Please Help! Weekend round trip starting Braunston.

[Barbarossa]

Hello all!

 

I am a new member on this forum, and fairly new to boating in general. I am going on my fourth boat trip in a few weeks with a some good friends, but this is my first time organising it, and I really need some help in planning the route, so I thought I would ask you experienced chaps! The tricky bit is that a few of our friends can only make it for a part of the trip, which means I need to be flexible and pick a route that allows pick ups and drop-offs in reasonably accessible places. Any pointers much appreciated.

 

These are the parameters:

- Starting in Braunston on a Friday at Noon

- Finishing in Braunston on the following Monday morning at 10am (i.e. a total of almost 3 full days of boating)

- We have a couple of people arriving late (Saturday morning), and a couple of people leaving early (Sunday morning). Some are arriving by car and others train/taxi at various points along the route. I can expect my friends to walk along the towpath, or wait at a pub to an extent.

- Some good pubs for the evenings;

- A camp-site for a couple of tents (Saturday night only)

- Picturesque countryside route, and avoiding the city (in other words, not towards Birmingham)

- We're an energetic, semi experienced crew, and, within the parameters above, would like to cover as much distance as we can in the time we have (whilst maintaining of course all due canal-etiquette and courtesy!!) :-)

 

I appreciate that the list above is a long one and satisfying it all might be very tricky - consider it a challenge(!)- and we'll compromise as required! I was considering going south down the oxford canal - but this might be a bit remot for my friends to reach. Which is prettier/better of either going north up the Oxford Canal from Braunston or south down the Grand Union? Or should I stick with south down the Oxford canal and try reach the turn in Cropredy at some point on the Saturday afternoon?

 

Thanks in advance!

B. :-)

 

[Bod]

Welford arm?

Braunston tunnel, Norton junction, Watford locks, Crick tunnel, Welford arm.(pub at end)

Collect/drop off Crick, Yelvertoft, or Norton junction(Long Buckby)

Everything bar campsites.

 

Bod

[bassplayer]

Welford arm?

Braunston tunnel, Norton junction, Watford locks, Crick tunnel, Welford arm.(pub at end)

Collect/drop off Crick, Yelvertoft, or Norton junction(Long Buckby)

Everything bar campsites.

 

Bod

As long as they are out of the way they could camp on the towpath overnight.

 

I agree the Leicester arm is pretty. If you do the Oxford I prefer the South Oxford. The Grand Union is nice down to Tring to and plenty of pubs.

[David Mack]

Hello all!

 

I am a new member on this forum, and fairly new to boating in general. I am going on my fourth boat trip in a few weeks with a some good friends, but this is my first time organising it, and I really need some help in planning the route, so I thought I would ask you experienced chaps! The tricky bit is that a few of our friends can only make it for a part of the trip, which means I need to be flexible and pick a route that allows pick ups and drop-offs in reasonably accessible places. Any pointers much appreciated.

 

These are the parameters:

- Starting in Braunston on a Friday at Noon

- Finishing in Braunston on the following Monday morning at 10am (i.e. a total of almost 3 full days of boating)

- We have a couple of people arriving late (Saturday morning), and a couple of people leaving early (Sunday morning). Some are arriving by car and others train/taxi at various points along the route. I can expect my friends to walk along the towpath, or wait at a pub to an extent.

- Some good pubs for the evenings;

- A camp-site for a couple of tents (Saturday night only)

- Picturesque countryside route, and avoiding the city (in other words, not towards Birmingham)

- We're an energetic, semi experienced crew, and, within the parameters above, would like to cover as much distance as we can in the time we have (whilst maintaining of course all due canal-etiquette and courtesy!!) :-)

 

I appreciate that the list above is a long one and satisfying it all might be very tricky - consider it a challenge(!)- and we'll compromise as required! I was considering going south down the oxford canal - but this might be a bit remot for my friends to reach. Which is prettier/better of either going north up the Oxford Canal from Braunston or south down the Grand Union? Or should I stick with south down the Oxford canal and try reach the turn in Cropredy at some point on the Saturday afternoon?

 

Thanks in advance!

B. :-)

 

 

Have you seen Nick's Canal Route Planner at http://canalplan.eu/ ? That will give you a better idea of how long it will take to do various route options.

 

In three days out and back you won't get to Birmingham anyway, so it shouldn't be a factor in your route choice. All routes from Braunston are pretty rural. But by the same token there are few points along the routes where your late arrivals/early leavers will have access to public transport.There are rail stations at Rugby, Leamington Spa, Warwick and Long Buckby, but otherwise you are reliant on local bus services, taxi or cycling/walking.

 

Do you and your crew like lots of locks, or do you want to be mainly lock free? If you head along the North Oxford you will only encounter the 3 (narrow) locks at Hillmorton and the stop lock at Hawkesbury. If you head west there are 23 locks down to Leamington / Warwick before you start to go up again.

