Jump to content

Spookily quiet


zimzim

Featured Posts

Presently moored at Queen's Head, ready to start up Tardebigge flight in the morning. We have seen maybe 4 or 5 boats all day, and we have the visitor moorings to ourselves. All the hire bases we have passed (on the Avon Ring) over the past week have been full of boats.... what's going on?!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stourport was heaving last Friday with both private and hire boats and plenty of boats in Worcester too. You're probably just behind our boat with my son and daughter-in-law on it.

We had a couple of weeks taking the boat from Scarisbrick to Chester in the last week of June and first of July the long way round (via Autherley). All the hire boat bases we passed were empty except for Anglo-Welsh at Gt Haywood which had a few boats in. Maybe people are avoiding the high peak season prices?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, zimzim said:

Presently moored at Queen's Head, ready to start up Tardebigge flight in the morning. We have seen maybe 4 or 5 boats all day, and we have the visitor moorings to ourselves. All the hire bases we have passed (on the Avon Ring) over the past week have been full of boats.... what's going on?!

I was out on the BCN last week and took a trip from Droitwich to Dunhampstead and back today, I may have passed you. I also thought it was pretty quiet for the time of year. Certainly a few boats at Brook Line that aren't on hire currently. I walked the dog up and down the Stoke flight last week and there were three or four boats heading out on a Tuesday and not many left at base. Also four or five boats on the Queens Head moorings although that may have been daytime trade for the pub. Tardebigge can be strange, it's often very quiet and I suspect a lot of hirers choose to stay above or below the flight, I spoke to one this morning who had done exactly that with a Viking boat. Of course that means winding at Stoke Prior and missing the Queens Head moorings because you can't do the Stoke and Tardebigge flights in isolation of one another (unless you like going backwards).

 

JP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're on the G&S & it's pretty quiet for a hot summer.We've had no probs mooring at places like Stourport(early July),Upton,Worcester,Tewkesbury & Severn pub pontoons.We were originally going north to Liverpool & the Lancaster but changed our plans(can't think why...)Half expected the Severn etc to be rammed but so far so good.

Edited by The Bearwood Boster
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I caught the train from Worcester up to Birmingham last Thursday and from Kings Norton all the way past the Bournville factory to where the canal separates from the train line at Five Ways there was absolutely nothing on the move at all. I didn't see much moored along there either, a couple of boats near the university and a load of workboats on the Bournville VM's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over the past 6 weeks I've boated from Lancaster to Banbury via Braunston and Napton and have not had to queue at any locks other than one today between Banbury and Cropredy where there were 3 boats waiting; once past this we were queuing no more. Also I have never failed to moor pretty much where I wanted. Fortunate timing perhaps, but I was expecting significant waiting time on the journey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We cruised from Napton to bridge 100 near(ish) to Braunston. I am quite surprised how many boats are moored 'and' moving. I've been sat here since 0630 this morning and already half a dozen or more boats have passed. I can't recall this section being so busy. Called in at Calcutt yesterday, all three Navy hire boats were in but were due out and in addition they had probably seven of their own hire boats in. This surprised me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were passed by friends in braunston this weekend . They were hit head on in the a45 bridge, as they came past they said that was the third since calcutt! There has also been a number of fat boats causing problems , one of whos technique for going through narrows was simply to grind along the moored boats, pulling out pins. The hirers of one who were dutch were not amused.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We struggled past a very fat boat yesterday. Must have been 12' at least. Squeezed through the bridge where we met. Tell tale signs on the front corners of their cabin where squeezing through wasn't enough. He had 'girly'buttons which he used but not to great effect. Bloomin' ugly monstrosity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We cruised from Napton to bridge 100 near(ish) to Braunston. I am quite surprised how many boats are moored 'and' moving. I've been sat here since 0630 this morning and already half a dozen or more boats have passed. I can't recall this section being so busy. Called in at Calcutt yesterday, all three Navy hire boats were in but were due out and in addition they had probably seven of their own hire boats in. This surprised me.

We are by bridge 102 and as you say a good few moving already today, I did not look out but presumably many are hire boats going back this morning.  

 

We went to Calcutt and get deisel yesterday afternoon, the last of the navy boats was getting ready to leave, they had their show of how a lock worked when we went up the top lock.  As you were half a dozen or so hire boats still in, but Calcutt does not seem to do as well as say Napton at getting boats out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We struggled past a very fat boat yesterday. Must have been 12' at least. Squeezed through the bridge where we met. Tell tale signs on the front corners of their cabin where squeezing through wasn't enough. He had 'girly'buttons which he used but not to great effect. Bloomin' ugly monstrosity.

There is a big fat boat moored by bridge 102 pointing your way, and another that went past us yesterday, presumably the one you saw.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, john6767 said:

We are by bridge 102 and as you say a good few moving already today, I did not look out but presumably many are hire boats going back this morning.  

 

We went to Calcutt and get deisel yesterday afternoon, the last of the navy boats was getting ready to leave, they had their show of how a lock worked when we went up the top lock.  As you were half a dozen or so hire boats still in, but Calcutt does not seem to do as well as say Napton at getting boats out.

We passed each other yesterday. We mutually nodded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We passed each other yesterday. We mutually nodded.

Me being as observant as usual then.  I will probably go to Woofamcote to turn round later this morning and back to here as my wife is at work, hence 102 to be close to a car!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, roland elsdon said:

We were passed by friends in braunston this weekend . They were hit head on in the a45 bridge, as they came past they said that was the third since calcutt!

If I was hit head on in bridgeholes three times in 6 miles, I would start to wonder what I was doing wrong.

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.