A week's hire at Anderton.

[Graham Davis]

The advice in the dim-and-distant-past was always to do the Cheshire Ring clockwise as that way you were working up the Rochdale 9 and could use the boat to help you open the gates, plus as above.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Graham Davis

[IanD]

We chose anticlockwise from Anderton because of timing for stops (pubs!), having the Peak Forest towards the end when you can decide if you have enough time do do it or not, and having the hardest days early in the holiday when people are keenest. Stops (and pubs) were:

 

Day 1 : Middlewich, The Big Lock (good foody pub with good beer), The Newton Brewery Inn (boozer a few yards down the towpath for a quiet beer afterwards)

 

Day 2 (a long day with 35 locks!) : Kidsgrove , The Blue Bell -- fantastic hidden-away pub with great beer and atmosphere, no food

 

Day 3 : Bollington, The Vale -- very good food and beer from local microbrewery

 

Day 4 : Buxworth, The Navigation -- moor in the basin, good pub with very good food and beer

 

Day 5 : Dukinfield (moor in woods near pipe bridge/Bridge 1), The Chapel House -- local Holts boozer just up the road, cheap decent beer, no food

 

Day 6 : Castlefield Basin, The Knott Bar (opposite Deansgate station) -- excellent food and beer even if it looks like the kind of yuppie place you wouldn't go in...

 

Day 7 (long distance but no locks) : Little Leigh, The Leigh Arms (narrow footpath south from bridge 208) -- friendly place with decent food and beer

 

It took many hours of work with Canalplan, Nicholsons, The Good Beer Guide, beerintheevening, and web searches to come up with that lot and a travel timetable that worked, but it was worth it in the end -- though I have to say real beer and food were high on our priority list, and sightseeing wasn't...

[Pete of Ebor]

 

It took many hours of work with Canalplan, Nicholsons, The Good Beer Guide, beerintheevening, and web searches to come up with that lot and a travel timetable that worked, but it was worth it in the end -- though I have to say real beer and food were high on our priority list, and sightseeing wasn't...

 

Your trips sound just like our trips ! Have a look at https://sites.google.com/site/thebonaboaters/the-bona-boater-s-trips

[GRLMK38]

We chose anticlockwise from Anderton because of timing for stops (pubs!), having the Peak Forest towards the end when you can decide if you have enough time do do it or not, and having the hardest days early in the holiday when people are keenest. Stops (and pubs) were:

 

Day 1 : Middlewich, The Big Lock (good foody pub with good beer), The Newton Brewery Inn (boozer a few yards down the towpath for a quiet beer afterwards)

 

Day 2 (a long day with 35 locks!) : Kidsgrove , The Blue Bell -- fantastic hidden-away pub with great beer and atmosphere, no food

 

Day 3 : Bollington, The Vale -- very good food and beer from local microbrewery

 

Day 4 : Buxworth, The Navigation -- moor in the basin, good pub with very good food and beer

 

Day 5 : Dukinfield (moor in woods near pipe bridge/Bridge 1), The Chapel House -- local Holts boozer just up the road, cheap decent beer, no food

 

Day 6 : Castlefield Basin, The Knott Bar (opposite Deansgate station) -- excellent food and beer even if it looks like the kind of yuppie place you wouldn't go in...

 

Day 7 (long distance but no locks) : Little Leigh, The Leigh Arms (narrow footpath south from bridge 208) -- friendly place with decent food and beer

 

It took many hours of work with Canalplan, Nicholsons, The Good Beer Guide, beerintheevening, and web searches to come up with that lot and a travel timetable that worked, but it was worth it in the end -- though I have to say real beer and food were high on our priority list, and sightseeing wasn't...

 

Thanks for the tips Ian D. We start the Cheshire Ring on Saturday from Scholar Green with an added detour to Parbold over the middle weekend. Funnily enough, with Canalplan, Nicholsons, Pearsons and the Good Beer Guide in hand.

[IanD]

 

Thanks for the tips Ian D. We start the Cheshire Ring on Saturday from Scholar Green with an added detour to Parbold over the middle weekend. Funnily enough, with Canalplan, Nicholsons, Pearsons and the Good Beer Guide in hand.

Glad to be able to help -- obviously the stops work in either direction, the tricky ones for planning are the first afternoon (3 hours or so) and the last morning (1 hour or so). Whatever you do, make sure of an evening in the Blue Bell (last night for you?), and since Castlefield is pretty much the compulsory stop in Manchester the Knott Bar is by far the best pub for miles for food and beer, but IIRC they stop serving food quite early (8pm).

