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Route suggestions from Tattenhall Marina to Calcutt Boats


originalsmoothie

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I will be setting off tomorrow morning from Tattenhall marina to Calcutt Boats near Napton Junction. I hope to do the journey in a week. I wanted to go via the Trent & Mersey but I understand the stoppage at Fradley Junction will prevent me from getting onto the Coventry canal. If I can't go that way I will have to go down the Shroppie. I am a little nervous for two reasons. Firstly, my new boat is three feet deep. I understand that there is a section of the Shroppie where the canal goes through a rock cutting which is problematic for deep draughted boats. I've done the route without a problem in a boat with a 30" draught. Do you know the cutting in question? If so, where is it and is it going to be a problem for a boat with a 3' draught? Secondly, I am not a fan of city cruising. What is the best route through Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc to avoid rubbish filled water and potential overnight mooring problems with single digit IQ towpath users?

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32 minutes ago, originalsmoothie said:

I will be setting off tomorrow morning from Tattenhall marina to Calcutt Boats near Napton Junction. I hope to do the journey in a week. I wanted to go via the Trent & Mersey but I understand the stoppage at Fradley Junction will prevent me from getting onto the Coventry canal. If I can't go that way I will have to go down the Shroppie. I am a little nervous for two reasons. Firstly, my new boat is three feet deep. I understand that there is a section of the Shroppie where the canal goes through a rock cutting which is problematic for deep draughted boats. I've done the route without a problem in a boat with a 30" draught. Do you know the cutting in question? If so, where is it and is it going to be a problem for a boat with a 3' draught? Secondly, I am not a fan of city cruising. What is the best route through Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc to avoid rubbish filled water and potential overnight mooring problems with single digit IQ towpath users?

Firstly, I presume you have checked all the stoppages on whichever route you chose?

 

Secondly, here is a good web site so you can research all the alternate routes to Calcutt.

 

https://canalplan.org.uk/

 

Have a great trip.

 

Howard

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Cut end side of the locks at Drayton is the narrow section Unless its altered a lot I boated through some 3years back with over 20tons of steel channel on a"Josher" motor some 6" dry side so guess i'd be in the 4ft draft area no problems give it a few revs to get under way & then shut off a bit to let the water swill lift the stern repeat as required & tow path side is or was deepest not been thru "Brum for years so no help in that I'm afraid

Edited by X Alan W
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43 minutes ago, originalsmoothie said:

I will be setting off tomorrow morning from Tattenhall marina to Calcutt Boats near Napton Junction. I hope to do the journey in a week. I wanted to go via the Trent & Mersey but I understand the stoppage at Fradley Junction will prevent me from getting onto the Coventry canal. If I can't go that way I will have to go down the Shroppie. I am a little nervous for two reasons. Firstly, my new boat is three feet deep. I understand that there is a section of the Shroppie where the canal goes through a rock cutting which is problematic for deep draughted boats. I've done the route without a problem in a boat with a 30" draught. Do you know the cutting in question? If so, where is it and is it going to be a problem for a boat with a 3' draught? Secondly, I am not a fan of city cruising. What is the best route through Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc to avoid rubbish filled water and potential overnight mooring problems with single digit IQ towpath users?

Check the details but I think you may find that the stoppage at Fradley commences on 3rd January whereas there is a stoppage in central Birmingham from 2nd January. So you should be OK to go via Trent & Mersey, Coventry and North Oxford.

 

JP

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2 hours ago, originalsmoothie said:

I will be working on the grounds for Calcutt. I worked there from 2010 until 2016 when I left to potter around Europe for a bit. Now I'm very happy to be back on the cut.

Am I right in thinking that you had your own informative boating site before this ? Paul ? If so,welcome back to boating.

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3 hours ago, originalsmoothie said:

What is the best route through Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc to avoid rubbish filled water and potential overnight mooring problems with single digit IQ towpath users?

moor Autherley junction overnight.  Then Wolverhampton 21, new main line to moor outside NIA / Old Turn Junction next night (or better still in Ouzels Loop if there is a space. Then via Worcester and Birmingham / North Stratford to Lapworth for the following night (all assuming no stoppages - I haven't checked).  Welcome back to Calcutt.

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1 hour ago, Chrish01 said:

moor Autherley junction overnight.  Then Wolverhampton 21, new main line to moor outside NIA / Old Turn Junction next night (or better still in Ouzels Loop if there is a space. Then via Worcester and Birmingham / North Stratford to Lapworth for the following night (all assuming no stoppages - I haven't checked).  Welcome back to Calcutt.

Broad Street Tunnel closed from 2 January. 

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1 hour ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

Am I right in thinking that you had your own informative boating site before this ? Paul ? If so,welcome back to boating.

Correct. It's livingonanarrowboat.co.uk. I've been writing occasional posts for it over the last two years, but about the Dutch waterways rather than the (much better) English canals. Stepping onto a narrowboat again felt like coming home.

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31 minutes ago, originalsmoothie said:

Thanks for all the useful advice. The Fradley locks closure appears to have been pushed back to mid-February, so it's going to be Shroppie, T & M, Coventry, Oxford and GU in, I hope, seven first light to last light cruising days. Bring it on!

The CRT stoppages page still shows it as starting on 3rd January but the title only refers to Keepers Lock whereas the text includes from Shadehouse lock to the junction (which also conflicts with their text that the nearest upstream winding point is at the junction). 

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10 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

The CRT stoppages page still shows it as starting on 3rd January but the title only refers to Keepers Lock whereas the text includes from Shadehouse lock to the junction (which also conflicts with their text that the nearest upstream winding point is at the junction). 

That is NOT good. I can't get through Harecastle Tunnel until 2nd January so, unless I can fit 50 hours cruising into the day I'm knackered. I didn't think of looking at the Keepers Lock restrictions given that it is past the junction. I guess another call to CRT is in order tomorrow before I hit Barbridge junction.

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Droitwich route has 16 locks including the shallow barge lock in the town. It's I think one extra lock and a lot more mileage via Worcester. Also I would say the Droitwich Barge Canal is prettier than the bit between Worcester and Hanbury Junction, as well as the Severn. The M5 culvert is the main issue via Droitwich; headroom varies depending on the level of the River Salwarpe, but when I went through in Sept 17 the clearance was approx 6'3-6'5 (although it had been a wet summer!).

Edited by Philip
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