Harecastle Tunnel

[Cruising Mike]

Hello Forum,

 

Long time lurker but first time poster. I and a couple of my friends are doing the Four Counties next May and we need some advice about Harecastle tunnel.

 

I am aware of the procedure, as in they let in 8 boats through every other hour depending on which side you are on. And that you shoud be there by no later than 3 pm if you want to pass through.

 

What we would like to know is, is it safe to assume that we will be guarunteed entry if we arrived at either end say 1-2pm (barring any closures, unfortunate delays) or should we plan our journey in such a way that makes sure we moor up just before the tunnel and approach it the following morning?

 

We would be arriving there approximately on a wednesday or a thursday 4th/5th June which comes just after the school holidays so i have no idea on traffic as such.

 

Also which way round is the busiest way, anti clockwise or clockwise?

 

Any advice would be appreciated and would help us tremendously with our planning.

 

Mike

[Jigsawged]

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum. I wouldn't worry too much about passage through Harecastle. Eight boats through is not written in stone, it depends how many happen to be there. You could find that you are the only one and therefore go straight through. It takes about 40 minutes on average to get through and provided that you arrive at or before the "last passage" time you ought to be fine. You will find the tunnel keepers to be very helpful, make sure that you check things like your tunnel light and horn, you'll be asked to test them at the tunnel before being allowed in.

 

Difficult to say whether one direction is busier than the other. It is a popular route, offering as it does, some lovely routes to cruise. I'm sure that you will be fine given that you plan to arrive in the early afternoon. Enjoy your cruise.

[alan_fincher]

What we would like to know is, is it safe to assume that we will be guarunteed entry if we arrived at either end say 1-2pm (barring any closures, unfortunate delays) or should we plan our journey in such a way that makes sure we moor up just before the tunnel and approach it the following morning?

Provided you arrive either end by 4:00 pm you should be guaranteed a passage that day.....

 

From the CRT information page.....

 

 

During Summer Hours:

Summer hours run from Saturday 25th May through to Sunday 1st September.

The tunnel will open for passage daily 8.00am-6.00pm

To be guaranteed a passage, craft must arrive by 4.00pm

Any enquiries regarding tunnel availability, please call 03030 404040 in office hours.

 

[Beo]

We came through a couple of days ago (Saturday during school hols). We arrived at 2:45pm and went through with 2 other boats at 3pm. There were about 5 boats waiting to come the opposite way (South). I totally agree that the keepers are excellent and really instil confidence if you're a bit nervous. Personally I would do the passage South to North.

[Ally Charlton]

so did any of you see the headless woman?

[alan_fincher]

so did any of you see the headless woman?

A tallish woman steering may indeed need to duck for the lowest parts, but otherwise....... No!

[Alway Swilby]

We've done Harecastle both ways. The ventilation fans create a head wind when going South to North so we prefered North to South going with the wind. But not much difference really.

[john6767]

Only done it once (North to South), but I really did not think it was a big deal at all. Now that the towpath has been removed the tunnel is very wide, and there is only a relatively short section that is low, and even that is not that low. The tunnel keeper will explain the process and give you a leaflet that explains for example what to do in the case of breakdown.

[Guest]

OP-

 

If you have a cratch cover over the front cratch you might want to detach and lower it from the front corners of the cabin.

 

I know people often say 'it's no big deal' but it is quite low and I briefly lost concentration and our cover still bears the scars of where we hit the tunnel side/roof. When we emerged we saw a couple of boats waiting to enter with the covers lowered in this way and I thought 'damn I wish I'd thought of that'

[NickF]

I find that Heartbreak Hill locks have a very strong forward pull when going up .... something to watch out for if you go clockwise but probably not significant enough to dictate which way round you go.

have a great trip!

Nick

[BruceinSanity]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

We've done Harecastle loads of times and don't find one way better/worse than the other. Certainly rolling the cratch cover out of the way if you have one is a good idea, and take anything precious off the roof.

 

Going in from the south, be prepared for the mist which develops as the fans start up and the pressure drops inside the tunnel; don't panic it clears quite quickly. Going north to south; we wouldn't tie overnight outside the north portal, it can get a bit dodgy with yobbos there, better to stop by the Red Bull services the night before.

 

There's a bit of a reef on the towpath side as you turn into the north portal; if in a deep draughted boat, keep well over to the right, as near to the rescue boat as you can.

 

Watch out for the boggart, and enjoy!

[PaulG]

so did any of you see the headless woman?

We went though last year and were very disappointed not to see the Boggart.

 

Perhaps she was keeping a low profile.....

[Paul C]

If there's 2 crew (ie driver + 1 other) I find the most efficient way to do locks in a flight is up. This way the crew can start the lock off, and once the boat is ascending, the driver can finish it off including closing the gate if needs be, while the crew walks on to the next lock. Given that around half the locks on heartbreak hill are ever so slightly too far to walk on to, then the SU flights of locks are best done 'up, therefore in theory the most efficient way would be anticlockwise.

 

But I don't think there's much in it, and any slight efficiency would be absorbed by natural variations in locks set for/against you, other boating traffic, etc.

 

I don't think there's a 'busy' direction and a 'quiet' direction as such. There's a lot of other boating movement around the 5 canals that make up the ring.

[Cruising Mike]

Hello all,

 

Sorry for posting so late but wish to say a big thanks for all the replies! I had posed the same question to the boat owner and she also said not to worry too much about when you arrive at the tunnel as long as you get there at a respectable time. I was only worried about traffic per se and was worried that if i was too late, then due to traffic i would be denied entry. But by the looks of it, i am being a bit paranoid! The same train of thought applied to which way round to go. I had planned to stop at Stone overnight, then go from there to Etruria overnight, then head to the tunnnel in the morning to be safe but it looks like i dont really need to. So thats reassuring since it means i have more options planning wise, and thats part of the fun!.

 

Perhaps you haven't seen the headless woman yet as she is looking for Mr. Right!