[KJT]

The Leicester Arm as described above is very pretty, but I think to get to Welford would be quite a stretch in the time available in view of the Watford flight (twice) especially at weekends.

The GU South would be pleasant and you might even get to get to Stoke Bruerne (canal Museum, Bliswoth Tunnel) if you don't mind long days. Plenty of mooring spots en-route. The first day you would have the Braunston flight then Braunston tunnel and then the Buckby flight. It's lock free then until just beyond Stoke Bruerne. You could spend the first night near to bridge 27 at Stowe Hill. (Very close to the main A5 for your joiners). The Narrow Boat pub is close by and there is a nice campsite right by the canal near to bridge 27. Then head South the next day until you felt the time was right to turn round. Several pubs on route.

 

Ken

[ditchcrawler]

You can camp at The Blue Lias on the GU north of Braunston

[Starcoaster]

One thing to bear in mind if you are talking about this weekend's Friday to Monday, is Braunston rally on the same dates.

[IanM]

In which case the Leicester arm is probably their best bet

[alan_fincher]

 

The Grand Union is nice down to Tring to and plenty of pubs.

They have little more than the weekend - don't think they will get too far towards Tring - probably about Stoke Bruerne maximum.

 

All our recent trips through Braunston locks have taken far longer than you might expect - they currently seem to me a Mecca for people doing daft and illogical things.

 

I also followed a hire boat through Braunston Tunnel yesterday that caused me to spend far more time out of gear than in it....

 

Don't make ambitious plans if you try going South from, and returing to, Braunston at the weekend!

 

These are the parameters:

- Starting in Braunston on a Friday at Noon

- Finishing in Braunston on the following Monday morning at 10am (i.e. a total of almost 3 full days of boating)

[MtB]

Hello all!

 

I am a new member on this forum, and fairly new to boating in general. I am going on my fourth boat trip in a few weeks with a some good friends, but this is my first time organising it, and I really need some help in planning the route, so I thought I would ask you experienced chaps! The tricky bit is that a few of our friends can only make it for a part of the trip, which means I need to be flexible and pick a route that allows pick ups and drop-offs in reasonably accessible places. Any pointers much appreciated.

 

These are the parameters:

- Starting in Braunston on a Friday at Noon

- Finishing in Braunston on the following Monday morning at 10am (i.e. a total of almost 3 full days of boating)

- We have a couple of people arriving late (Saturday morning), and a couple of people leaving early (Sunday morning). Some are arriving by car and others train/taxi at various points along the route. I can expect my friends to walk along the towpath, or wait at a pub to an extent.

- Some good pubs for the evenings;

- A camp-site for a couple of tents (Saturday night only)

- Picturesque countryside route, and avoiding the city (in other words, not towards Birmingham)

- We're an energetic, semi experienced crew, and, within the parameters above, would like to cover as much distance as we can in the time we have (whilst maintaining of course all due canal-etiquette and courtesy!!) :-)

 

I appreciate that the list above is a long one and satisfying it all might be very tricky - consider it a challenge(!)- and we'll compromise as required! I was considering going south down the oxford canal - but this might be a bit remot for my friends to reach. Which is prettier/better of either going north up the Oxford Canal from Braunston or south down the Grand Union? Or should I stick with south down the Oxford canal and try reach the turn in Cropredy at some point on the Saturday afternoon?

 

Thanks in advance!

B. :-)

 

 

I really think you need to reduce your ambitions. Cropredy is a comfortable two days cruise from Braunston, so well outside of a weekend destination given you need to go there and come back, espacially as you aim the spend the evenings in pubs! It might be a feasible destination if you spent every daylight hour cruising but not if you want to stop here and there and/or admire the scenery.

 

A trip to The Wharf pub at Fenny Compton would be more manageable, And a stop at The Boathouse in Braunston on the way out and on the way back in. There just aren't that many pubs suitable spaced within a day or so's cruising time from Braunston.

 

MtB

[bassplayer]

They have little more than the weekend - don't think they will get too far towards Tring - probably about Stoke Bruerne maximum.

 

 

...I wasn't suggesting they went as far as Tring. I'm just saying the whole stretch has plenty of pubs...

 

Stoke Bruerne is a nice spot to aim for and has a curry house right next to the canal (albeit a bit pricy for what you get)...

[alan_fincher]

There just aren't that many pubs suitable spaced within a day or so's cruising time from Braunston.

Well to Stoke Bruerne and back, yields quite a few.....

 

Probably not comprehensive, but there's almost no walking to any of these.....

 

Braunston: Boathouse, Nelson

Buckby: New Inn

Weedon: Heart of England, (maybe now about 3 in total ??).

Stowe Hill: Narrowboat

Bugbrooke: Wharf Inn, etc

Stoke Bruerne: The Boat, Navigation, (+ "Spice of Bruerne" for eats).