[GRLMK38]

Glad to be able to help -- obviously the stops work in either direction, the tricky ones for planning are the first afternoon (3 hours or so) and the last morning (1 hour or so). Whatever you do, make sure of an evening in the Blue Bell (last night for you?), and since Castlefield is pretty much the compulsory stop in Manchester the Knott Bar is by far the best pub for miles for food and beer, but IIRC they stop serving food quite early (8pm).

 

Yep it's the last night. We were going to moor at Bridge 92 but this sounds like a good excuse to stop at Red Bull.

[Guest Sulou]

We did all our research and decided to do the Cheshire ring a few years ago. When we arrived to pick up our boat we were told that there was a lock out of action and so the ring was not possible. All I would say is that what we did was one of the most beautiful trips we have done. We went from Anderton, anti clockwise along the Trent and Mersey and up the Macclesfield all the we up to the Peak Forest canal and up to Whaley Bridge and return. There were far reaching views from the Peak Forest and it really was one of our favourites. Whatever you do, if you can manage the Peak Forest as well then I'd highly recommend it. Everyone says the Caldon is a lovely canal but I prefer the Peak Forest.

[ditchcrawler]

I hired a few years ago from Alvechurch Boats at Anderton and had to have a letter from them to authorise me to use the lift. (They don't allow first timers). We had a great week, did the Cheshire ring in six days then spent a day on the Weaver. I must admit I like long days, and am not a great fan of stopping so I would not necessarily recommend the ring for the OP. The advantage of doing a there and back is it doesn't matter how far you go each day, you just turn round at half time! Chester and back would make a pleasant trip but the Anderton Lift is pretty impressive if you can use it so may be a couple of days on the weaver.

 

Having said that with two sixteen year old boys you may find they want to keep busy on the locks and steering (supervised of course!) so you may go further than you expected.

 

have a great trip ... I'll look out for you on the roads of Kent! (Are you allowed to post photos of other members lorries in the "photos of other members boats section"!?)

 

Nick

Even if you cant take the hire boat then go down in the trip boat.

[AndrewIC]

Are you first timers? Cheshire Ring in six and a bit days will be hard work, without much opportunity to stop for anything en route, and you have the point-of-no-return syndrome, "we have to be at X by Y o'clock, etc". An out-and-back trip gives you more flexibility to turn round at a point of your choosing.

 

We moor opposite the ABC yard. DeanS has suggested Manchester, and that's certainly an option,but there isn't much for the crew to do on the way, apart from one very small lock. About 2 days each way from Anderton.

 

Going the other way, Chester is a possibility, with the option of Ellesmere Port if time is going well. Up the Llangollen to Ellesmere is also a reasonable trip, again with the option to go a bit further to turn back sooner depending how you are getting on. Llangollen itself is theoretically do-able, but perhaps pushing it - there are a lot of hire boats on the Llangollen who "have" to get to Llangollen, and it doesn't look like much fun.

 

The Macclesfield up towards Marple is another possibility, as is the Caldon (added attraction of Harecastle tunnel) with. Mix of rural and more urban canals. All these routes have plenty of work for an crew with energy to burn

 

The Weaver, if ABC will let you, is well worth the trip, but as someone else said, at least do the trip boat through the lift.

 

Have fun...

[Southern Star]

Yes, it will be our first trip and I'm sure it will be hard work but there will be four of us and everybody is of the same opinion, that we may as well make the most of the boat rather than stopping off to go sightseeing. I know it will involve fairly long days but I did figure that we could do 2-3 days, reviewing the position as we went as we could always turn back at that point.

 

I'm still not 100% decided though, we still have plenty of time to consider our options.

[Richard10002]

Yes, it will be our first trip and I'm sure it will be hard work but there will be four of us and everybody is of the same opinion, that we may as well make the most of the boat rather than stopping off to go sightseeing. I know it will involve fairly long days but I did figure that we could do 2-3 days, reviewing the position as we went as we could always turn back at that point.

 

I'm still not 100% decided though, we still have plenty of time to consider our options.

I am of the opinion that there is no point in rushing, even if you want to make the most of the boat. Try stopping to smell the roses, enjoy the view, relax, and so on. On a there and back trip, the view coming back is different to the view on the way there, and you will see a few things you missed. If you get back to Anderton early, you can keep going the other way, and so on.

 

If you attempt the Cheshire Ring, it will be a challenge, pressured by time, and it won't take much to make you late - if you like that kind of thing?

