Looking for options - first trip

[OldGoat]

I've come to the conclusion that many folks just read the first post or the latest one and comment on that basis.

 

 

[David Mack]

Black Country Ring from Autherley Junction.

 

Anticlcokwise: A bit of a baptism of fire on the first half day, with 21 locks to Wolverhampton, then overnighting at Birmingham City Centre (3 locks), Curdworth (27 locks), Whittington (or Huddlesford) (11 locks), Rugeley (3 locks), Penkridge (7 locks) then Autherley (7 locks).

 

So 2 lock-heavy days, but with the locks in flights so with a crew of 8 you can get through them in a reasonable time. The rest pretty easy. 3-4 hours on the first half day, then an average of 6.5 hours boating per day for the rest of the trip, so easy to adjust the timings to allow you to linger longer at some points along the route.

 

Clockwise: First half day to Gailey (no locks), then overnighting at Tixall Wide (12 locks), Huddlesford Junction (5 locks), Curdworth (11 locks), Birmingham City Centre (27 locks), Tipton Black Country Museum (3 locks) then Autherley (21 locks).

 

Ideally you do Curdworth to Birmingham in a single (longish) day, which means the day lengths are rather less even this way round.

 

 

[Dbonar]

I've come to the conclusion that many folks just read the first post or the latest one and comment on that basis.

Sometimes I feel that way also! Note that you complained about my not returning to the thread right after I replied. Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were typing your reply when I posted you have since replied again without acknowledging that I have responded.

 

I liked the OP's statement that he liked locks - but not more than one per mile - that rather rules out any canal (as he also said he didn't want to go on a river).

He's not come back to explain why / or modify his request - making it difficult to be more helpful.

Part of the requirements are for industrial archaeology, green fields and pleasant views.

 

The Stourport is a good mix is a good route - but Tardebigge is a killer, not because of the number of locks (great to operate), but because you have to do the whole lot of 5x in one hit. You can't stop and any moorings between the two sets are usually full (IME) - not to mention the moorings at the top.

 

Please Mr. Bonar - do come back and give us some feedback - so that 'we' can either see the error of our ways, or indeed, refine our suggestions. When were you coming over?

 

Until this morning I have found this to be a great forum. However this reply with its condescending attitude (some of which I've edited out) really sticks in my craw. 36 hours elapsed between my 3rd and 4th post in the thread which included two night (14 hours), one work day (around 10 hours after travel time), and some incidentals. I'm sorry I took my vacation planning time to look at possible boats instead of specifically responding to your comment. Since you asked; the Thames and connected canals were mostly eliminated because we have all been to London before. We figured we could see a different portion of the country. York and the Scottish border had been on the initial plans until we fell in love with the idea of a boat trip. If you claimed you wanted to come to the US to see Texas I wouldn't push the Atlanta area on you.

 

You are correct that a strict limit of 1 lock per mile or less is difficult. On the other hand its a reasonable short hand. The Llangollen, upper Shroppie, T&M and Bridgewater areas I've been looking at have just under 2 miles per lock (75ish miles and 20-40 locks). Other than some sort of rough ratio how does one indicate that I (we) think we'd be fine with more locks but really don't want to do something with 75 miles and 110 locks?

 

Part of the issue is that everyone is talking about rings. Perhaps that's just a thing on this forum or with the narrowboating crowd in general but so for I'm not sure there is any ring that seems reasonable. Four Counties almost seems doable. Some reports about the Black Country Ring or the Stourport ring (or is it the Stourton ring) make them sound doable (note that I've seen differing descriptions of those and I'm trying to find out more about them). Mostly though we're thinking about out and back routes so that we can cruise without worrying about having to meet specific checkpoints at specific times. So, given a starting point at Wrenbury, Gailey, Great Haywood, Autherley Junction, or similar spots what would you suggest as an out and back?

 

Inner city Birmingham is great fun, we are going to be pottering around the BCN prior to the Tipton Banter. Some of your crew hadn't seen that report on Fox News by any chance?

 

Birmingham looks like it could be fun. However Old Goat, who seems to be a big Birmingham fan, admits that its a 1/2 to 1 day cruise to get to a "pleasant and safe" mooring. While I don't know about the specific report you mention I know that my parents have expressed a desire to avoid it. If I was going to be cruising around for a longer period of time I'd be interested. If it was just my 4 I'd push for it. With the constraints of a week long hire its going to take a really great sounding trip to make me attempt to sway other people's opinions.

