPER APEX is under £30

[Laurie Booth]

My husband and I are coming to Britain from the US in March and really want to take a narrowboat holiday our first week. After a few weeks spent blissfully comparing the merits of various canal routes and boats, we've come down to earth and realized that one factor in our decision really needs to be how cheaply we can reach the hire base to begin our holiday. We really liked the idea of the L&L or alternatively visiting Chester, but it seems that getting to those areas by train will be nearly as expensive as renting a boat for a week, which to be honest is already a bit of a stretch.

 

Can anyone suggest any good starting bases we can reach inexpensively? I'm looking into coach travel between Heathrow and Oxford, for example. Any boatyards/routes you'd recommend from there? Are there other particular cities that have fairly inexpensive travel connections (such as Birmingham or Rugby, maybe?) and narrowboat hire firms you'd recommend there?

 

Just to make it harder, we aren't terribly interested in cruising in toward London, and are also not too excited by the Kennet & Avon because we've spent a lot of time in Bath & Wiltshire (though on land) on past trips. The second week of our holiday we'll be in the Nottingham area -- renting a cottage there.

 

Thanks in advance for any hints or suggestions...

Suggest you read Bill Bryson's book "Notes from a small island" he quickly learnt to ignor all Englishmen's advice on routes etc.

[GSer]

Reading Marine is just down the M4 and is within a few hundred yards of a Railway station

 

Just 5 hours on the K&A and you will have the Thames to cruise in either direction from Reading

Edited January 6, 2010 by GSer

[Lady Muck]

I don't know if it's still the case but AFAIR Delta used to fly into Manchester from Ohio, and surely there's others?

 

Heathrow is not the centre of the 'world'

 

That way you are still relatively close to L&L or Shroppie/visit Chester.

 

I agree, I don't always fly Heathrow when I do longhaul, perhaps the OP could consider flying to Schipol in Amsterdam, then getting a connection to Stansted? That airport is very close to the Lee and Stort (for Lee Valley Boats), I love landing at that one, because I can usually spot my boat on the river!

[WJM]

If you want - Narrowboat / London / One Week - then that makes Lee Valley, Broxbourne your only choice.

[magpie patrick]

Thinking about it, National Express go everywhere although they are slow compared to trains, but your biggest problem maybe the last few miles as most boatyards are outside town centres and not easily accessible by public transport. If you need a taxi for the last ten miles it'll probably cost up to a quarter of what a taxi all the way from Heathrow would have cost.

 

How are you travelling in your second week? It might sound daft, but if you are having a hire car for that week, the cheapest option may be to rent it for two weeks and leave it at the boatyard. Come to that, one way car hire can be the cheapest way of getting somewhere.

[Chertsey]

Try PMing Bellamina. She doesn't post very often but they're a couple from the US who have a boat in the UK and have the British public transport system down to a fine art - she might know more about how you can arrange things before you arrive as well.

[Dominic M]

Oxfordshire Narrowboats based at Heyford is easy to reach. There is a bus from Heathrow (or gatwick) that goes into Oxford and then you can get a train up to Heyford.

Oxfordshire Narrowboats are also offering one way hire from my base at Stowe Hill on the Grand Union (nearest Station Long Buckby (about 6 miles) on the main line from Euston or Rugby station 10 miles north, Milton Keynes station about 20 miles south) to their main base at Lower Heyford, or the other way round. That way you get to see some fantastic English countryside and villages and experience both narrow and broad locks. They will happily deliver you back to the starting point by road if you so desire. Call me if you want to know more - +44 1327 342211 or send an email - link below. The route would be a very pleasant one week cruise - neither too short nor so long as to require hammering along for hours every day.

 

Dominic

Edited January 6, 2010 by Dominic M

[JohnEW2912]

If you haven't booked your flights yet then I would seriously consider flying into Manchester. Off the top of my head there are direct flights from Newark, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia and Las Vegas to Manchester.

 

Alternatively you could fly via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt and then fly into one of many UK airports and back from another. You could then fly to Birmingham and have lots of options. If you want the L&L then flying to Leeds/Bradford might be handier for the hire bases there than Manchester.

 

Another thing to bear in mind are possible stoppages if you're coming early in March. The winter programme of maintenance stops in mid March ready for Easter.

[Clementine]

How are you travelling in your second week? It might sound daft, but if you are having a hire car for that week, the cheapest option may be to rent it for two weeks and leave it at the boatyard. Come to that, one way car hire can be the cheapest way of getting somewhere.

 

We are hiring a car the second week; I've been looking at a one-way rental from Leeds back to Heathrow for that week. But I see your point and will check out just getting the car for two weeks... it seems wrong somehow to pay for one to just sit in a boatyard for a week, but it may well be the easiest and most economical overall.

 

If you haven't booked your flights yet then I would seriously consider flying into Manchester. Off the top of my head there are direct flights from Newark, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia and Las Vegas to Manchester.

 

Alternatively you could fly via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt and then fly into one of many UK airports and back from another. You could then fly to Birmingham and have lots of options. If you want the L&L then flying to Leeds/Bradford might be handier for the hire bases there than Manchester.

 

Another thing to bear in mind are possible stoppages if you're coming early in March. The winter programme of maintenance stops in mid March ready for Easter.

 

Thanks to you and the other folks who've suggested alternate airports. I already bought tickets to Heathrow -- got the airfare squared away before we started looking at other aspects of the holiday. Live and learn!!! We're coming the end of March, so I hope stoppages won't be an issue.

 

Me again --

 

Thanks to everybody for the great suggestions, and helping me crack the code of the train, coach, and bus fares. (How did anyone ever do this before the internet?)

 

Now it looks like we have plenty of choices -- I'm looking principally at Canal Boat Escapes or Rose Narrowboats on the L&L, or Chas Hardern near Chester, though the Reading/Thames idea is interesting too...

[USnarrowboater]

My wife and I are crusing for a month starting the last week of sept. the best air fair I found was with Icelandic Air Seattle to Manchester. we then take the train to Stone and pick up our boat there.

 

Dave

[Pie Eater]

The vast majority of stoppages are scheduled to finish on the 12th March, however the current bad weather will probably delay the starting dates and the stoppages may have to be extended.

 

Steve

[davem399]

Now it looks like we have plenty of choices -- I'm looking principally at Canal Boat Escapes or Rose Narrowboats on the L&L, or Chas Hardern near Chester, though the Reading/Thames idea is interesting too...

 

I'm not sure if it was the way you typed it but Rose Narrowboats are on the North Oxford, not the L & L. Not that far from Rugby which has good rail links.

 

Dave

[Bellamina]

We are hiring a car the second week; I've been looking at a one-way rental from Leeds back to Heathrow for that week. But I see your point and will check out just getting the car for two weeks... it seems wrong somehow to pay for one to just sit in a boatyard for a week, but it may well be the easiest and most economical overall.

 

 

 

Thanks to you and the other folks who've suggested alternate airports. I already bought tickets to Heathrow -- got the airfare squared away before we started looking at other aspects of the holiday. Live and learn!!! We're coming the end of March, so I hope stoppages won't be an issue.

 

Me again --

 

Thanks to everybody for the great suggestions, and helping me crack the code of the train, coach, and bus fares. (How did anyone ever do this before the internet?)

 

Now it looks like we have plenty of choices -- I'm looking principally at Canal Boat Escapes or Rose Narrowboats on the L&L, or Chas Hardern near Chester, though the Reading/Thames idea is interesting too...

Edited January 9, 2010 by Bellamina