We've booked a hire holiday!

[Ange]

Well friends and family are going to think we're completely obsessed - after living on our narrowboat since June we've just booked our 2010 holiday - a week's narrowboat hire out of Falkirk We would dearly love to have Iona lifted out of the water and transported up there so we could spend more time exploring, but can't afford that kind of expense at the moment.

 

We know we want to go on the Falkirk wheel, but apart from that haven't made any firm plans - has anyone got any suggestions? We're booked from Friday 27th August.

[Janet S]

We "did" the Falkirk Wheel a few years ago at the Scottish Boat Show on their trip boat whilst on a camping holiday....it's an amazing piece of engineering, although I know there are some who don't like it. Personally I thought it was fantastic!

 

Very envious...I used to live on the banks of the Caledonian Canal at Banavie, but I've only ever seen our Scottish canals from the shore (apart from one time when I experienced it from the water, having been thrown in by a stroppy horse!)

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

Janet

[haggis]

Well friends and family are going to think we're completely obsessed - after living on our narrowboat since June we've just booked our 2010 holiday - a week's narrowboat hire out of Falkirk We would dearly love to have Iona lifted out of the water and transported up there so we could spend more time exploring, but can't afford that kind of expense at the moment.

 

We know we want to go on the Falkirk wheel, but apart from that haven't made any firm plans - has anyone got any suggestions? We're booked from Friday 27th August.

 

Most folk who hire, start by going up the Wheel then head along the lock free (apart from the straircase at the wheel) Union canal to Edinburgh. The trip there and back takes some folk a week but others manage to fit in a trip to Edinburgh and return then head along the Forth and Clyde canal to Glasgow or further in a week.

I am sure you will enjoy it! BW work all the locks and bridges for you which , for some boaters is a bit of a nuisance :-)

 

haggis

[Guest]

Well friends and family are going to think we're completely obsessed - after living on our narrowboat since June we've just booked our 2010 holiday - a week's narrowboat hire out of Falkirk We would dearly love to have Iona lifted out of the water and transported up there so we could spend more time exploring, but can't afford that kind of expense at the moment.

 

We know we want to go on the Falkirk wheel, but apart from that haven't made any firm plans - has anyone got any suggestions? We're booked from Friday 27th August.

 

Need any one to look after your boat??

[Ange]

Need any one to look after your boat??

 

Top marks for opportunism Martin!

[Sue1946]

hope you have a wonderful time.

[Ange]

We "did" the Falkirk Wheel a few years ago at the Scottish Boat Show on their trip boat whilst on a camping holiday....it's an amazing piece of engineering, although I know there are some who don't like it. Personally I thought it was fantastic!

 

Very envious...I used to live on the banks of the Caledonian Canal at Banavie, but I've only ever seen our Scottish canals from the shore (apart from one time when I experienced it from the water, having been thrown in by a stroppy horse!)

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

Janet

 

Thanks Janet - we're particularly looking forward to the Wheel (though being scared of heights I hope I don't disgrace myself like I did going over the Ponty Aquaduct when I had to hide under the duvet!)

 

 

Most folk who hire, start by going up the Wheel then head along the lock free (apart from the straircase at the wheel) Union canal to Edinburgh. The trip there and back takes some folk a week but others manage to fit in a trip to Edinburgh and return then head along the Forth and Clyde canal to Glasgow or further in a week.

I am sure you will enjoy it! BW work all the locks and bridges for you which , for some boaters is a bit of a nuisance :-)

 

haggis

 

Thanks Haggis

 

We tend to do slow and leisurely to see lots of a little rather than a little of lots, so will probably just go to Edinburgh and back.

 

I think I can handle someone else doing the locks and bridges for a week

[Guest]

Top marks for opportunism Martin!

[NBMike]

The Red Oxide Queen and I are going up to Falkirk on a hire boat in 3 weeks Ange. Hope the weather has improved by then!

Mike

[cheshire~rose]

I had been looking at these myself but we do not have the time this year - hopefully before long but we may even look at The Shannon as well yet

[Ange]

The Red Oxide Queen and I are going up to Falkirk on a hire boat in 3 weeks Ange. Hope the weather has improved by then!

