The canals

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Neil,
 
Have a look at the links below.

http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/northern_england.htm#lancaster_canal

 

http://www.arlen-hireboats.co.uk/

 

Regards
Alan

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Hi Alan, thanks for the links, though they both seem to limk to the same page???????.   I`l have another google search and see what i can find.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

SUCCESS.

 

I searched on ask.com, and it came back with this

 

http://www.waterfarmboathire.co.uk/index.html

 

I`l have to have a chat with Karen, as she`s often said she might find being inside a narrowboat a bit chlostraphobic. She`ll love the fact there`s no locks though.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

And now i`ve found this too.

 

http://www.lancastercanalboathire.com/

 

I must have done something wrong on previous searches  :oops: .

[ranworthbreeze]

Last night there was an excerpt from the Canals Journeys Series 2  on TV showing some of what is in store for us, I assume that one of the canals to be featured will be the Clyde & Union Canals because there were shots of the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel.

 

Really looking forward to this new series.

 

Regards

Alan

[Hylander]

We are going with the Duck Island Boat Company.  They do a luxury boat for two and we are looking forward to a change of scenery.  Very good company, not exactly cheap , but do they provide everything you could possible want, besides a free bar that is.      Will tell you all of the pluses and minuses when we get back.

[BroadScot]

Hi Alan,

 

You are correct in your assumption, they were seen filming at the Kelpies moorings.So defo do the Forth, Clyde and Union Canals.

 

 

Iain.

[GeoffandWendy]

Yes those Duck Island boats are very very nice, worth the extra for a bit of luxury. Being a lock free canal, we might give this ago maybe next year. I have bookmarked the website.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Geoff & Wendy,

Is it the thought operating locks or that you would not like to be delayed by locks?

The reason I ask is that it is the operation of the locks that puts you off of the canals that have locks then the Scottish Canals may be for you, Scottish Canals staff operate all the locks and lift bridges for you on the Clyde & Union Canals, the crew just hold the boats in check by looping their forward & aft ropes around the tubes that run from the bottom to the top of the lock. You are given times by apointment for the opening of bridges & locks each day of your travel.

We found this somewhat restrictive because our crew have operated locks & bridges on most of the canals in the UK over the years.

There are also a number of river routes that only have a few locks, which in most cases are manned by lock keepers.

Regards

Alan

[Hylander]

If you need to know anything Elaine at the Duck Island Boat Company is always there to help.

[ranworthbreeze]

Just a reminder that the Canal Journey program is on Channel 4 at 8.00pm on Sunday (repeated at 9.00 on C4 plus 1)

 

We will be watching or recording.

 

Regards

Alan

[GeoffandWendy]

Hi Alan. Not bothered about the journey time negotiating locks, just the physical effort when you reach a long flight. I am not as fit as I used to be and Wendy would panic at the helm, entering locks, so I would need to be at the helm, leaving the lock work to Wendy, which she isn't to happy about. So that is why we chose the Broads.

[webntweb]

Hi Geoff & Wendy.

 

There are a couple of routes on the canals with very few locks.

 

The North Oxford and Ashby Canals are rural pretty much all the way.

 

Starting from Viking Afloat at Rugby there is a leisurely one week return trip to the present terminus of the Ashby Canal with only one stop lock (rise and fall of a few inches). There is also Ashby Narrowboats from where this trip could be done in the reverse direction.

 

Starting at Rose Narrowboats, north of Rugby, the same route is a comfortable five day break.

 

For the slightly more adventurous starting either from Braunston or Napton Junction there are three or four hire yards. The journey to the end of the Ashby from these is seven days at about 6.5 hours a day. There are just 3 locks each way plus the stop lock mentioned above.

 

Roy

[GeoffandWendy]

Hi Geoff & Wendy.

 

There are a couple of routes on the canals with very few locks.

 

The North Oxford and Ashby Canals are rural pretty much all the way.

 

Starting from Viking Afloat at Rugby there is a leisurely one week return trip to the present terminus of the Ashby Canal with only one stop lock (rise and fall of a few inches). There is also Ashby Narrowboats from where this trip could be done in the reverse direction.

 

Starting at Rose Narrowboats, north of Rugby, the same route is a comfortable five day break.

 

For the slightly more adventurous starting either from Braunston or Napton Junction there are three or four hire yards. The journey to the end of the Ashby from these is seven days at about 6.5 hours a day. There are just 3 locks each way plus the stop lock mentioned above.

 

Roy

 

Thank you Roy. We might consider this as an option for 2016, but for this year, all our holidays are already booked. We are already contemplating another Broads holiday for a week next year, taking Wendy's youngest daughter and her husband with us (see Holiday Tales post, "Can't get enough of it or what!"

 

Will be watching Tim & Prunella on the Oxford Canal, tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.

[fishtone]

Very interesting programme last night.So much better than Barging around Britain. Makes cruising the Broads look a doddle.

