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Is it grim up north?


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We have been boating around the midlands for the last six years since we bought our boat. Retirement beckons in the next few years and we intend to become liveaboards. The current boat is 52' and has been adequate for our needs but of course we have the ongoing discussion about buying a longer boat to live on. We know that buying a boat longer than 57' begins to rule out access to some of the northern canals and so it makes sense to keep the length below that restriction. However we continually hear people telling us to keep out of Liverpool, Manchester and Rochdale, avoid the Standedge tunnel and keep off the tidal Trent. If we followed all of that advice we would be as well forgetting the northern canals and just buying a 70' boat and be done with it. We're not timid boaters at all but we've never heard the same avoidance advice about any of the places that we have so far visited and that has included Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and London. So we're confused, is it really that grim up north?

 

 

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I have been to Manchester and Leeds, I have done the tidal Trent. I loved every minute of it. It was only the second time we had hired a boat when we did all that. I suspect if we had done more research and listened to all the Jonah's out there we might have thought twice about it but the hire company were fine with us doing it and so we did it and enjoyed it.

 

I would love to do it again now we have our own boat. I know we will get a longer boat when we retire but one thing I am firm about is that we have to get a boat that is capable of doing the northern canals. Those northerners like to perpetuate the myth that it is grim just to keep the best bits to themselves

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It is of course personal choice. I have spent many a year on narrow ditches such as the oxford etc etc etc and little canals such as the K and a and the G U but I have always vastly preffered big rivers and commercial canals. I am again living and working on the Trent which is fab. For me the Aire and calder, Trent, Ouse, etc are way more diverse and interesting with a multitude of differing boats and some fabulous scenery amongst it that the smaller stuff is left way behind but for some, shallow, narrow ditches are preffered. Its each to their own.

 

Tim

Edited by mrsmelly
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When we headed up North in 2009 I remember chatting to a boater when we were both moored up at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. He moaned for what seemed like an age about the Leeds and Liverpool and the Rochdale - gates to heavy, paddles too heavy, too this, too that.

 

I'm pleased we didn't listen, we absolutely loved both canals and would love to go back. I mean, some of the gates on the Lee are heavier than on these canals.

 

I like the Oxford Canal too but I dislike that it's so shallow and narrow that if my dog sighs in the wrong direction someone will be waving their fists and complaining that their pins have come out. I love that at our mooring on the Lee the canal is deep and wide and I barely even notice if a canoe crashes into us.

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We started our boating in Sheffied 2 yrs ago, and spent a lot of time cruising the Sheffield..Leeds...Rochdale...routes...

There's still SO much we havent had time to see.

 

Liverpool,

Lancaster canal

Leeds/Liverpool

Goole/Trent/Leicester/Nottingham

York/Ouse/Ripon

 

We didnt even get to Runcorn yet :)

 

 

There certainly is a lot of different types up here....wide rivers, narrow canals, tidal rivers, industrial waterways, canals with 100s of locks, canals with no locks, wide locks, automated key locks, narrow locks,

 

YOU NAME IT, THE NORTH HAS IT.

 

 

erm....sorry..I'm lying....it's a horrible place, and we dont want too many visitors clogging up the VMs.

  • Greenie 1
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The Northern canals are gorgeous.

 

Buy a shorter boat and go visit them - you won't regret it - we bought a 57' "go anywhere" for that reason.

 

The cruise into Skipton was my particular favourite but there were other lovely places.

 

We can't wait to go back up and explore further - the Rochdale and Huddersfield are way up there on our to do list.

 

Mind you - you may not understand what the bloke on the towpath is saying to you, especially when you get into Yorkshire :D

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The Northern canals are gorgeous.

 

Buy a shorter boat and go visit them - you won't regret it - we bought a 57' "go anywhere" for that reason.

 

The cruise into Skipton was my particular favourite but there were other lovely places.

 

We can't wait to go back up and explore further - the Rochdale and Huddersfield are way up there on our to do list.

 

Mind you - you may not understand what the bloke on the towpath is saying to you, especially when you get into Yorkshire biggrin.png

Oy !!

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Oy !!

Tis true though! :D

 

We ended up deciding 3 pardons were the limit of politeness and if what he said didn't make sense then we'd just smile and nod, hoping that was the correct response.

 

In fairness they probably saw Johnsons Hillock on the side of our boat and thought we spoke their language so didn't speak slowly and loudly like they would have if they'd known we were southerners!

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...........................and if anyone is brave enough to venture onto the tidal Trent.... there is always The Chesterfield Canal!. Don't all rush at once though, some friends in 3 boats just spend a month doodling up and back and counted the number of boats they saw on the move - 22, in a month!

 

There will be more restrictions on visitor moorings at this rate

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We have been boating around the midlands for the last six years since we bought our boat. Retirement beckons in the next few years and we intend to become liveaboards. The current boat is 52' and has been adequate for our needs but of course we have the ongoing discussion about buying a longer boat to live on. We know that buying a boat longer than 57' begins to rule out access to some of the northern canals and so it makes sense to keep the length below that restriction. However we continually hear people telling us to keep out of Liverpool, Manchester and Rochdale, avoid the Standedge tunnel and keep off the tidal Trent. If we followed all of that advice we would be as well forgetting the northern canals and just buying a 70' boat and be done with it. We're not timid boaters at all but we've never heard the same avoidance advice about any of the places that we have so far visited and that has included Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and London. So we're confused, is it really that grim up north?

 

 

 

Well if you've had no particular problems in Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and London, then you should be equally fine in Liverpool, Manchester and Rochdale. As with any urban area you have to be sensible, but these are certainly not no go areas.

 

Standedge is a must-do, assuming your boat will fit through the gauge, and you don't mind a lot of locks either side.

