Job in Birmingham.. move boat??

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Richard_Peevor

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I am considering taking a job in Birmingham as it is a step up the proverbial ladder.. In honesty I have to do it to continue my training.

I currently live just over an hour from the boat moored in Gosport. The job in Birmingham is for three years and I am trying to think of options of where to live and where to keep the boat.

Do any of you live near Birmingham and sail yachts? Should I keep the boat in the Solent and drive further..?? Move the boat to the Bristol channel?? or North Wales?? ANy ideas / suggestions..

p.s Not made of money..!!
 
3 minutes by car 8 minutes on foot - no not gloating, just realise how fortunate I am - born near the sea in the North East and later spent 18 years well inland and tried to get sight of the sea at every opportunity,
 
Most of the Birmingham Navy go for N Wales. But the world is your oyster really, nearest to the sea is over 100 miles, wherever you go!

Gloucester Docks may be nearer, but you are a long way from open water & Avon tides are biggies (as are Liverpool Bay/ N Wales) I like the Menia Straits - it is similar to the Solent for facilities, shelter & tidal oddities! Deep water moorings and good access to Irish Sea cruising area.

Another option, which I did for several years, is to go very remote. You have to travel - so pick your favorite area and make the travelling worth it. I chose the Clyde, you could go for the Baltic, Turkey, Croatia or similar! Colleagues choose to not have a boat, but charter a different location each year. Yer pays yer money & takes yer choice! Enjoy what you can, while you can /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Three years, three seasons. Just needs a bit of planning. You'll have the bank Hols, extend a few weekends by a couple of days to miss the trafic, then you have your summer holidays.

If you know the Solent you are already 'home', move elsewhere, however lovely it is, by the time you get settled in it'll be time to come back.
 
which side of birmingham will be a big factor, i am assuming you would not be so stupid as to actually live in birmingham.
If you live north side n wales makes sense
I can do anglesey in less than three hours from j 3 of the toll road. but i know people who go to cornwall from the same side.
Solent is doable but it is a question of timing
If you are say Leamington way and close to M40 the south would make sense.
At bank holiday you are best staying put or going a day either side as you will be travelling the worst bits of the worst roads

I would head north and explore new cruising grounds. from Holyhead you have ireland and n west scotland on your doorstep. wonderful cruising grounds, scotland especially, even the locals are okay, some can use and knife and fork now. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Before I moved to South Africa I liven near B'Ham (my home town) and had a boat at Stourport on the river seven not too far if you live east side. My brother lives near Bromsgrove south of B'ham and Bristol one hour on M5 also river Avon not too far. Last time in UK sept 2005 drive from Southampton to B'ham too long time I would not consider on regula basis and I am used to driving long distances my current boat mooring 500 Km 5.5 -6 hours drive but motorway all the way.

Where in B'ham is your job as that may determin location of home and thus easest direction to travel and best loc for boat.
 
Welcome to a most under rated part of the UK! Beautiful countryside within 30 mins. to South, West and North and about 50 mins to East! Stratford, for theatre, in under an hour!
Trains to London by two routes every 30 mins. Now to answer your question!
SWMBO and I have lived in Stourbridge for 38 years and have had cruisers for 35 years. Currently the boat is based in Ipswich and it takes us about 2 hrs 45 mins to get there via the M5/M6/A14 providing there are no hold ups. If we lived on the East side of Birmingham it would only take about 2 hrs 20 mins. From 1984-1996 we moored in Plymouth and it took almost exactly 3 hours. From 1975-1984 we were based in Pwllheli and it took about 2 hrs 50 mins. Going to the Solent area takes about 2 hrs 15 mins, but getting back on a Sunday evening is another matter-not good news
From 1971-1974 we mainly cruised the Bristol Channel-muddy and challenging with restricted places to go but with a surprisingly beautiful background to the sailing with Exmoor to the South and the Brecon Beacons to the North. Probably need a bilge keeler, or as we had, a centreboarder though.
Consequently from the other locations over the years we have cruised a very wide area, from the Clyde to Lowestoft in pretty fine detail and have also "done" Southern Ireland, Brittany, Holland and the South West of the Baltic.
The real problem is maintenance. In the Season it's easy to motivate youself to drive down to the boat leaving at say 6-45 when the rush hour is over and still have time for a pint before going aboard and then a week end away. But driving across in the winter to do jobs is another matter what with the short days etc. We've found the best bet is bargain breaks at local hotels, but it puts the price up!
Two other points:many locals keep their boats in the Med. They fly out from B'ham or Coventry Airports on cheap flights. A few keep theirs on the Clyde and fly but it's much dearer.Second:there are plenty of dinghy racing Clubs in the West Midlands, who usually have crusing members "attached", and there are at least 2 "cruising" clubs-Bromsgrove Boaters and The Midlands Coastal Cruising Club (Winter only) see their websites. The CA also has a small West Midlands Section.
In short, I suggest you keep your boat at the moment in its present location. Find a house up here which you like with reasonably easy access to the M42/M40/M5 and then investigate where to move your boat to. However you do need to investigate very carefully how easy it is to commute to your job to your job. Rush hour traffic congestion is as bad in the West Midlands as anywhere else. If possible many use the train.
Hope this all helps.
 