[Gracie]

Of course cruising the Broads is a doddle fishtone, well at least it is when there are no Saily thingy's coming the other way and hiding in the cabin while hubby shoots the bridges is a must Lol

 

Sorry for off topic but that's a lovely Perch in your Avatar pic  

 

Grace 

[ranworthbreeze]

I agree that the progam last night was far better than the barging about series, that extra half hour makes the program less rushed and allows for a gentle pace.

When we were on Oxford Canal last year we did not get much further than Banbury, their boat festival was that weekend, we passed through the centre very slowly with boats on both sides of the canal leaving only a few inches of clearence on each side of the boat, steering at a very slow speed was an issue but we did not hit anything unlike poor Timothy in the program that kept hitting other boats, locks etc.

On windy open sections going into a lock can be an issue and those locks with the wider pounds that Timothy & Prunella encounted would have been a problem and no doubt a small amount of paint would be missing from the front of their hireboat.

It does happen to everyone at times. Round a corner and a bridge you can guarantee that there will be a boat that you may not be able to see approaching from the other direction.

Of course the longer the boat the bigger the problem especially with conture canals such as the Oxford, the 70 footer we hired was really 5 to 10 foot too big for the canal because of some of the tighter bends.

Regards

Alan

[GeoffandWendy]

We enjoyed last nights programme. I do hope that boatyard that was all fenced off gets reinstated, it seemed such an eyesore. Also the graffiti all over the bridges and some of the locks. What is the matter with some people in this day and age, they are not happy unless they are destroying things for the enjoyment of the majority.

 

It was nice to see some old footage in this episode and how the canal restoration programme was inspired by Tom & Sonia Rolt with their narrowboat Cressy in the 1950s. If you havent read his book, Narrowboat, then do so, well worth a read.

 

I was surprised that Sonia Rolt was still alive at the time that this episode was filmed. Shame about that damaged lock gate, at least it wasn't Tim's fault. Those diamond shaped locks are unique to the Oxford Canal. Looking forward to the next episode. 

[deebee29]

I really enjoyed last nights program. You can tell from Tim and Pru's relaxed presenting style that they really care about boating and the canals.

Looking forward to the rest of the series

David

[fishtone]

I liked it when on hitting another Barge he told Prunella it was a "contact sport".I wonder how many times we will hear that when we get hit when mooring up especially on a windy day.

[BrundallNavy]

Enjoyed last nights program, much better than Bargeing around Britain. Never been on the Oxford but walked along quite a bit it's sad to see the outskirts of Oxford looking so run down.

The shopping centre in Banbury has greatly improved the town alas at the expense of the canal, but it is intergrated into the development quite well.

Doug.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Doug,

 

We found the canal through Banbury very good, it was safe and well used, the lift bridge by the shopping centre is a nice touch and the paths up to and around the lock are also well planned out. We moored in Banbury for two nights on the way there and on the way back, because mooing was restricted due to their canal weekend festival we had to moor through the lock near to the station, on the way back we moored through the town near the park. We felt the town had embraced the canal.

 

One of the worst cities for lack of interest in the canal is Manchester, there some of the canal is under buildings and is an haven for druggies & drunks, a lot of the towpaths/locks have no access, where the waterfront has been built to accommodate bars and restaurants they are run down or closed to canal users. The locks are hard to work and not in the greatest of condition.

 

Regards

Alan

[smellyloo]

Also the graffiti all over the bridges and some of the locks. What is the matter with some people in this day and age, they are not happy unless they are destroying things for the enjoyment of the majority.

I used to think this way too. But not all grafitti is an eyesore. Done well it can brighten up dull, dingey dark places.

 

Perhaps these underpass type areas could be regularly sprayed blank to allow a blank canvas for new artwork.

 

Then maybe ..... hopefully ...... they would leave less appropriate areas free of grafitti.

[GeoffandWendy]

I used to think this way too. But not all grafitti is an eyesore. Done well it can brighten up dull, dingey dark places.

 

Perhaps these underpass type areas could be regularly sprayed blank to allow a blank canvas for new artwork.

 

Then maybe ..... hopefully ...... they would leave less appropriate areas free of grafitti.

 

Yes I am all in favour of that, but that graffiti around Oxford was not what you call art, it was just yobo's signatures. We have a few underpasses in our town, that have some nice artwork, done by people who do care, but you sometimes get the yobo's  who come along and spoils it.

[JawsOrca]

It was a good show, although it's very sad the way it's presented so it's a bit tough to watch.

 

I must admit too I don't quite see the point in narrowboating!; The helm is outside so surely a nightmare when it rains (The same as a tiller on a sailing boat, it's nice on a dry day but nasty on a normal day!).  Plus there's a foot path right beside you so you could walk it (quicker) than on a boat so surely you can't actually get away from people which you can on the broads and alike. Maybe one day I'll try it although probably on a cruiser!