Kennet & Avon into Bristol Channel & Stratford

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Saucy_Sue

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After 2 years on the Thames we're contemplating changing our old motor cruiser for a new 40'X11' barge and venturing further afield on the broad canals & rivers. The Kennet & Avon seems an obvious first with the possibility of reaching places like Stratford and Worcester. Any advice for us from "don't do it" to "this is the best way to ......" will be very helpful in helping us to make the final decision to go ahead with buying a barge. Our background is sailing in North Wales and NOT canal boating!

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Hi and welcome to the forum!!

If you are going to get from Kennet & Avon to the seven (for worcester and
Avon for stratford) you (at the moment, see below) have to go up the Bristol
Channel from Bristol floating dock to sharpness, this passage requires local knowledge or, better still, if you are taking a barge up there a channel pilot. The tides run at about 5 Knots but can make 6-8 Knots on a big spring tide.

The other option is to wait for the cotswold canal system to open (maybe 5 years???) this would give a wide beam link from the thames to the gloucester & Sharpness canal (at saul junction)

Hope this helps!!

<hr width=100% size=1>Thanks

Leyton
(EXTAR Solutions - Software that works for you)
 
we're contemplating changing our old motor cruiser for a new 40'X11' barge

Please God, NOOOoooo!. Sorry just a personal opinion. If you are planning a liveaboard option on the ditches, then ok, but otherwise, there are mobo's out there, that will do the same, and not be floating obstructions wherever they go. At least you will end up taking it off the rivers.IMHO.

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tcm has a ditch crawler if this helps? Pictures available hereabouts

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."
 
If he brings it back to UK, only two options. Chain saw modifications, or extending canals. They manage on the M25, so modifications to canals not too difficult, just a few JCB's required?

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."
 
Unfortunately, once they modify the canals, they will quickly be filled with the profusion of 40ft+ barges that will suddenly appear thereby narrowing the channel down to a mere 7ft again.

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I would also want to know exactly what you mean by a "barge" . I am not sure that I would want to attempt the lumpy, fast flowing bit in a "wide beam narrowboat". I need convincing that they are stiff enough not to spring a weld. A narrowboat is much more like a steel tube with inherant stiffness and a track record of making this sory of passage.

If you do do it, for goodness sake either make sure ALL your fuel system is very clean (including the inside of the tank, with new filters plus spares, or fit a parrallel system of water traps and filters that allows you to switch from one to other by a simple tap - and carry spare filters.

Tony Brooks


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The barge we're looking at is a Sea Otter - aluminium alloy - with a "V" bottom and a class C hull.

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Thank you for your helpful reply - the boat we're considering has a "V" shaped category C hull so should be up to the trip at the right time but the idea of hiring a pilot is a good one.

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the best site to get route information around the canal and river networks that I've found is the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://canalplan.org.uk>Canalplan AC</A>.

To plot the route you are contemplating, you will need to alter your options to change the default setting of "Seaways" from "Never" to something else. Plug in your vessel dimensions and off you go!

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Thank you for this - just printing off a map and route details - sounds quite daunting but once retired can do it at a leisurely pace.

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