Newbie knows nothing needing help!

[Mally123]

Hi everyone first post alert!!!

 

I am trying to plan a trip for myself, wife and two teenage boys. I quite like the look of the Llangollen canal with its big aquaduct, tunnels and maybe one or two locks but we only want to do three maybe four nights for a first trip.

 

So my questions are.......

 

Where would be a good base to start from?

Is Ellesmere to Llangollen and back possible within that timescale or is one way hire possible?

Any recommendations for boat hire?

 

Thanks for your help guys.

[ditchcrawler]

I would suggest you take a week, you wont see much on a short break as you have to do there and back. You could Hire from Trevor, get up to Llangollen and then back, cross the acky before turning again and returning to base.

http://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/

Edited September 21, 2015 by ditchcrawler

[junior]

A lovely short break would be the Droitwich Ring. 2-4 days depending how fast or slow you want to go.

[Southern Star]

removed

Edited September 21, 2015 by Southern Star

[Dave_P]

I would suggest you take a week, you wont see much on a short break as you have to do there and back. You could Hire from Trevor, get up to Llangollen and then back, cross the acky before turning again and returning to base.

http://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/

You could do that in 1 day!

[Mally123]

So is Ellesmere to Llangollen and back not possible in 4 days? Without doing 16 hours pet day maybe.

[David Mack]

Look at your options on canalplan.eu

 

Ellesmere to Llangollen Basin is 19 miles and 2 locks, so perhaps 8 hours or about a day in each direction.

[captain birdseye]

So is Ellesmere to Llangollen and back not possible in 4 days? Without doing 16 hours pet day maybe.

It is a trip we did this year. Stopped at Chirk on the way up and The Poachers Pocket on the way down. Four easy days

[b0atman]

You could do that in 1 day!

is it a race

[bottle]

So is Ellesmere to Llangollen and back not possible in 4 days? Without doing 16 hours pet day maybe.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

You do not say when you will be doing this trip but assuming it is in the summer (hire boats are not, generally, allowed to travel at night, insurance problems) then 16 hours per day may be possible.

 

I would advise on only planning for six hours per day maximum, this will give you some leeway, if something delays you, enjoy the slow pace and see the country-side.

 

Canal boat holidays are meant to be relaxing, not pressurised must get there.

 

Be flexible, just go in one direction for half the time and turn round and go back for the other half.

 

This being your first time do not try to do to much, enjoy the time and take it slowly.

 

Last but not least have a good holiday.

 

ps. watch out for the boat bug and start saving for your own boat.

[tree monkey]

So is Ellesmere to Llangollen and back not possible in 4 days? Without doing 16 hours pet day maybe.

4 days easy boating, no problem

[john6767]

Ellesmere to Llangollen is doable in a long day, say 8 hours, so there and back in 4 days is not a push at all.

 

Just to note though to be careful of what you mean by days here, the first day of hire you many not get off until 4pm, and on the last day the boat will have to be back by 9 or 9:30am. So day 1 you will not do more than perhaps 3 or 4 hours travel, and the last day only a couple of hours or less.

[Mally123]

All brilliant advice, thanks a lot everyone.

 

What are the bass around Ellesmere called and does anyone have any recommendations regarding boat hire?

[jacloc]

We hired from ABC Boat Hire from Blackwater Meadow Marina, the closest hire base for them to Llangollen.

 

http://www.abcboathire.com/Boating-Holiday/england/blackwater-meadow-marina/6.aspx

 

We did from there to the basin at Llangollen and back easily on a Monday to Friday break. We have also hired from their base at Wrenbury Mill but on a 4 day trip only got as far as Chirk.

 

Their boats always seem very clean and we have had no problems with them, having hired from quite a few of their bases, also, if you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers you can use these to pay towards a holiday, one of the reasons we hire from them!

[Mally123]

Thanks guys.

 

 

If we were to do a Monday to Friday and we had Llangollen as our stop on Wednesday night where would you suggest for mooring places on the other nights?

[Hartlebury lad]

Thanks guys.

 

 

If we were to do a Monday to Friday and we had Llangollen as our stop on Wednesday night where would you suggest for mooring places on the other nights?

Some good advice on here for you.

 

There are many official 48 moorings in decent spots in quiet locations in the middle of nowhere, especially for your first and last nights.If you are that keen, PM me for more specifics.

If your boat had to be back at base first thing Friday, Wednesday night at Llangollen will mean having to do Llangollen to Ellesmere (almost) in a day, which is possible, but will entail an early start! I would aim to get as close to the locks as possible Monday,pm and look to spend Tuesday pm at Llangollen, giving you two easy days to get back. It's a wonderful trip though, with suberb rural landscapes, and marvellous canal engineering feats to see. Don't expect lots of pubs - The Narrowboat at Maestermyn offers sustainence,The Jack Mytton is still closed. Poachers near Chirk is a safe bet.

[WJM]

The Llangollen is a magnificent canal - highly recommended. A small consideration when planning your journey; unlike most other canals the Llangollen has a significant flow - so you will travel a lot slower going towards Llangollen than you will coming back down.