 

That's without taking a walk into (say) Welton, Nether Heyford, Blisworth, etc.

 

But I would say if you want to sample several of those, then the 13 locks and 2 tunnels each way should be the limit as to what you try and do, with the constraints you have.

 

(Normal household shopping on that stretch not so plentiful though, but stores in at least Braunston, Weedon & Blisworth.)

[alan_fincher]

...I wasn't suggesting they went as far as Tring. I'm just saying the whole stretch has plenty of pubs...

 

Stoke Bruerne is a nice spot to aim for and has a curry house right next to the canal (albeit a bit pricy for what you get)...

OK agree.

 

Except for prices at "Spice of Bruerne", which are probably better value than some of the pubs I have listed - we ate at the Wharf Inn - Bugbrooke the other day - very OK, but I felt pricey for what we got.

 

Incidentally "Spice of Bruerne" do a discount for take-away orders, so if cost is a concern, you can also pay supermarket prices for your booze if you eat on board, (although we tend to spend any discount by going for a pint in the Boat, whilst our meals are being got ready!).

[bassplayer]

OK agree.

 

Except for prices at "Spice of Bruerne", which are probably better value than some of the pubs I have listed

...maybe I've been spoilt having lived near Luton for many years!

[Semitrad]

Hello all!

 

I am a new member on this forum, and fairly new to boating in general. I am going on my fourth boat trip in a few weeks with a some good friends, but this is my first time organising it, and I really need some help in planning the route, so I thought I would ask you experienced chaps! The tricky bit is that a few of our friends can only make it for a part of the trip, which means I need to be flexible and pick a route that allows pick ups and drop-offs in reasonably accessible places. Any pointers much appreciated.

 

These are the parameters:

- Starting in Braunston on a Friday at Noon

- Finishing in Braunston on the following Monday morning at 10am (i.e. a total of almost 3 full days of boating)

- We have a couple of people arriving late (Saturday morning), and a couple of people leaving early (Sunday morning). Some are arriving by car and others train/taxi at various points along the route. I can expect my friends to walk along the towpath, or wait at a pub to an extent.

- Some good pubs for the evenings;

- A camp-site for a couple of tents (Saturday night only)

- Picturesque countryside route, and avoiding the city (in other words, not towards Birmingham)

- We're an energetic, semi experienced crew, and, within the parameters above, would like to cover as much distance as we can in the time we have (whilst maintaining of course all due canal-etiquette and courtesy!!) :-)

 

I appreciate that the list above is a long one and satisfying it all might be very tricky - consider it a challenge(!)- and we'll compromise as required! I was considering going south down the oxford canal - but this might be a bit remot for my friends to reach. Which is prettier/better of either going north up the Oxford Canal from Braunston or south down the Grand Union? Or should I stick with south down the Oxford canal and try reach the turn in Cropredy at some point on the Saturday afternoon?

 

Thanks in advance!

B. :-)

 

 

This sounds a complete nightmare to organise and a recipe for disaster! Don't underestimate the problems involved in picking up passengers in remote locations - will they be leaving cars there for example? The time spent waiting for someone stuck on the M1 can disrupt your schedule somewhat.

 

You really only have two days to play with, one out and one back so plan for that and keep time in hand for unexpected delays.

 

As for where to go, I think I would rule out the GU south and Leicester arm because of the heavy locks, gloomy and difficult tunnels and possible delays. The North Oxford I would never call pretty, but you are unlikely to be held up much. The South Oxford has restricted times at Napton but is still doable, you could easily reach the locks on Friday and there are plenty pubs there. As has been already suggested, Fenny Compton would be within range for Saturday. On the GU North, you could aim for Wigrams turn or the top of Stockton locks on Friday and go as far as you like on Saturday before returning, plenty pubs that way. Don't worry, you won't reach Birmingham!

[Delta9]

There's camping next to the canal just south of Napton at Holt Farm

[ditchcrawler]

I would go GU North

The Boat

The Blue Lias with camping

The Two Boats

Then down into Lemington with more pubs and station

ending at Warwick at The Cape and again stations

The pubs in Braunston could well be to close to base to be much use other than Sunday Night

[john6767]

I would go GU North

The Boat

The Blue Lias with camping

The Two Boats

Then down into Lemington with more pubs and station

ending at Warwick at The Cape and again stations

The pubs in Braunston could well be to close to base to be much use other than Sunday Night

Lots of pubs, but not a very relaxing weekend (50 wide locks)! With all the logistics I think that is too ambitions. Why not just go as far down a Long Itchington and turn round either above the staircase or below the staircase at Bascote. You can always have a side trip on the Oxford to the bottom of Napton Locks if you have time on the Sunday.

[Mike J.E.W]

Braunston to Fenny Compton & back , stop at Napton Friday night , camping available in Fenny , its a good weekend run , bit of hike into Fenny village and the pubs naff but.......