[Keeping Up]

Looking back in my log (I keep a running total) in this boat we've travelled 22351 miles and passed through 13505 locks, that's 1.66 miles per lock.

 

Looking at the log I see also that I've never averaged more than 2.5 mph or less than 2.0 mph overall, in any of the 30 years that I've kept such a detailed record.

[Paul C]

 

You are correct that a strict limit of 1 lock per mile or less is difficult. On the other hand its a reasonable short hand. The Llangollen, upper Shroppie, T&M and Bridgewater areas I've been looking at have just under 2 miles per lock (75ish miles and 20-40 locks). Other than some sort of rough ratio how does one indicate that I (we) think we'd be fine with more locks but really don't want to do something with 75 miles and 110 locks?

 

I'd not worry too much about number of locks per mile ratio. It kinda assumes all locks are the same effort, or time to do; and that all miles travelled on canals are the same too. Basically, there's a lot of variance in what locks are like. The ones on the Shroppie which you'd encounter are a good example. The Audlem 15 are a breeze, mainly because they're in a flight, partly because they're narrow, partly because the flight can be reasonably busy without being ovely so (meaning that you'll meet/chat with other boaters, either leave gates open and/or have them left open for you, and/or have help while doing the locks). Tyrley and Adderley (the other 2 flights) can be similar. There's the single lock at Wheaton Aston which always seems to have a queue south, but not north (never quite understood that?) and the pair at Hack Green which can get queues too. (For completeness there's the stop lock at Autherly Jn, and of course the shroppie mainline has more locks into Chester which don't form part of the 4CR).

 

The other thing is, with 8 of you on the one boat, locks will be very easy.

 

Constrast that with the Cheshire locks (T&M) which because they're kinda spaced out, always take a bit longer even though its more/less the same number of locks and total rise/fall.

 

Basically, you can overanalyse things to try come up with the "best" trip, sometimes you need to just put trust in the fact that its a popular route and loads of others do it in a week with no issues etc and love it.

[David Mack]

If you want to go with Napton Narrowboats, do an out-and-back trip, avoid Birmingham and heavily locked routes, then I think these are your choices:

 

1. Autherley Junction south along the Staffs and Worcs to Stourport, then out onto the River Severn and down river as far as you want. You could even do a mini-loop via the Droitwich Canals and bottom end of the Worcester and Birmingham
2. Autherley Junction northwest along the Shroppie, to somewhere near Hurleston Junction
3. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn left towards Stoke
4. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn right towards Burton on Trent
5. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn right to Fradley and right again towards Fazeley
6. Napton Junction north along North Oxford and Coventry Canals to Glascote (including possible side trip to Coventry Basin)
7. Napton Junction north along North Oxford, Coventry and Ashby Canals to Snarestone (including possible side trip to Coventry Basin)
8. Napton Junction east to Norton Junction then north along Grand Union to top of Foxton (including side trip to Welford), or continue further to Market Harborough or towards Leicester
9. Napton Junction south along South Oxford Canal to around Lower Heyford

All of these are based on around 6 hours per day and are moderately locked. Also, since both bases are located close to junctions, if you find yourself getting back a little too soon, you can overshoot and go a short distance along one of the other routes in your remaining time.

 

You can explore the out-and-back options further using the Furthest Place option at http://canalplan.eu .

 

 

[Dbonar]

If you want to go with Napton Narrowboats, do an out-and-back trip, avoid Birmingham and heavily locked routes, then I think these are your choices:

 

1. Autherley Junction south along the Staffs and Worcs to Stourport, then out onto the River Severn and down river as far as you want. You could even do a mini-loop via the Droitwich Canals and bottom end of the Worcester and Birmingham
2. Autherley Junction northwest along the Shroppie, to somewhere near Hurleston Junction
3. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn left towards Stoke
4. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn right towards Burton on Trent
5. Autherley Junction north along the Staffs and Worcs to Great Haywood, then turn right to Fradley and right again towards Fazeley
6. Napton Junction north along North Oxford and Coventry Canals to Glascote (including possible side trip to Coventry Basin)
7. Napton Junction north along North Oxford, Coventry and Ashby Canals to Snarestone (including possible side trip to Coventry Basin)
8. Napton Junction east to Norton Junction then north along Grand Union to top of Foxton (including side trip to Welford), or continue further to Market Harborough or towards Leicester
9. Napton Junction south along South Oxford Canal to around Lower Heyford

All of these are based on around 6 hours per day and are moderately locked. Also, since both bases are located close to junctions, if you find yourself getting back a little too soon, you can overshoot and go a short distance along one of the other routes in your remaining time.