[Southern Star]

 

If you attempt the Cheshire Ring, it will be a challenge, pressured by time, and it won't take much to make you late - if you like that kind of thing?

I guess that after 26 years of driving a truck, I am kind of used to deadlines and confined spaces :-)

[ditchcrawler]

Yes, it will be our first trip and I'm sure it will be hard work but there will be four of us and everybody is of the same opinion, that we may as well make the most of the boat rather than stopping off to go sightseeing. I know it will involve fairly long days but I did figure that we could do 2-3 days, reviewing the position as we went as we could always turn back at that point.

 

I'm still not 100% decided though, we still have plenty of time to consider our options.

I would rather do out and back trips for a couple of reasons.

1 if you fancy the look of somewhere you can stop on the way back.

2 Its very difficult to judge how far round a ring you are.

3 Things look different coming the other way.

[Southern Star]

I would rather do out and back trips for a couple of reasons.

1 if you fancy the look of somewhere you can stop on the way back.

2 Its very difficult to judge how far round a ring you are.

3 Things look different coming the other way.

Thanks, that is food for thought, I appreciate it. As our holiday is still eight months' away I'm still undecided about a route, but all four of us are looking forward to it more and more by the day, wherever we go.

 

The week of 2nd-9th August 2014 will be a pivotal point in my life, because it will be the stage at which I decide to buy a narrowboat in 2016 or not, although in all honesty I've pretty much made my mind up that I will.

 

I'll post again a week or two before we go, I'd love to meet a few folk from this forum for a chat and maybe a look around their boats if anyone is around!

[Cruising Mike]

I know how you feel about the long wait. I had to wait 12 months from the time i booked, and i now have 5 months to go, or 14m seconds, but whos counting eh?

[jacko264]

Hi,

The first time we hired a boat from Anderton we went to Chester then on to Chester zoo It was a fantastic week this was about 10 years ago.

Last year we did the same but moored in Chester for 2 night and got a taxi to the zoo because we where told the turning winding hole after the zoo had gone

Someone on here may know other wise about the winding hole closing

Graham

 

PS Chester is a very very nice town to look around

[StarUKKiwi]

Hi,

The first time we hired a boat from Anderton we went to Chester then on to Chester zoo It was a fantastic week this was about 10 years ago.

Last year we did the same but moored in Chester for 2 night and got a taxi to the zoo because we where told the turning winding hole after the zoo had gone

Someone on here may know other wise about the winding hole closing

Graham

 

PS Chester is a very very nice town to look around

I think Chester is a city as it has a cathedral; but I love the walk around the walls

[jacko264]

I think Chester is a city as it has a cathedral; but I love the walk around the walls

Sorry i stand corrected City

[Philip]

Having just had a 4 day trip to Ellesmere Port and back from Barbridge (with an added detour up part of the Llangollen) I can recommend this route. The countryside is very pleasant and peaceful all the way to Chester with good views of Beeston Castle and the Peckforton Hills, the railway keeps you company most of the way to Chester. Chester is an interesting and vibrant passage through the centre of the city and then through the Moat leading to the impressive Northgate Locks and Tower Wharf which is a good place to stop overnight - the Telford's Warehouse pub does good food and is a good music venue with various different genres of bands playing there regularly. The line to Ellesmere Port is quiet and peaceful until you reach the motorways, the last two miles are pretty grim but Ellesmere Port itself has plenty to do with the museum, bars and restaurants and good views over the Ship Canal and the Mersey. This route is easily doable in a week and should allow time for a detour or a couple of lengthy stops to explore ashore (ie. Beeston Castle, Chester, Ellesmere Port Boat Museum).

 

Another good route is heading south down the Shroppie towards Wolverhampton. The canal architecture along here is spectacular and there are pleasant lock flights and plenty of good pubs. The 3 towns on that stretch are Nantwich, Market Drayton and Brewood and all are worth paying a visit to. You should make it to Brewood from Anderton without much problem.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Philip

[Burgiesburnin]

Chester and back would be the number one choice for me especially with a couple of kids in tow. Chester has so much history that is obvious and easy to see and appreciate.

[Southern Star]

I am now veering towards a trip to Chester and return. I did think about doing the Cheshire Ring but I have been to Chester many times before on other business and I do agree that it is a beautiful city.

 

There's only four months to go now, when I booked the holiday it was nine months away, so it gets nearer by the day. This holiday will be the point at which I decide if I am actually going to buy a boat or not, so it obviously has the potential to be a life-changing moment!

 

Thanks for all of the help so far.