Mike

 

Fingers crossed the weather improves! Let us know how you get on - any mooring / pub / eatery recommendations would be gratefully received

 

 

I had been looking at these myself but we do not have the time this year - hopefully before long but we may even look at The Shannon as well yet

 

One of our long term dreams is to have Iona shipped over to Ireland so we can cruise the Irish canals

[NB Willawaw]

I visited the Falkirk Wheel a couple of years ago.

 

This week I've been on the west end of the F+C canal around Bowling and Glasgow.

 

I even managed to have some chips at McMonagles, the "floating" chip shop at Clydebank.

 

Bowling is very pretty - the Glasgow arm is not - a study in industrial decay, but still very interesting.

 

I'll post some pics on my blog when I get home at the weekend.

[RupertG]

Well friends and family are going to think we're completely obsessed - after living on our narrowboat since June we've just booked our 2010 holiday - a week's narrowboat hire out of Falkirk We would dearly love to have Iona lifted out of the water and transported up there so we could spend more time exploring, but can't afford that kind of expense at the moment.

 

We know we want to go on the Falkirk wheel, but apart from that haven't made any firm plans - has anyone got any suggestions? We're booked from Friday 27th August.

 

The Wheel is magnificent - the feeling when the section of canal you're on starts heading into the sky is unique. (It's quite possible to have a go by getting there on an afternoon's trip by train from Edinburgh, which is how we did it.) A rare example of a local council sending back plans to developers saying "No, not striking enough...".

 

If you do get as far as Edinburgh Quay, don't waste any time in the restaurants and stuff by the canal, they're tres yuppy. A short walk into the Tollcross badlands will get you to gems like the Blue Blazer or Cloisters, if you like characterful pubs with tons of tasty tipples. The Festival will be winding down by then, so it shouldn't be too horror-show.

 

R

[Ange]

Well we're here! After handing over our boat/home to our son, our niece and her boyfriend we headed up to Scotland. We arrived at 2pm for the 3pm handover - they actually seemed really pleased so I'm guessing the boat was ready early so us arriving early meant early doors for them. We had the handover spiel (after finding out we've lived on a narrowboat for over a year and my parents own one as well they were quite apologetic but said they had to go through everything for insurance purposes).

 

Handover and loading possessions on boat was done by 3pm, no lunch having been had hungry tummies headed for the cafe attached to the Wheel visitor centre. Nearly £12 for two coffees, one toasted sandwich and a panini!

 

At 4pm we were back on the boat and advised the BW staff that we were ready to do the wheel. Unfortunately they had a technical difficulty - apparently they have numerous sensors on the wheel and one on the part that comes up to separate the gondola from the rest of the canal had some debris in it. We sat for an hour and a half watching the BW guys scratch their heads, wield various rake like implements and squawk at each other over the radio until the magic "yep we're good to go" was heard.

 

We shared our trip up the wheel with a trip boat. Dave earned mega brownie points with the trip boat's skipper when he faultlessly performed the rather tricky manoeuvre from the landing stage into the gondola. Unfortunately he lost all those brownie points when we arrived at the tunnel after the locks that follow and Dave stopped, baffled by the fact that there were traffic lights there that were flashing from red to green - he hadn't had time to read the notice that said that it meant proceed with caution! By the time I'd ran from the front to the back of the boat the skipper on the trip boat had honked his horn very loudly and his first mate had informed Dave (very politely) of the meaning of the signal.

 

The upshot of the delay is that we're now moored at Polmont, when we'd have liked to have made it to Linlithgow this evening. On the positive side we are next to a 24 hour Tesco so have been able to provision up (I swear we have enough food to last 10 people two weeks - there's four of us on here for one week )

 

On the other side of the canal however, with a very high wall and lots of floodlights is a young offendors' institution.

 

I'll post some photos of the wheel tomorrow - tis a bit late now.

 

Amazing internet connection btw - cyan light all the way

 

Edit - I forgot to say what an amazing experience it is to hire a boat after living aboard a 1990 build which we're updating as and when our shallow pockets allow. Six, yes SIX, leisure batteries (we've just upgraded from two to three). Which means we have a microwave (swoon) and a coffee maker (double swoon). We have two toilets and showers, the toilets have macerators where ours is a dump through. And ... and ... and ... wait for it ... we have three pin plugs that support 240 volt plugs (swoon and faint at the same time!)

Edited August 27, 2010 by Ange