Recent adverse weather

[HorshamNewbie]

What with the recent adverse weather conditions and flooding in certain areas, i'd just like some reassurance regarding my up and coming boating holiday on the coventry canal (starting from Alvecote) on Saturday.

 

Where does one stand with regards to to bad conditions, does it get to a stage where they won't let you take the boat out for the week, or if we do take the barge out will we feel the full force of the conditions. As a rel;ative novice i'm just not really sure where we stand here!

 

Sorry for the silly questions, but any help will be much appreciated.

[Ernie]

You will be fine if you stay on the canals and don't go on the rivers. Enjoy your holiday.

[HorshamNewbie]

Thanks Ernie,

Will the route to stick to be made clear to us when we arrive at Alvecote?

[denboy]

Thanks Ernie,

Will the route to stick to be made clear to us when we arrive at Alvecote?

i think you will find they will have route planers available for your week out ,,enjoy

[KenK]

Thanks Ernie,

Will the route to stick to be made clear to us when we arrive at Alvecote?

 

I'm sure the hire company will make certain that you will be safe. Dead clients are bad for business. Make it clear you are a novice and ask all the questions until your comfortable.

 

Enjoy the holiday and relax, that's what it's all about.

 

 

Ken

[HorshamNewbie]

I'm sure the hire company will make certain that you will be safe. Dead clients are bad for business. Make it clear you are a novice and ask all the questions until your comfortable.

 

Enjoy the holiday and relax, that's what it's all about.

 

 

Ken

 

Thanks chaps, you're right it's supposed to be a relaxing holiday but your mind gets to wandering. Just concerned that on arrival they decide to not let us out on the boat or the holiday becomes a washout due to the weather, similarly being new to this game we don't relish the chance of having to contend with high water levels and strong currents!

 

Does anyone have any tips regarding the best route to take. Starting from Alvecote? nothing too strenuous or challenging because as i've said we are relative novices, easy mooring and things to do off the boat would be of interest aswell.

[Graham Blott]

Seriously, you will be fine. You won't get near to any rivers. Whilst the canals might have a bit more water in them than usual their should be no flow to worry about. The boat company will tell you if there are any special problem areas to avoid.

 

From Alvechurch to Coventry will take you about 26 hours - easy going (apart from the Atherstone flight of locks). As an alternative you could turn onto the Ashby canal from Marston junction (just north of Bedworth) which is a very attractive rural canal taking you through the heart of the Bosworth battlefield (Richard III).

 

May see you around as I am heading up that way - will be on the Ashby from Saturday to probably wednesday and then heading north. Give me a wave (look out for "Mayenne") and I'll buy you a beer.

 

Have a great time

 

Graham

[KenK]

Does anyone have any tips regarding the best route to take. Starting from Alvecote? nothing too strenuous or challenging because as i've said we are relative novices, easy mooring and things to do off the boat would be of interest aswell.

 

Try looking at Tillerman's website, http://www.tillermanboats.co.uk or Canal Junction http://www.canaljunction.com There is loads of information on the net. It's always difficult to offer advice as everyones taste is different. The Ashby's supposed to be very easy but I don't know how much there is to do. Main thing is don't set a schedule and try to keep to it, you'll just end up rushing. Take your time and you will be hooked.

 

Ken

[HorshamNewbie]

Seriously, you will be fine. You won't get near to any rivers. Whilst the canals might have a bit more water in them than usual their should be no flow to worry about. The boat company will tell you if there are any special problem areas to avoid.

 

From Alvechurch to Coventry will take you about 26 hours - easy going (apart from the Atherstone flight of locks). As an alternative you could turn onto the Ashby canal from Marston junction (just north of Bedworth) which is a very attractive rural canal taking you through the heart of the Bosworth battlefield (Richard III).

 

May see you around as I am heading up that way - will be on the Ashby from Saturday to probably wednesday and then heading north. Give me a wave (look out for "Mayenne") and I'll buy you a beer.

 

Have a great time

 

Graham

 

Thanks for your words Graham, much appreciated. If you see several people with worried looks on their faces scratching their heads, that will be us!

 

What are the pubs like along these routes? after a days cruising we will want to moor up and relax in a nice pub without too much hassle...

 

 

By the way, everyones friendliness and eagerness to help is excellent and very much appreciated, i will post up a report after the holiday of how it all goes!

