Dudley tunnel navigation rights

[TigereyesFi]

Hi, I am brand new to boating and have hired a narrowboat for our summer holiday, we are hoping to complete the Stourport ring and visiting the black county museum during our week but would like to know, are we allowed to go through Dudley tunnel after we have been to the museum or is it for museum trios only?

I hope doing the ring in 6 days is realistic, we are starting at Tardebigge and traveling in a clockwise direction so that we get the 36 locks out of the way on the first day, therefore we don't risk trying to do it on our last day and running out of time.

[Rob-M]

I doubt a modern hire boat would fit through Dudley tunnel, you will need to go through Netherton tunnel.

[TigereyesFi]

Ah, okay thank you

[Paul Evans]

Dudley Tunnel is very, very low and narrow. Very few modern boats have the required restricted profile to use the tunnel. In any event, internal combustion engines are not allowed to be used in the tunnel. If your boat is not electrically propelled you have to leg it through. Take a trip on the Dudley Canal Trust Boat when you visit the Black Country Museum - it's worth it.

[springy]

As has been said Dudley tunnel is very restricted, and for most the lack of headroom

is the crunch, however if your boat does fit the guage then you can book a passage

through the tunnel, the trusts electric tug must either tow you, or accompany you if

you choose to "leg it".

As Paul said the standard trip into the mines is well worth it but if you feel that the whole

tunnel passage is needed then they do trips through the tunnel on a monthly basis.

 

springy

[ditchcrawler]

Well that is the best part of 9 hours cruising every day and you have never tried it before so you will probably be slower. have a look at this site http://canalplan.org.uk/

[RLWP]

Well that is the best part of 9 hours cruising every day and you have never tried it before so you will probably be slower. have a look at this site http://canalplan.org.uk/

 

Only nine? As new hirers, we easily did that and more a day. Holidays were about boating, not stopping

 

Richard

[TigereyesFi]

Thank you ditchcrawler, I'll definately have a good look at your link, I've ordered some books for the canal network too and booked a helmsman course for my man so hopefully we are not going to go boating completely blind :-).

[ditchcrawler]

 

Only nine? As new hirers, we easily did that and more a day. Holidays were about boating, not stopping

 

Richard

Nor did we but we didn't lock a flight of locks half as fast as we do today

[IanM]

As others have said, Dudley Tunnel is pretty tight and it's more or less guaranteed that your hire boat will not fit.

 

I have been all the way through once but in a boat with no roof https://flic.kr/s/aHskboQRt1

 

The Dudley Canal Trust trips in there are well worth doing though