Jump to content

Inland boating with attitude


TeamElla

Recommended Posts

Hi Dan,

I was just trying to post up a few last pics but I'm sure you'll have plenty when you get back.

I should mention that the mozzies are just as much of a problem there and it can be so hot inside the boat mid season that I've seen pictures of people moving their beds onto the top of the boat for some respite.

It fell on deaf ears when I suggested that they should think about providing some form of cooling as well as providing warm air heating on board - take a fan!

cheers,

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 65
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I must admit that I missread the title of this thread initially.

I thought it was called Inland Boating with ALTITUDE...

Anyone who wants a change from the flat lands of East Anglia might find the Caledonian Canal interesting.

I came through it last year, from Inverness to Fort William, and all the locks are operated for you by the lock-keepers, and you even get a chance to look for Nessie as you have to go down the length of Loch Ness on the way, and it is the only time that I have ever taken a yacht up and down hills.

Steve,

Some stunning scenary on the Lot.

Which part of France is it in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been looking at the possibility of hiring a boat on the Caledonian Canal this summer but there are really very few boats to be had and those there are rather expensive. Many are not even equipped with anchors (which would only be useful on the edge of lochs anyway) so you'd be limited to public mooring and it seems those are pretty few and far between, as are boating facilities of any kind. Shame really, I've driven along it more than once and always thought it would be great to boat along there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Steve

I think it is the Doudogne, but could be wrong as Geography & French spelling are not my strongest points! I seem to remember calculating it was just under two hours drive from Bergarac Airport.

All the best

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... and those there are rather expensive.

Hi Simon

From memory Le Boat have some smaller ones which looked reasonable to me in terms of value when I looked at it earlier in the year. If you can fall on them doing a strong offer as well they should be good value, though I'm not syre they're the best presented fleet on the waterway, but are generally quite ok.

Still, the rumour is their UK holiday bases are doing very well this year, so I guess the best offers they're running might be elsewhere

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been looking at the possibility of hiring a boat on the Caledonian Canal this summer but there are really very few boats to be had and those there are rather expensive. Many are not even equipped with anchors (which would only be useful on the edge of lochs anyway) so you'd be limited to public mooring and it seems those are pretty few and far between, as are boating facilities of any kind. Shame really, I've driven along it more than once and always thought it would be great to boat along there.

We were only passing through, which took us 2.5 days. I suppose there was a bit of a shortage of facilities along the way but we only had two nights on the canal and even in August there weren't many boats active. I know we managed to find a shower block twice on the way, and hence didn't have to do it onboard.

I hadn't thought about the potential problems as to anchoring (you would need a really long line on a mud weight to drop it in Loch Ness) but there were pontoon moorings relatively frequently along the route, usually in conjunction with the swing bridges and locks.

The guide pamphlet is available on-line at http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/20714.

I believe that the hire boats aren't allowed to go down the Neptunes Staircase at Banavie (a flight of eight locks) but several of them were mooring up at the top to see the fun. (It took us 4.5 hours from arriving at the top to getting out of the last lock, as they run a "one way" system and arrived just after they had started a "down" phase. The transit of the flight takes 1.5 hours once you manage to get into the first lock).

There was certainly a lack of refreshment facilites (OK pubs) to pick from, (but we did find one each night) and not a lot of shopping oportunities either as there is only one real town (Fort Augustus) enroute.

I must admit that having "done" the Caledonian and also sailed in parts of the West Coast I probably prefered the coast and islands, and there you do have to use the anchor!

One trip that I keep looking at is the Classic Malts Cruise, two weeks hopping from distillary to distillary with calies thrown in. (Actually they only have arranged visits to three distillaries along the way but I can think of at least another three that you could call into without too much trouble) http://www.worldcruising.com/classicmaltscruise/

cheersbar

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info Martin. We did stop and watch the fun at Neptune's Staircase for a while, as indeed we did at the locks between Loch Ness and Loch Oich. Ref the anchors, I realise that you couldn't really use one in the middle of Loch Ness but there do seem to be some bays where they might be of use. But then I guess if there are enough pontoons and facilities nearby then it probably is not a great loss.

We did have a look at Caley Cruisers btw but I don't think there's anything left at the time we had in mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did the Caledonian Canal for our honeymoon in 2005, hiring a Moody 28 from West Highland Sailing.

I have to say that whilst I did enjoy the week, we did precious little sailing (head winds all the way to Inverness and back again), and after the initial novelty of sailing (motoring) through a mountain range, I found the scenery to be somewhat monotonous, albeit on a grand scale. I don't regret going, but to be honest I probably wouldn't want to go back.

The BW mooring pontoons were good, and the shower/toilet blocks regularly spaced and of high quality. the pubs/restaurants we went to were also of high quality, possibly because tourists on boats are a relatively small part of their business compared to the large number of land-based tourists (n.b. this does mean that the larger lock flights at Fort William and Fort Augustus are replete with gongoozlers).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Sponsors

    Norfolk Broads Network is run by volunteers - You can help us run it by making a donation

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

For details of our Guidelines, please take a look at the Terms of Use here.