 

Now, which of these would you recommend? Why should I turn a specific direction at Great Haywood (for example)? I'm not being flippant; I can find a similar list using Canal Planner. I was hoping for the opinions and local knowledge that I can't get from straight facts. Which route has a great pub, or a special view, or an off beat local site that's worth a mooring in midday to go for a walk. Is there a site that lists farmers markets in canalside touwns?

[Dbonar]

Birmingham looks like it could be fun. However Old Goat, who seems to be a big Birmingham fan, admits that its a 1/2 to 1 day cruise to get to a "pleasant and safe" mooring. While I don't know about the specific report you mention I know that my parents have expressed a desire to avoid it. If I was going to be cruising around for a longer period of time I'd be interested. If it was just my 4 I'd push for it. With the constraints of a week long hire its going to take a really great sounding trip to make me attempt to sway other people's opinions.

 

One quick comment on my own thoughts. One thing I've noticed is that almost any circular connection gets named as a ring. Yet for some reason I'm not finding any mention of the mini-ring formed by

 

Autherley Junction to Stourton Junction

Stourton Junction to Delph Bottom Lock

Delph Bottom Lock to Wind Mill End Junction

Wind Mill End Junction back to Autherley Junction

 

I'm not sure I want to do it due to the desire for some members of the group to avoid Birmingham but it seems like a nice tight mini-ring.

 

 

Looking at the log I see also that I've never averaged more than 2.5 mph or less than 2.0 mph overall, in any of the 30 years that I've kept such a detailed record.

 

Which is interesting as some websites mention adding up miles + locks and dividing by 3 to get total cruising time. Clearly your experience doesn't match that (you travel faster).

[Paul C]

 

 

 

Which is interesting as some websites mention adding up miles + locks and dividing by 3 to get total cruising time. Clearly your experience doesn't match that (you travel faster).

 

The problem with that is, some locks can take 20 mins, some can take 4 mins. If you use canalplan.org.uk you won't be too far out. We find on a decent bunch of locks, can get quite ahead of time though.

 

Most 'named' rings are between 1-2 weeks, which is a typical holiday hire period. Some named rings are longer though. There's lots of possibilities for shorter circular routes around Birmingham due to its unique nature and number of canals in & around there.

[StephenA]

 

Now, which of these would you recommend? Why should I turn a specific direction at Great Haywood (for example)? I'm not being flippant; I can find a similar list using Canal Planner. I was hoping for the opinions and local knowledge that I can't get from straight facts. Which route has a great pub, or a special view, or an off beat local site that's worth a mooring in midday to go for a walk. Is there a site that lists farmers markets in canalside touwns?

 

I'd recommend the Droitwich - althoguh mooring is a bit limited.

[Athy]

 

Now, which of these would you recommend? Why should I turn a specific direction at Great Haywood (for example)? I'm not being flippant; I can find a similar list using Canal Planner. I was hoping for the opinions and local knowledge that I can't get from straight facts. Which route has a great pub, or a special view, or an off beat local site that's worth a mooring in midday to go for a walk. Is there a site that lists farmers markets in canalside touwns?

To be fair, I think that some of us have suggested routes based on personal experience and preference - the trouble is, from your point of view, that we all have different favourites! I, for example, would plump for route 9 because it's my favourite stretch of canal. I would mention the Folly Inn at the bottom of Napton Locks and the Brasenose, a quarter of a mile from the canal at Cropredy, as pubs which you should visit. I would point out that Banbury has historic sections and regular markets, and that the canal is very pretty most of the way, with enough locks but not too many. But I expect that some of my learned friends can and will make equally plausible cases for most of the other suggested routes.

[OldGoat]

Mr. Bonar,

I'm sorry if you found my post condescending - I was merely trying to point out that some of the routes proposed at that time fell way short of what you wanted. Nor was I complaining about you not responding (whether in a timely fashion or not).

 

I suspected that you might be misunderstanding of what the Thames (the non tidal bit) is about - you mention "London", that is the tidal bit and not suitable for a canal boat.

 

The Thames above Oxford is really a beautiful river. The locks are similar to a broad canal and a joy to operate. There is an attendant to work them (with your help - if you wish). There are pubs and places to visit - for example Kelmscott Manor, the home of William Morriss, a leader of the Arts and Crafts movement - which may be of interest. You can moor outside.

 

A trip from Lower Heyford (Oxfordshire Narrowboats), express trains 'outside' would satisfy most of your requirements.

