I can't do it!

[Tuscan]

Used to loads of them. Lost it's sole has Northampton.

 

 

 

 

Last time I was there it definitely seemed to have lost its inner soul

[Nightwatch]

On it's uppers now I believe.

 

But still got a few eye 'oles

[bizzard]

Last time I was there it definitely seemed to have lost its inner soul

Tongue in cheek.

[Tesla]

On it's uppers now I believe.

 

But still got a few eye 'oles

 

I think you will find it is somewhat down at heel.

[Chertsey]

If going north you might well also need a handcuff/water conservation/anti-vandal key. Like a little square socket with a T shaped handle.

[Athy]

Thanks, chaps, for keeping us on our toes and making sure we're instep.

Zayna, have you decided which way you're going? I wonder if you know the Canal Plan web site which will help with routes and (subject to the caveats mentioned in various posts above) timings.

[Tuscan]

A bet you will find a branch of Timpsons !

[Zayna]

Thanks, chaps, for keeping us on our toes and making sure we're instep.

Zayna, have you decided which way you're going? I wonder if you know the Canal Plan web site which will help with routes and (subject to the caveats mentioned in various posts above) timings.

 

Yes, I've printed that out, thank you! I know we won't be following it to the exact minute but I thought it might help me find stopping places and marinas and such. Are you allowed to just turn up at them and 'park' up for a week or two, if we don't get back up north in one hit? I am scared stiff of leaving it moored up on a towpath somewhere, until I know the canals a bit better. Or am I defeating the object?

[Tuscan]

Nearly all marinas have spaces and will be open to you leaving a boat with them for a week or 2. However it would be worth calling ahead to book , agree fee and make sure someone is there when you are planning to arrive. I know that means a plan

[bizzard]

Cobblers!

Commuter trains that serve between Euston and Northamton are still called by railway staff ''The Cobblers'' The up cobblers and the down cobblers.

[Ray]

You reckon that it'll take you nine 6 hour days, that's 54 hours in total, a little over five 10 hour days or six 9 hour days (etc.) - guess who was good at tables at school.

 

If you are prepared to take a week off work then do just that. Take a car to the start point and leave it there. You'll invariably want to to take far more than you can comfortably carry on a train. Unless you're in the middle of nowhere your car should still be there when you go to collect it so you can forget it while you're away.

 

Cruise for as long or as short as you want each day but aim to average out the hours - canal plan software can be tweaked to adjust the number of hours per day so you can set up any number of options. All you then need to do is to make sure that you either keep up with the slowest option or are at least prepared to put in the extra hours to do so before you get back.

 

Even if you fail to make it you'll be a lot nearer to home than when you start and if you can't make your own way home you should be able to find a friend who will come and collect you.

 

I won't say all marinas require notice of your intention but I'm sure you'll stand more chance of getting in if you do give them notice (but, personally, I think you have ample time to do what you want without having to leave the boat short of your intended destination).

 

Please keep us updated on hour you get on.

[Zayna]

Ray, thanks. The more I think about it and chew it over with you guys, the clearer it becomes. We could certainly leave the car at the start point, get picked up and brought home, then go for the car in my car, iyswim.

 

I just have to convince my chap that he shouldn't bother with a bicycle. Unforch, that does me out of my wine o'clock relaxy-with-Kindle time while he's pedalling 20 miles, but hey ho.

[Athy]

Yes, I've printed that out, thank you! I know we won't be following it to the exact minute but I thought it might help me find stopping places and marinas and such. Are you allowed to just turn up at them and 'park' up for a week or two, if we don't get back up north in one hit? I am scared stiff of leaving it moored up on a towpath somewhere, until I know the canals a bit better. Or am I defeating the object?

Nothing wrong with mooring at a marina. As m'learned friends suggest, phone ahead and sort it out.

Yes, do keep us informed of your progress (if you have a computer on board or stop somewhere that you can have the use of one).

Just one thing: if you moor on the towpath, either the canal's in flood or you need more practice with your steering.

[Tuscan]

Ray, thanks. The more I think about it and chew it over with you guys, the clearer it becomes. We could certainly leave the car at the start point, get picked up and brought home, then go for the car in my car, iyswim.

 

I just have to convince my chap that he shouldn't bother with a bicycle. Unforch, that does me out of my wine o'clock relaxy-with-Kindle time while he's pedalling 20 miles, but hey ho.

 

 

If you had a wine o'clock whilst I cycled 20 miles neither of us would be in any fit state by the time I turned up..........

[twbm]

To avoid other pitfalls: be sure to have the 'emergency meal' at the back of the cupboard - one tin stewing steak, one tin mixed veg, one tin potatoes for example.

Don't forget you have to supply your own utilities: better to empty the loo a bit too often that have a full one you can't use, better to refill the water tank a bit too often than run out. Assuming two gas bottles on a changeover valve, replace the empty one as soon as you can. Make sure you can charge your phones on the boat and expect the signal to be crap if you moor in a cutting.

[FadeToScarlet]

In a couple of weeks time we have to fetch our new purchase from Northampton to nearer home. On the planner, it's telling me approximately 9 x 6 hour days.

