Villages along the canal

[racheljl]

I have gotten a lot of helpful responses to my "Where should I go?" thread -- thanks so much. Now I'm realizing that much of the fun will be visiting the towns along the way. I loved seeing the villages in the Cotswolds -- we don't have anything that looks like that in the US. What that in mind, what routes should I be looking at? I'd especially love places that are off the usual tourist trail.

[Guest]

I have gotten a lot of helpful responses to my "Where should I go?" thread -- thanks so much. Now I'm realizing that much of the fun will be visiting the towns along the way. I loved seeing the villages in the Cotswolds -- we don't have anything that looks like that in the US. What that in mind, what routes should I be looking at? I'd especially love places that are off the usual tourist trail.

Unfortunately villages that are akin to Cotswolds villages are very much 'on the tourist trail' by their very nature. It kind of goes hand in hand I'm afraid.

[cheshire~rose]

There are a lot of very pretty and interesting villages and towns on the Shropshire Union Canal.

[Southern Star]

Unfortunately villages that are akin to Cotswolds villages are very much 'on the tourist trail' by their very nature. It kind of goes hand in hand I'm afraid.

Yes, Broadway is advertised as "the prettiest village in the Cotswolds" or somesuch, and the reality is that it is the most ghastly tourist trap imaginable. It even has a branch of "Edinburgh Woollen Mill", and believe me, most Cotswolds people do not routinely shop for Scottish clothing.

 

Meanwhile, just a few miles away is Willersey, a breathtakingly beautiful Cotswold village virtually unknown to outsiders.

[keble]

The Glos and Sharpness canal is close to the Cotswolds.For example Stroud is about 15 minutes from the canal and is not touristy at all!

But to get here from any of the hire bases you'll need to come down the river Severn, which is fine unless we get floods.

Have you done river boating?

[Guest]

We like Gargrave, Farnhill/kildwick, East Marton, Sprotbrough, Pollington,

 

Well away from the Cotswolds and well away from being tourist traps.....

 

and no thatched roofed chocolate box cottages AFAIK...

 

If you want thatched roofed cottages but not the Cotswolds in a very nice location try Alrewas on the T&M... Still by far our very favourite place on the system....

[Alan Saunders]

I have gotten a lot of helpful responses to my "Where should I go?" thread -- thanks so much. Now I'm realizing that much of the fun will be visiting the towns along the way. I loved seeing the villages in the Cotswolds -- we don't have anything that looks like that in the US. What that in mind, what routes should I be looking at? I'd especially love places that are off the usual tourist trail.

The real joy of travelling slowly on the byways and canals of Britain, or any other Country (even America!), is discovering places and people that appeal to you. In reality you may not be the first 'foreign' (out of county!) visitor but you will be made welcome and, in your mind, it is a discovery.

 

Arguably, Devon & Cornwall have the most attractive towns/villages - crowded by tourists in the summer as are all the other 'preserved' villages. We loved Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber (Germany) even though it is a reconstruction of a mediavel town but have 'discovered' many towns, villages and hamlets across Europe where we were envious of their quality of life. A family, Sunday lunch in the local, French, village cafe is no more.

 

Unfortunately, even in rural Europe, the really old-fashioned businesses are dying out due to European Legislation. The village shop is now a member of a chain, not someone selling from their front room; similarly, you will no longer find a Public House where you are accomodated in their lounge and the beer is brought up from the cellar or dispensed direct from the barrel.

 

Travel hopefully, moor near a village and buy supplies if it still has a shop; especially if the shop is a community venture run by unpaid volunteers.

 

Alan

[Dave_P]

The real joy of travelling slowly on the byways and canals of Britain, or any other Country (even America!), is discovering places and people that appeal to you. In reality you may not be the first 'foreign' (out of county!) visitor but you will be made welcome and, in your mind, it is a discovery.

 

Arguably, Devon & Cornwall have the most attractive towns/villages - crowded by tourists in the summer as are all the other 'preserved' villages. We loved Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber (Germany) even though it is a reconstruction of a mediavel town but have 'discovered' many towns, villages and hamlets across Europe where we were envious of their quality of life. A family, Sunday lunch in the local, French, village cafe is no more.

 

Unfortunately, even in rural Europe, the really old-fashioned businesses are dying out due to European Legislation. The village shop is now a member of a chain, not someone selling from their front room; similarly, you will no longer find a Public House where you are accomodated in their lounge and the beer is brought up from the cellar or dispensed direct from the barrel.

 

Travel hopefully, moor near a village and buy supplies if it still has a shop; especially if the shop is a community venture run by unpaid volunteers.

 

Alan

You're not looking in the right places!

[arbutus]

As you’re a newbie have you thought of buying a couple of canal guides through Amazon.com.

Nicholson guides give detailed maps of the canals and describe local villages and pubs along the way.

Search for “Collins/Nicholson waterways guide”

If you are collecting the boat at Anderton look at the “Four counties and welsh canals” the 2012 edition.

If you are going from Market Harborough look at “Birmingham and the Heart of England” 2014 edition.

 

If you go from Anderton and go up the Llangollen, one of my favourite places is Wrenbury. It’s nothing special but if you moor there you can hear the church clock chiming every quarter hour and you can walk across a field and through the church yard to get to the village shop., reading the inscriptions on the gravestones as you go. There’s a pub, a restaurant and an electrically operated lift bridge where you have to stop the traffic to open the bridge to get your boat through.

[Mrs Trackman]

The op is asking for route suggestions that would include pretty villages. Many people have mentioned villages but not the canals they are on.

I do not agree that all canalside settlements are touristy, indeed many show little interest in the cut.

I do agree that everywhere is interesting in its way, even if t's to decide we won't go there again but we have the time to explore, visitors for a short while are asking where might be best to aim to be.

I haven't come up with an answer as I keep thinking of pretty villages then think where next?

Cheshire rose suggested the Shropshire union, certainly brewood is a very pretty village. I agree about wrenbury which involves going onto the llangollen. Going back the other way the staffs and Worcester is a very pretty canal though maybe not so many good villages, wolverley and kinver are fascinating. I'm trying to get Weston on Trent in too, there's two of them on the Trent and Mersey, the one nearest to stone has a lovely village green outside the pub, which is a chain pub.

The Gloucester and sharpness isn't really brilliant for the Cotswolds if on a boat though Frampton on severn must be one of the prettiest villages in England.

Now I've got this far I think I agree with the poster who suggested buying guides though I would buy pearsons guides, they are much chattier about settlements. The four counties ring would cover the Shoppe, staffs and worcs, and Trent and Mersey.

One final point, I believe the four counties is very busy in the main school summer holiday-late July and august.

[jake_crew]

Leicester section of the Grand Union and the South Oxford canal are quite rural and pretty.

 

You could hire from Calcutt Boats which is in between both canals.