 

I invariably plug Birmingham as most cities accessible from the canal are pretty dire to visit by boat. Parts of Brum are not-very-attractive to motor through, but the centre moorings are pleasant and there's a lot to see and do while you are. The bonus is that many are within walking distance! In our years of narrow-boating we've seen it grow from a place-to-avoid-at-all-costs, to something else. Many hirers still ascribe to this view - hence my sales push

We're southerners and prefer country views - so to us e Brum is a revelation. I wish that London would do likewise.

[Dbonar]

To be fair, I think that some of us have suggested routes based on personal experience and preference - the trouble is, from your point of view, that we all have different favourites! I, for example, would plump for route 9 because it's my favourite stretch of canal. I would mention the Folly Inn at the bottom of Napton Locks and the Brasenose, a quarter of a mile from the canal at Cropredy, as pubs which you should visit. I would point out that Banbury has historic sections and regular markets, and that the canal is very pretty most of the way, with enough locks but not too many. But I expect that some of my learned friends can and will make equally plausible cases for most of the other suggested routes.

 

Perfect. Thank you.

 

That's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Cruising in a narrowboat looks like an interesting activity but, like any road trip, there needs to be a destination. Since "go as far as possible!" seems contra-indicated and silly in a narrowboat I'm happy to decide on an interesting small town, a specific pub, or whatever. Even if everyone has a different opinion it seems like an antidote to looking at CanalJunction, C&RT, Waterways Leisure and the other websites that describe the canals as they describe everything as equally interesting.

[Dbonar]

Mr. Bonar,

I'm sorry if you found my post condescending - I was merely trying to point out that some of the routes proposed at that time fell way short of what you wanted. Nor was I complaining about you not responding (whether in a timely fashion or not).

 

I suspected that you might be misunderstanding of what the Thames (the non tidal bit) is about - you mention "London", that is the tidal bit and not suitable for a canal boat.

 

The Thames above Oxford is really a beautiful river. The locks are similar to a broad canal and a joy to operate. There is an attendant to work them (with your help - if you wish). There are pubs and places to visit - for example Kelmscott Manor, the home of William Morriss, a leader of the Arts and Crafts movement - which may be of interest. You can moor outside.

 

A trip from Lower Heyford (Oxfordshire Narrowboats), express trains 'outside' would satisfy most of your requirements.

We're southerners and prefer country views - so to us e Brum is a revelation. I wish that London would do likewise.

 

Don't worry about it.

 

In reality the Thames above Oxford and some of the canals in that area did get pushed out at somewhat of a whim. Some of it is that my wife fell in love with the idea of seeing Chester; by boat if possible but if not we'll probably head that direction afterwards. Some of it is a desire for narrow canals not broad canals both from looking at online pictures and the mental pictures we have. Some is even from an idea picked up from various places that portions of the system near the Grand Union canal seem to be thought of as crowded/popular and sometimes I have a perverse desire to visit the things that aren't as popular This is probably why I have a dislike of the Llangollen from nothing more than the fact that every web site seems to say its the big deal.

 

Now its off the table because we've all started to get invested into thinking about the Midlands and areas to the North and West whether by canal or by train during the rest of the vacation.

[johnmck]

I think my first experience of a narrow boat holiday was from Napton and south towards Oxford. I was smitten. Beautiful canal.

[Alan de Enfield]

 

 

Which is interesting as some websites mention adding up miles + locks and dividing by 3 to get total cruising time. Clearly your experience doesn't match that (you travel faster).

 

Our average is 2mph (over many years)

Different areas and he time of year have a huge effect on achieved times/distances. July/August school holidays having a noticeable effect.

Check if there are any festivals likely to be on your route.

 

Here is a 2 day extract from my log going from Birmingham (Gas Street) onto the T&M - we were doing 14 hour days.

 

Tuesday 26^th July

Departed Gas St Basin (Birmingham) 07:30

Flight of 24 locks – arrived at Cuckoo Wharf (3 miles) after 4hrs 15min.

Cuckoo Wharf to Minworth with all locks against us 2hrs 5min.

Minworth to No11 Bottom Lock (nr. Bodymoor Heath) with all locks against us 3hrs 40min.

Engine off at Whittington (Bridge 80) at 20:50hrs

13 Hours 20min cruising

Went to pub but it had closed down – walked to next pub but the kitchen closed at 21:00 hours – they did us a cheeses sandwich.