 

I'm trying to work out how to do it, whether to do it in little stages and leave it somewhere safe then pick it up the following weekend, or have a full week and see how far we get, how do we go and fetch the car, do we cadge lifts to our boat from friends, do we get the train, do we do relays in 2 cars...

 

 

Should we make a definite plan of where we're going to end up every night or just know which direction we're going and set off?

 

I've gone from being a gongoozler to a bamboozler.

 

I am sure it will all turn out well and all that, but I can't help panicking.

 

When cruising to a time restriction, we use Canalplan to work out a sensible journey time, and then have an imaginary "pace boat" that follows behind us on those timings. As long as we stay in front of it, we'll arrive where we want to be in time.

 

Then again, we do 30 to 40 lock miles per day, out of choice, so we're clearly bonkers.

 

Once off the rivers, and onto the cut, we tend to head for an area each day, rather than an exact junction or bridgehole- e.g. we might say, "we're at Cassiobury, we'll aim for somewhere in the centre of London", or "we're at Cowroast, we want to be somewhere near Milton Keynes tonight".

Edited July 10, 2012 by FadeToScarlet

[ditchcrawler]

I'm so glad I posted this topic, I've been dithering over it for weeks.

 

I won't be forgetting a corkscrew.

 

You're ALL marvellous, thank you so much.

 

You wont need it, just buy screw tops

[Catrin]

If it helps anyway towards the discussion - this is our experience of moving Sickle around between the beginning of April and the beginning of July - more than 400 miles and 300 locks.

 

I teach, so it's school holidays and weekends only. We moved Sickle around a lot, getting to one wedding celebratory banter, three historic boat events, and did the 4 Counties Ring - leaving the boat north of Brum for a fortnight at the end of April. Getting her to the different events, and back to her home mooring near MK (twice) was done by careful planning. We had to either catch trains to the nearest station, and cycle on folding bikes to and from the boat, or we had to plan where we expected to get to over a weekend, and leave one car there to pick the other car up at the end of the journey. We spent almost every weekend away over this period.

 

While I loved the boating and the events (and meeting with friends ), I found the constant car shuffling very tiring. It was better travelling by train, much less tiring - but we had to be very careful in selecting the right journey to get the best deals. For example, a ticket that costs £5-ish before 7 am on Saturday morning might cost many times more at another time of day. We learned that the best deal isn't necessarily to get a through ticket - for example, from Penkridge to Brum, then back to Hertfordshire is much cheaper than a through ticket.

 

Being away every weekend meant that things that really should have got done at home didn't happen - the grass didn't get cut, the household chores were neglected.

 

Personally, if I had the option, I would have preferred to just move the boat - get it done, get it out of the way, and not do all the major travelling back and forth, which just eats into your boating time. Every weekend we were driving or on a train for several hours only to do a very similar journey again the following week.

 

Cath

[Arthur Brown]

You could push on hard and do 4 x 13hour days and get home in two weekends, or you could take a leisurely week over the journey. If you pull in to many favours for transport you may begin to feel like a boat hirer as people want the favour returned -what would suit you?

 

Stock the boat with lots of food and masses of tea/coffee (in small packs) Tins last til they rust through usually years as do packets of dry goods, greengrocery lasts a few days but meat fish and milk needs to be kept refrigerated or used quickly. Lidl do ring pull rice pudding which is a good filler when the cupboard is bare.

 

My parents used to tour (car) and used to know only where they were starting, a month or so later they would just ring and say they were coming home soon, and they did the whole of europe and lots of North America. their plans were very fluid. My sister plans every right and left turn just like the woman in the satnav! Which way works for you will become obvious.

[MtB]

Used to loads of them. Lost it's sole has Northampton.

 

I agree. It's a terrible plaice....

[Zayna]

Emergency food? I could write a book. We're seasoned motorhomers, our camper has never been caught short, we could live self contained for weeks. We built it ourselves as well, none of your fancy schmantzy overpriced white and silver jobbos... My cassette toilet is a thing of beauty in the camper, you could eat yer emergency steak casserole off it...

[Charles]

Or - you could just put it on a truck.. no marina fees, no diesel, no emergency rations, little stress,no car shuffling etc. etc.

[Zayna]

Or - you could just put it on a truck.. no marina fees, no diesel, no emergency rations, little stress,no car shuffling etc. etc.

 

Noooo, there's no fun in that. I know I'm stressing, but it's quite a nice kind of stress.

[twbm]

Emergency food? I could write a book. We're seasoned motorhomers, our camper has never been caught short, we could live self contained for weeks. We built it ourselves as well, none of your fancy schmantzy overpriced white and silver jobbos... My cassette toilet is a thing of beauty in the camper, you could eat yer emergency steak casserole off it...

 

Well you've won at least one admirer I can think of.

[Zayna]

Well you've won at least one admirer I can think of.

 

Ah yes, the great bog debate. Our boat has a cassette toilet as well. I'm thrilled. I do love a nice clean Thetford...