Advice Wanted

[newtocanals]

Hi All,

 

We are hoping to do the Cheshire Ring mid August '06. This is the first time we have taken a canal holiday, so was looking for some helpful hints/tips, details of stoppages, bandit problems and boat security maybe on this route, and anything else you may think would help us have an enjoyable break. Many thanks.

[charles123]

Hi All,

 

We are hoping to do the Cheshire Ring mid August '06. This is the first time we have taken a canal holiday, so was looking for some helpful hints/tips, details of stoppages, bandit problems and boat security maybe on this route, and anything else you may think would help us have an enjoyable break. Many thanks.

 

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Here are my thoughts

 

If you dont know Manchester try and spend a day moored in Castlefields the adjacent old buildings and museums are well worth a visit

Try and share locks up the Rochdale 9 they are hard work!

You need to do about 6 or 7 hrs per day cruising to get round in a week so do some longer days to make up time for sight seeing or lazy days

Bandits unlikely to be a problem, if at all it will be the Ashton canal section

 

Good luck

 

Charles

[John Orentas]

I can echo Charles' advice but if you have a choice go the other way round, make a very early start from Ashton-u-Lyne and you will get into Castlefield comfortably in one day, turn left at the bottom lock and moor in the coal wharf. There is an added bonus for doing things this way, you will be treated to a day's lock free cruising on the Bridgewater to recover from your exertions.

 

Don't get too hung up over bandits and the like, it is all very much exaggerated in some quarters.

[newtocanals]

Welcome to the forum

 

Here are my thoughts

 

If you dont know Manchester try and spend a day moored in Castlefields the adjacent old buildings and museums are well worth a visit

Try and share locks up the Rochdale 9 they are hard work!

You need to do about 6 or 7 hrs per day cruising to get round in a week so do some longer days to make up time for sight seeing or lazy days

Bandits unlikely to be a problem, if at all it will be the Ashton canal section

 

Good luck

 

Charles

 

 

Hi All, thanks to Charles and John for coming back so quickly. With regard to the bandits, I picked this up somewhere else and thought I would be clever and use it in my request for information. I have to say, I had never given security a thought. So what sort of risks are we looking at? How serious are the attacks that have been reported and what form are they taking? Young children, teenagers or adults? Any ideas on extra security for the boat when we pop into the pub for example or is this not necessary?

We were thinking of taking our own bikes and attching them to the roof. Would this work and would it be safe? We won't be able to leave the boat too often as we have a slightly temporarily disabled person with us (who will be acting as helmsman through the locks!).

[nichimyo]

If you do come across kids throwing stones or spitting (or even just hanging around on a bridge), a good deterrent is a digital camera pointed at them, they will often run away !!

Biggest problem I have come across in urban areas is snagging on underwater supermarket trolleys and items of clothing wrapping themselves around the propellor.

[Moley]

We were thinking of taking our own bikes and attching them to the roof. Would this work and would it be safe?

We've carried 4 bikes on top of a hire boat, and managed to find a way to have 2 forward of the centre ring and 2 behind, with one chain through the ring and all 4 back wheels. Have also left all 4 on the towpath, again back wheels chained together. No problems.

 

Carry a set of spanners or allen keys, you may have to fold handlebars flat to cope with low bridges or tunnels.

[charles123]

there is a good section on this site regarding bandits but the examples tend to be the exception so dont worry about it

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/

[DHutch]

If you do a search (link on the top left of the page) for cheshire ring, theres been quite a few pasted topics about this.

 

Heres a few to get you started:

Cheshire Ring Which Way ??, Advice please -- clockwise or anticlockwise

Four counties or Cheshire ring ?

Cheshire Ring Manchester Section

 

We live in cheshire, so know the area quite well, never had any problems while on the boat, or leaving the boat in varous places around the place.

 

 

Daniel