A trip up the Ashby Canal

[Dave Payne]

Back on the ashby for a week now, love this canal for its peaceful moorings, lack of kids and of course pubs!

Took my time and set off from Marston junction friday evening and got to Snarestone Sunday lunch.

Levels were good, in fact best i have seen them for a couple of years, plenty of signs of work also by CRT, putting some piling in at Ashby boats, which the hire base will more than likely use, looks like some dredging has been done.

 

 

[cuthound]

The Ashby is one of my favourites as well.

I first explored it in 1989, and have returned periodically since. It is in much better shape now than it was in the late 90's, and a bit longer too! 

[Dave Payne]

1 minute ago, cuthound said:

The Ashby is one of my favourites as well.

I first explored it in 1989, and have returned periodically since. It is in much better shape now than it was in the late 90's, and a bit longer too! 

My dad told me he used to go up there on his bike when he was a kid, would have been late 50s, he said it was clear as fresh water and you could see all the fish.

Guess there were no boats moving up there then.

 

Plenty of boats up there at the minute though.

Had to laugh at the chap who was steering the day boat from Ashby boats, 20ft long and he was still zig zagging and going sideways.

 

The one thing i need to try and do before i leave Snarestone is take a walk up the new section, still not ventured up there yet and the boat is too long to wind.

[cuthound]

Just now, Dave Payne said:

The one thing i need to try and do before i leave Snarestone is take a walk up the new section, still not ventured up there yet and the boat is too long to wind.

Your can wind a full length boat in the new circular winding hole just before the end,  and reverse back to the very end, a couple of hundred yards away.

[Lily Rose]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

Your can wind a full length boat in the new circular winding hole just before the end,  and reverse back to the very end, a couple of hundred yards away.

Has it changed since Easter 2016 then?

When I was there then, the full size winding hole was before the swingbridge, then there was about one third of a mile of new bit then a circular winding hole for a max length of, I think, 52 foot.

Have they now made the circular winding hole bigger and extended the canal by another 200 yards?

 

 

[cuthound]

Must have, I winded my 60 footer there in June 2016, just before the new swing bridge. 

[David Mack]

On ‎31‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 16:47, Dave Payne said:

Had to laugh at the chap who was steering the day boat from Ashby boats, 20ft long and he was still zig zagging and going sideways.

In my experience short narrowboats are generally harder to keep in a straight line than long ones.