[WJM]

One thing to watch out for - when the canal gets very full it can make the top gates very hard to push open. On the GU you get a head of water that pours over the top gates. On a long pound no amount of open paddles will make a level. If you are struggling to get one open, remember you can use a gentle push from the boat - bring it up very slowly till it touches then give it a squirt of power to push the gate open.

[Norman Bond]

One thing that Graham forgot to point out is one of the reasons the Ashby is so popular. There are no locks!

 

I may be moving my mate's boat for him next week and if so will be near the Ashby at the start of the week. As I will be single handed I may turn up there for a couple of days. No locks makes it ideal for someone on their own.

 

One minor point to be aware of. Some of the villages seem to close down completely on Wednesday afternoon. Things may have changed in the couple of years since I was last there, but to be on the safe side don't run out of milk Wednesday lunchtime and don't expect to get a hot meal in most of the pubs that day!

 

 

Norman

Edited June 26, 2007 by Norman Bond

[John Orentas]

Hi Newbie.

 

What you should do is buy yourself a Nicholson's or other canal planner well before you go and study the various routes in advance, that is half the fun of the holiday. Allow yourself about 10 /15 miles and 8 /10 locks per day, a very rough average. Don't worry about the weather you're British.

Edited June 26, 2007 by John Orentas

[Christine]

Welcome! Nice to see a West Sussex boater on the forum.

 

Have you joined the Wey & Arun Canal Trust? Very interesting and hard working group based at Loxwood - well worth a visit and trip on the NB Zachria Kepple if you haven't already done so. Wey & Arun website link here

 

Have a great trip - you will be fine! Have you thought about buying a Pearson's Guide - maybe available from the Hire Company's shop. We like them - (folks here have other publishers as their favorites)

 

Regards

Christine from Pulborough

Edited June 26, 2007 by Christine

[Norman Bond]

John's right, though I would say that half the fun is in the planning and anticipation!

 

Just don't overplan. My early boating holidays were with a group who had a rigid idea of where they were going to stop and for how long. It ended up more like a military exercise than a holiday. Plan enough so that if the weather is bad you have alternatives, but remember that the main thing is to relax and enjoy yourselves.

 

 

Norman

[Hekaterine]

I did my first ever canal holiday on the Ashby and it was lovely - and for a total newbie quite nice to have no locks (well, just the one at Marston Junction which left me feeling most proud of myself).

 

Obviously I'm an old hand now and I have shoulders like a shot-putter!

[anhar]

One thing to watch out for - when the canal gets very full it can make the top gates very hard to push open. On the GU you get a head of water that pours over the top gates. On a long pound no amount of open paddles will make a level. If you are struggling to get one open, remember you can use a gentle push from the boat - bring it up very slowly till it touches then give it a squirt of power to push the gate open.

Not only the top gates William. For the same reason coming south on the GU last week there were several bottom gates I couldn't open when going down because the water was pouring over the top gates preventing the lock from emptying. One of them took three of us all putting our utmost into moving it and many took two people. I was single handed and would have been stuck at those locks without help. And of course you can't use your boat to open the bottom gates from within the lock.

 

regards

Steve

[R&Co]

What with the recent adverse weather conditions and flooding in certain areas, i'd just like some reassurance regarding my up and coming boating holiday on the coventry canal (starting from Alvecote) on Saturday.

 

Where does one stand with regards to to bad conditions, does it get to a stage where they won't let you take the boat out for the week, or if we do take the barge out will we feel the full force of the conditions. As a rel;ative novice i'm just not really sure where we stand here!

 

Sorry for the silly questions, but any help will be much appreciated.

 

Hi HorshamNewbie,

 

Don't worry, if you can't get out of Alvecote on Saturday you won't be alone. Give us a wave - we can all have a jolly drink and comiserate. Then an even jollier drink and more comiserations!

Never heard of anyone not being able to get out of Alvecote but if not they'll plug you into the mains and you just have to go with it and explore the locality for a day or two instead. If it comes to the worst and you have a car at the marina there's places to visit in the area: Tamworth - the snowdome if you want some activity or the Castle is an interesting visit. Sure you'd find something to do - but also sure none of us will need too.

I've been to Warwick, Stratford and Birmingham/Gas Street basin area this week, not on a boat I should add, but the canal water levels were all fine in those, so it looks ok as long as you stick to canals and stay off the rivers.

All being well (weather permitting) we'll be heading north round the four counties (2weeks). So if you're heading north we'll see you around.

 

Waterproofs, wellies and plenty of games packed. BBQ and sunhat staying at home (just our typical English holiday).

 

Have a great week,