Canal Boat Holidays

[portocat]

I am not sure if this is the right category for this question, but I was wondering if anyone had been on a narrow boat holiday on canals in the UK?  We are going on a holiday next month for a week on the Trent and Mersey canal and I have never been on a holiday like this before.  Does anyone have any advice/tips/good or bad stories?

[secretsquiz]

i spent a week on a canal boat around bath in april and it was brilliant! it's great fun!

advice? tips? erm...get a decent map of the canal and make sure you know where you are. on the stretch of canal we were on there weren't many turning places, and one night we weren't sure if we had enough time to turn round and get back to the canal station by the end of the week, so you'll need to take things like that into consideration.

erm... what else? make sure you know what you're doing for dinner as well! either ensure you've got enough provisions on board or you're near enough to civilisation to get some pub food or something.

other than that, just observe the rules and etiquette of the canal - drive on the right, slow down past moored boats, etc.

have a brilliant time!

[undercovers]

i was on one for a weekend - it goes about 4 miles an hour full throttle and i still managed to crash the thing within about 5 minutes (I very slowly steered us directly into a bridge support) - no one was impressed and i never got to drive again - so quite a good tip if you just want to relax and can't be bothered steering the boat! enjoy

oh and be careful of the locks (fell in one of those too)

[portocat]

cool!  thanks for the tips. Hopefully we will get good weather.  Good plan about crashing the boat as a way of getting out of steering!

I reckon we better stock up on supplies before we get on the boat, I wouldnt want to be stuck without food or drinks in the middle of nowhere!

cheers!

[spudqueen]

Hi portocat, lucky old you. Mr Spudqueen and I have been on numerous canal boat holidays (though only 1 since having the kids). As secretsquiz said, buy a map of the canal, Nicholsons do one which you should be able to get from Waterstones or WH Smiths. It will tell you how to work out how far you can travel in an hour (eg allow 15 mins per lock or something), so you can 'aim' for a pub or town for lunch or evening, though don't be surprised if it takes you longer!

Don't rush the holiday. If you see somewhere you want to visit, moor up and go and visit, it's meant to be a really relaxing holiday.

If you're doing an 'out and back' trip, up the canal, turning round and going back again, work out when you are half way through your holiday as it's time to turn round, but try and go through places you went through on the way up at a different time of day, that way any pubs you went past at 10am on the way out you may be able to visit on the way back!

Make sure the boat yard give you FULL instructions on working the boat, how to switch the engine on, how to steer, how to work locks, how to clean the weed hatch etc.

Don't forget your camera and binoculars if you have them, loads of wildlife, lovely views etc. Also, you can charge up your mobile phone with a car charger, if you really can't bear to away from the 'real world' for too long!

BTW, where are you starting from? 2 years ago we went from Burton-on-Trent to Barleston (just south of Stoke on Trent), where Wedgwood factory is, and back in a week.

Oh, nearly forgot, don't leave things on the roof (glasses, book of canal, mugs etc), there will ALWAYS be an overhanging tree whose branches will knock said items into canal!

[secretsquiz]

and don't forget your bilge pump!

[Gef]

If you go to this website and ask a detailed question (where you are starting from, number of crew etc.) in the discussion forum you will get many detailed replies. Also, as others have said, buy a guidebook (either Nicolson's or Pearson's) and plan before you go. I have been boating since 1988 and love it. Don't rush and don't over-estimate how far you will get - plan on 3 mph and 15 minutes per lock.

Hope you have a great time.

[Gef]

Sorry, forgot to post the link http://www.ownerships.co.uk/indices/enternews.htm

[sddsddean]

We had a boat on the canals for about 20 years (until my Dad died). You will find most 'regular' boaters helpful and will advise you if you want to know how to do things.

If you have any kids on board (say aged 10+), don't be at all surprised if they can steer the boat better than you! Its 'cos you are used to driving a car and subconciously try to steer the boat the same way. It don't work like that. A boat will pivot about a point about 1/3 of the way from the front and the back end will swing out far more than the front end.

Have fun, its a wonderful way to see the countryside; and the pubs aren't bad either!!