 

The tidal Trent is also fine if you are properly prepared. If you are unsure about doing it solo, try to organise to do the passage with another boat.

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Too late! We are on our way, currently on the Mac at Congleton :-)

We had an end-of-farm mooring on the Mac at Congleton (right by the golf course) for about 4 years and loved it. We don't care that it shallow in places, and the hire boats from Heritage have been known to break wind as they zoom past in a cloud of black smoke.

 

I think the Shroppie/Mac/Rochdale/Leeds & Liverpool/ Calden .... and more .... all have something special :)

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We have been boating around the midlands for the last six years since we bought our boat. Retirement beckons in the next few years and we intend to become liveaboards. The current boat is 52' and has been adequate for our needs but of course we have the ongoing discussion about buying a longer boat to live on. We know that buying a boat longer than 57' begins to rule out access to some of the northern canals and so it makes sense to keep the length below that restriction. However we continually hear people telling us to keep out of Liverpool, Manchester and Rochdale, avoid the Standedge tunnel and keep off the tidal Trent. If we followed all of that advice we would be as well forgetting the northern canals and just buying a 70' boat and be done with it. We're not timid boaters at all but we've never heard the same avoidance advice about any of the places that we have so far visited and that has included Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and London. So we're confused, is it really that grim up north?

 

 

Aye lad. It is but not as grim as it is Daan saaf. (Sorry about poor sothern accent, I must go to Essex.).

 

I think you will find the northerm people more acceping and less self obbsesed than their sothern cousins. The scenery can be magic and even the post industrial grot has its own charm. As for norty yoof & yobs I think you'll find they are evenly distributed throughout these fair isles. Usualy where they have nothing better to do.

 

taslim.

 

Born In New Zealand, brought up in Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire, living in the West midlands 'till my ship boat comes in.

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Having gone from barowford locks to rishton today, it's orrible, the local todlers want to wave at you as you enter & leave the bridges, the local teens complete with cans of cheap lager are the worst, they want to ask you wot a boat like that costs, can you hire one & how much. The fishermen are even worse, they want to have a laugh with you & then ask if you will give it a good handfull to stir up the fish for them. As for the weed hatch, checked it this morning before setting off, never looked at it since! Strange thing though, set off this morning with another boater at the locks, after they moored, we've only seen 2 other moving boats in 11hours of cruising. It's like having you're own private canal. You really don't wan't to come up north!

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Thanks for all of the replies folks. It would seem that as usual the horror stories are just that, stories exaggerated and embellished by people who have never actually experienced anything particularly bad. Even Top Cat only got a mattress around his prop, not ideal but not a disaster either.

The amount of money that we wasted on that machine gun turret we had installed for our journey through bandit country in Birmingham prompted me to make the original post. I'm sorry to tell the northerners that there will be at least one more boat on their waterways in the very near future. Again, thanks for all of your help.

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Thanks for all of the replies folks. It would seem that as usual the horror stories are just that, stories exaggerated and embellished by people who have never actually experienced anything particularly bad. Even Top Cat only got a mattress around his prop, not ideal but not a disaster either.

The amount of money that we wasted on that machine gun turret we had installed for our journey through bandit country in Birmingham prompted me to make the original post. I'm sorry to tell the northerners that there will be at least one more boat on their waterways in the very near future. Again, thanks for all of your help.

 

Ah, if you have a turret fitted, you'll be wanting Yorkshire.

 

They like pretend battleships there.

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You say your current boat is 52' if you get one that is much longer than that you will find that if you are in a lock with leaky top gates ( a common occurence anywhere) if you are going down you are very likely to get wet and get quite a bit of water in the engine bay and rear lockers. Thats what happened to us on the Wigan flight on our 57' boat when the fountains coming under the top gates projected a good 5' down the lock and as we had to back off to get the gates open and if as happend of a few occaisions the crew struggled to move the gates you end up in the torrent for what seems like an eternity. So i would suggest if you do go north stick with your 52' boat.

 

Top cat ( now happily moored on the BCN)

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You say your current boat is 52' if you get one that is much longer than that you will find that if you are in a lock with leaky top gates ( a common occurence anywhere) if you are going down you are very likely to get wet and get quite a bit of water in the engine bay and rear lockers. Thats what happened to us on the Wigan flight on our 57' boat when the fountains coming under the top gates projected a good 5' down the lock and as we had to back off to get the gates open and if as happend of a few occaisions the crew struggled to move the gates you end up in the torrent for what seems like an eternity. So i would suggest if you do go north stick with your 52' boat.

 

Top cat ( now happily moored on the BCN)

FFS Top Cat you are starting to sound like a broken record. Yes a shorter boat is better but not a reason to stay away from the Northern Waterways.

 

Coping with the leaky lock gates is something that is easy to adapt to. As previously said ~ stay where you obviously feel comfy.

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As I SAID leaky gates can happen anywhere I'm just recommending that one doesnt get a boat at the max length for the canal and as the Op has a 52' long boat he might be best to stick with it if he goes North. If it makes you feel better I would also recommend that they don't go above 65' if they stay south for exactly the same reason.

You seem to think everything I say is an anti northern rant - get the chip off your shoulder.

 

TC

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As I SAID leaky gates can happen anywhere I'm just recommending that one doesnt get a boat at the max length for the canal and as the Op has a 52' long boat he might be best to stick with it if he goes North. If it makes you feel better I would also recommend that they don't go above 65' if they stay south for exactly the same reason.

You seem to think everything I say is an anti northern rant - get the chip off your shoulder.

 

TC

No chip on MY shoulder Top Cat, just addressing your obvious bias and prejudice against the Northern Waterways.

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