Use it as an opportunity to try a new area.
I live in Cheshire and bought my boat in Essex so kept it there for a season before moving it to Holyhead.
It was a long journey from here but well worth it - couple of hours from Brum? Arthur Ransome country, sheltered sailing if you want it (SWMBO loved it), decent pubs, reasonable access to the continent.
Honestly, it's worth some consideration.
 
Several North Essex / South Suffolk sailors are from the Midlands. There is a Committee member in my own club from Hinckley. The A14 is a fast road (BEWARE GATSOS!! on it) and it's a relatively easy run from Birmingham to some great cruising grounds.

Try West Mersea, Walton Backwaters, Woolverstone, etc. The most convenient marina for the A14 is the Suffolk Yacht Harbour at Levington, but I think there may be a waiting list there? Not sure how long it is though, and whether there may be a berth for next season.
 
I live in north Birmingham and have just had my first season on the South coast (Hamble Point Marina), I have to say the journey is far easer than I had expected, as others have said 2 hours is possible although 2 1/2 has been the average time for us this year. The trick is the time you leave Bham, don’t bother before 6pm on a Friday then you "should" have no problem on the way down especially now the roadwork’s on the A34 Oxford are finished. Anywhere north of Bham is a nightmare 'cos of the M6, the toll road has helped but still a pain (spent 4 years doing the trip to Windermere).

As others have said Birmingham is very under rated and often confused with the Black Country, lots of parks and green areas.
 
Or use it as a period of time to discover the delights, and they do exist, of dinghy sailing on local lakes, and narrowboating on the local canals, of which there are miles and miles. Stay off the popular bits of the BCN and its quite lovely out on the Curly Wyrley. Some good pubs too.

Wind in the right direction and you could reach each way along the New Main Line and put the willies up the narrowboats, test their ColRegs:-)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Welcome to a most under rated part of the UK! Beautiful countryside within 30 mins. to South, West and North and about 50 mins to East! Stratford, for theatre, in under an hour!
Trains to London by two routes every 30 mins.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting way to sell an place
 
[ QUOTE ]
to discover the delights, and they do exist, of dinghy sailing on local lakes

[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely right.
Barnt Green, Earlswood, Edgbaston to name 3 I can recommend - plus a smaller one in Redditch Park for when I craved ever decreasing circuits /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

And to continue the Birmingham sales pitch you'll have Symphony Hall, NIA, Birmingham rep, the Old rep, Alexandra, Hippodrome, Birmingham Ballet, the Barber Institute of fine art..... RSC theatres 30 minutes down the road, Warwick Arts centre, Cheltenham arts, jazz, and literary festivals 45 minutes away........

Groan why did I allow myself to be talked into leaving? And why the Fens /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Well the only I left was the weather oh and a good job.

27 C today mid summer.

18 -20 C mid winter and olny frost on 5 nightts in winter.
 
We live in Warwick about 18 miles South of Birmingham and have our boat in Swansea.
It takes about 2 1/4 hours to get there.
However the route is straightforward.. for you..M5,M50,A40,M4.
Very rarely any traffic problems on a Friday night.
Another option for you would be Penarth (Cardiff) and you could knock nearly an hour off that travelling time then..although Swansea is the nicer Marina and more centrally placed in the Bristol Channel for going places.
There are plenty of other peeps from the West Midlands there as well.

Steve.
 
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