Anyone been canal boating?

slothmeister

slothmeister

slothmeister

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Hi guys, my best mate and I decided that we wanted to try something different than going abroad this year and have considered going canal boating.

Has anyone here done it before, how much do you expect us to pay for a 4 - 5 day break, any restrictions at all, best place to cruise?

Thanks for your help.
 
The rest of my family have been, not soo much my thing so i never went. They really enjoyed it, very relaxing, get away from it all kinda holiday.

Price depends on time / boat / canal - try Black Prince they cover a good few areas in range for you. Prices also on there. The boats are very good quality / condition, which makes things more enjoyable.

Restrictions? not sure what u mean, dogs/kids etc are allowed, I guess jet skis are banned :P

Anything else just post up and ill ask the others.
 
Hi mate.

I know the owners of this place:

http://www.canalcruising.co.uk/

Prices:

http://www.canalcruising.co.uk/canal-cruising-prices2008.htm

Its not cheap but they are very experienced in this field and, historically, its the area to do it:

http://www.wedgwoodmuseum.org.uk/wedgwood_and_innovation.htm

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=820&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=10030

The pubs and restaurants in Stone are excellent.

http://www.pub-explorer.com/staffs/pub/swaninnstone.htm

:D
 
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is your friend a women, if so... u need a quite canal, because you will be busy :p
 
Used to go loads years ago. It's quite relaxing but it's very expensive for what it is - it's no cheaper than going abroad.
 
We went on a narrowboat on the canals in Rugby, near Coventry last year.

8 of us, mixed group ... think we were 18 - 20ish...

Was a cracking hol. We only went for 3 nights, Friday - Monday but it was fun. Just got wasted every night doing renditions of Lional Richie and dancing on the roof of the boat with the music blaring :D You can moore up wherever you feel is reasonable so you can get quite some distance out.

Our boat was massive, one of the biggest in the yards fleet. Never driven one before but picked it up really quickly, it's pretty easy after a few hours of getting used to opposite steering and using the reverse gear effectively to drift into corners.

Few things with it... i'd defiently advice planning your route and driving times. I know people like to do things spontaneously.. and i do too, but you've got to consider wherever you go you have to turn around and be back, so effectively on a 3 day break you've only got 1.5 days of going in a particular direction. Best to set an aim (deffo buy a book on the local canal) and plan some stops.

We were quite dissapointed by the lack of decent canal pubs on our route, it was a bit sparse and there weren't many. We did find a few and made up for it by going into Coventry for a night out, etc. Make sure you stock up on beer for the whole trip as there's nothing worse than realising you are running out and not having a clue where the nearest supermarket is.

Another rule is you can't use the boat after dusk or before dawn, you need to be moored up. Although we did a fair bit of midnight driving :p The person who's in charge of the boat should be sober as well.. but this never got checked for us, and I was driving along with a beer in my hand.

We went with Hoseasons and I forget the name of the boating yard.. cruisers or something. You can park your car in the yard and it's secured, etc.

Really good, deffo reccomend!!
 
Been canal boating loads of times and I find it really enjoyable. Even doing things like locks are good fun with a few of you and viewing the countryside/city from a different perspective.

As someone has said earlier Black Prince are very good and we've used them for the last few times which we've been with them. The quality of the boats and interior is much better than most of the other hire companies you might see trundling along.

I'd also advise planning your route in advance since it can be hard to make up time travelling at 4mph and queueing at locks. Again not too bad you get to meet some pretty decent people as most people on the canals are friendly and chatty.

There are also some canal guide books which detail the canal you're going along, where locks are, decent pubs and shops along each section as well as how long it should take. Here's one for the Llangollen and the surrounding region canals http://www.amazon.co.uk/Welsh-Water...bs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204375634&sr=8-4 - the book may look old fashioned but they're upto date and really the best thing you can have!

If you have any questions just ask though I'll see if I can help you. Which canal you thinking of going along?

edit - just saw you're asking for suggestions about which canals to go on. The main ones I've done and loved all of it include the Four Counties ring (Shropshire Union Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal, Middlewich Branch, Staff's & Worcs Canal), Llangollen canal, Brecon and Monmouth Canal, Caldon Canal (short) and the Leicester Ring. Although I'd probably recommend the Llangollen canal starting from Chirk marina and travelling to Llangollen and over the Pontcysyllte aqueduct which has simply amazing views as you go over the Dee valley.
 
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I've been canal boating in the Norfolk Broads and found it very enjoyable but pretty quiet, however I was young at the time so it might be rather different now. I think we went with Hoseasons for whatever it is worth.
 
I think stourport ring was the best one I've done, was the first and was only 12 at the time though. One's I've been on are stourport ring (Alvechurch -> Alvechurch), the short version iirc, part of the avon (Alvechurch->Stratford and back again) and Llangollen (from the stockport area ending at Pontcyscyllte). All of them were one week I think. Stourport was a mix of quiet / busier areas as it runs right through birmingham, while Llangollen is mostly very quiet areas.
Other good thing about stourport is the tardebigge locks - there are 36 of them, which pretty much takes a whole day to get through but is good :D. Only bad thing was that some of the canals were pretty dirty.

Alvechurch has nice boats (or did when I used them) but might well be a bit pricier than things like Black Prince. Not compared prices myself. Wasn't too impressed with the company we used for Llangollen. Trying to find the name... Aqueduct is impressive though
 
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AndyOcUK said:
The pubs and restaurants in Stone are excellent.

http://www.pub-explorer.com/staffs/pub/swaninnstone.htm

:D
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Gigged there 2 weeks ago.

I've spent a lot of time running on the Canals in Stoke and its as though you can be in another part of the world.
My wife does a lot of walking with her mates and I kept persuading her to go on the Canals and they took the plunge last year.
They were that amazed with the scenery and quietness that most of their walks on done by the Canals now.
 
dmpoole said:
Gigged there 2 weeks ago.

I've spent a lot of time running on the Canals in Stoke and its as though you can be in another part of the world.
My wife does a lot of walking with her mates and I kept persuading her to go on the Canals and they took the plunge last year.
They were that amazed with the scenery and quietness that most of their walks on done by the Canals now.
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How do mate. I've seen you guys down there loads (Disturbin the peace?) Used to work there part time - friends of Geoff :)
 
dmpoole said:
I've spent a lot of time running on the Canals in Stoke and its as though you can be in another part of the world.
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Spot on. You have to experience it for yourself to believe that you can be so close to civilisation but be so far away from it as well. The minute you get down the cutt time stands still & you step back into an older time & a much slower pace. Because of this most of the people you meet will be super chilled & very sociable. Avoid the citys & you can't go far wrong, As a nub though on holiday for a short time plan your route & don't take on to many Locks as although fun a few times they are a pain in the ****.
My local canal is the best for nubs as it has No locks at all :p Ashby canal for the messed up canal boater :p
I can go into loads of detail but will only be skim read & bore people.
 
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