 

Wednesday 27^th July

Departed Whittington 07:00 hours,

Arrived at Hunts Lock (just South of Fradley Junction) at 09:36 hours.

Volunteers manning the locks for the festival at Burton On Trent

Common Lock – 2 hour wait

Bagnatt Lock (nr Alrewas) – we were 19^th boat to go down – over 3 hour wait.

Bit of bumping with a working boat during the wait.

Waited at every lock going into Branston / Burton On Trent

Engine off at 20:30

13 Hours 30 min cruising.

Went to Pub – Sausage Egg and Chips – excellent !!!

[JohnEW2912]

To take up your question about where you could go from Wrenbury the obvious route would be up the Llangollen, with possibly a side trip on the Montgomery. The Llangollen is very beautiful for its last 10 miles, has a fine destination in the town and also has an interesting small town en route in Ellesmere, but for me the rest of the route is fine but nothing special and the canal will be very busy, especially if you are coming in high season, July and August.

 

Another choice would be to go the other way to Chester and maybe on to Ellesmere Port. It's not far, lightly locked, gives you experience of both narrow and wide locks and you get the chance to see a fine Roman city with an almost complete set of walls. If you get to Ellesmere Port you can go to (and stay overnight at) the Boat Museum and could even take the train into Liverpool, which is always of interest to Americans as it was the port from which so many US immigrants left Europe. If you have some more spare time on the way back you can visit Nantwich just south of the junction.

[Athy]

 

Perfect. Thank you.

 

That's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Cruising in a narrowboat looks like an interesting activity but, like any road trip, there needs to be a destination.

Well, you could aim for Banbury, a medium sized town with all facilities (22 miles, 21 locks) or Lower Heyford which is a village with good waterside facilities (35 miles, 29 locks). From both places you could get a fast train to visit Oxford which is a striking, historic city - trains every half-hour from Banbury (30 minutes' journey), less frequent from Heyford (about 20 minutes' journey). You can turn the boat at both locations - an important consideration!

[arbutus]

Hi Dbonar,

 

There are two main publishers of guide books for the canal systems and each have their merits.

These are Nicholson guides and Pearson canal companions. I prefer the Nicholson but you should probably buy both as the cost is small compared to the overall trip and the background information and layout of the guides are very different.

Both guides show water points where you will have to fill up with water each day and turning points or “winding holes” where you can turn the boat around as most narrowboats are longer than the canal is wide. Nicholson gives more details of the pubs as well.

From Autherley you will need two guides of each type to cover the canals you might visit.

The first link is to the UK Amazon site as the latest guide has only just been published and I couldn’t find the latest on Amazon.com. You can “look inside” the four counties guide on the UK site to see what Nicholson guides are like.

The other links are to amazon.com

 

Nicholson Four Counties & the Welsh Canals covers the Shropshire Union canal and others

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Counties-Canals-Collins-Nicholson-Waterways/dp/0008101590/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1426756056&sr=8-4&keywords=nicholson+guides

 

Nicholson Severn, Avon and Birmingham covers the Staffs & Worcs canal

http://www.amazon.com/Severn-Birmingham-Collins-Nicholson-Waterways/dp/0007538987/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426759754&sr=1-7&keywords=nicholson+guide

 

Pearson canal companion Welsh Waters covers the Shropshire Union from Autherley through to Chester

http://www.amazon.com/Welsh-Waters-Shropshire-Llangollen-Montgomery/dp/0956277772/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426757829&sr=8-2&keywords=pearson+canal+companion

 

Pearson canal companion Stourport Ring covers the Staffs& Worcs canal

http://www.amazon.com/Pearsons-Companion-Country-Birmingham-Navigations/dp/0956277721/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426758391&sr=8-3&keywords=pearson+canal+companion

 

 

Added only in case you do want the Four counties ring then Pearson Four Counties Ring

http://www.amazon.com/Pearsons-Canal-Companion-Navigation-Paperback/dp/B00FFBXJC0/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426759056&sr=1-5&keywords=pearson+canal+companion+four+counties+ring

 

Concerning routes:

Personally I wouldn’t do a ring, an out & back trip allows you to learn how many hours cruising you like doing and also adapt to the weather.

You ask about Wrenbury, Gailey, Great Haywood, Autherley Junction, or similar spots.

 

From Wrenbury it has to be the town of Llangollen. The trip involves the famous aqueduct and is very rural. Call in at Ellsmere, with it’s mere’s or small lakes for the Tesco supermarket and Vermeulen famous delicatessen in the town center.

At Llangollen climb the hill behind the moorings to reach the ruined castle, Castell Dinas Bran. Go for a meal at the Corn Mill which overlooks the river and is the other side of the river to the steam railway.

 

From Autherley go to Stourport. Visit the village of Kinver, you could even climb to Kinver edge and visit the rock houses

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kinver-edge/

Kidderminster has two supermarkets next to the canal.

 

 

General advice would be

Allow one hour every day to fill the water tank

Either pack your clothes in soft bags that are easily stowed on board or empty the suitcases and leave them in the car

Try to load a weeks worth of the heavy groceries onto the boat at takeover. This saves heavy Carrying during the holiday,

eg. Beer, potatoes, whisky, wine, sparkling water.

Even if you intend to eat out every night, carry enough food for an emergency main meal in case the pub is shut or you don’t make it as far as you planned on a particular day.

I always think that the holiday really stats the morning after you pick the boat up. Pickup day can be hectic, it can be difficult to adjust to the slow pace of the boat if you have just driven to the boat yard at 70mph and it can be awkward to find a pub to stop at on the first night.

 

If you haven’t already found them, look at boaters guides for the canals you are thinking about

http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/guides

[Cruising Mike]

I did the Four Counties last year with just two of us and some days we only cruised about 5 or 6 hours. So with 8 of you you could do it in less and have more time to wander.

The stretch between Market Drayton and Autherley Junction only has 2 locks in something like 19 miles so maybe you could look at doing a stretch of the shroppie starting at overwater marina. Yes there is the Audlem flight to contend with but there is a lovely pub there called the shroppie fly

[Dbonar]

I thought an update was appropriate.

 

In the end the route is still up in the air but we've definitely settled on an Explorer 8 class boat (70 foot, can sleep 8 without using the dinette as sleeping quarters) out of Autherley Junction. Sorry Old Goat but Napton and the South Oxford canal was considered but didn't seem to gain much traction (a feeling gleaned from various sites that it the South Oxford might be crowded didn't help).

 

Thanks for all the info. Whether you guys feel you were helpful or not the discussion here has done wonders in spurring conversations and things to think about.

[OldGoat]

I thought an update was appropriate.

 

In the end the route is still up in the air but we've definitely settled on an Explorer 8 class boat (70 foot, can sleep 8 without using the dinette as sleeping quarters) out of Autherley Junction. Sorry Old Goat but Napton and the South Oxford canal was considered but didn't seem to gain much traction (a feeling gleaned from various sites that it the South Oxford might be crowded didn't help).

 

Thanks for all the info. Whether you guys feel you were helpful or not the discussion here has done wonders in spurring conversations and things to think about.

 

 

There you go - you win some and loose some!!

 

We're here to help an it's great to have some feedback.

Do come back before / after / during your trip to let us know how you're enjoying it.

[Dbonar]

We're here to help an it's great to have some feedback.

Do come back before / after / during your trip to let us know how you're enjoying it.

 

I plan on it.

[Paul C]

I thought an update was appropriate.

 

In the end the route is still up in the air but we've definitely settled on an Explorer 8 class boat (70 foot, can sleep 8 without using the dinette as sleeping quarters) out of Autherley Junction. Sorry Old Goat but Napton and the South Oxford canal was considered but didn't seem to gain much traction (a feeling gleaned from various sites that it the South Oxford might be crowded didn't help).

 

Thanks for all the info. Whether you guys feel you were helpful or not the discussion here has done wonders in spurring conversations and things to think about.

 

 

If it helps, we once planned a hire boat trip down to the nth degree, when we turned up the boat was facing the wrong way so I went in the office (its possible but extremely tight to turn the 57ft boat we hired, and there were loads of other hirers departing too etc) to ask them about it, the lady in the office went "aaaah, Have a look at this" and there was a stoppage stopping our plan. So we needed to re-plan our route in about 5 mins, I just said "lets go that way, do this & that then see how far we get then turn round with a bit of time to spare, go the other way and see how far we get then turn round when we need to". It ended up a wonderful holiday.

 

In summary, don't worry too much about the route, its not a massively important part of the overall experience.

[Cruising Mike]

Autherley Junction is a great place to start, giving you a few options. From here the Four Counties Ring comes to mind. Also a quick 10mins by taxi from Wolverhampton train station. Do visit Oxley Marine boat club at the junction. It's a nice spot.

 

Do bear in mind that with 8 of you on the boat, personal time at the tiller is greatly reduced. As a result of that, having a few locks to contend with keeps the rest of the crew busy.