Narrowboat holiday recommendations

[JClarkes]

Hello

A group of friends and I were discussing the possibility of hiring a narrowboat for a week / weekend.
We were aiming for around September time and thought I would post here for advice and recommendations.
We are open to all areas of the UK. There will be 6 off us.

 

[Ramage]

If you are travelling by road after crossing the Irish Sea, Gailey may be a good place to pick up a boat. (Just off the A5).

http://www.abcboathire.com/Boating-Holiday/england/gailey-base/7.aspx

 

[Eyore]

We had a great time on the Oxford canal a few years ago, hired a 50ft boat at Heyford. Its very picturesque and rural with great history .Highly recommended.
Incidentally we also hired a narrowboat on the Barrow which was also good,hardly anyone else on it and very unspoilt,I think we hired from some place near Monastrevin.

 

[prof pat pending]

This site might be a good place to start

http://narrowboatinfo.co.uk/narrowboat-holidays/

Also sites like hoseasons give plenty of choice

 

[TrueBlue]

If you are travelling by road after crossing the Irish Sea, Gailey may be a good place to pick up a boat. (Just off the A5).

http://www.abcboathire.com/Boating-Holiday/england/gailey-base/7.aspx

Oh, you are a wag!! - but sensible too - don't waste time driving - get on a boat and find a pub.

 

[TrueBlue]

Hello

A group of friends and I were discussing the possibility of hiring a narrowboat for a week / weekend.
We were aiming for around September time and thought I would post here for advice and recommendations.
We are open to all areas of the UK. There will be 6 off us.

Seriously (apart from my other post), there are a huge range of opportunities -
BUT we need more information, f'rinstance:-

• do want to get pissed in lots of pubs,
• Do you want to cruise all day and crash out at a pub for the evening
• Do you want a bit of heritage

With out knowing what you wants, desires, peccadillos are, we can't offer considered advice.

As Ramage suggests hire from Gailey, do a ring round Birmingham ( a fab place to visit from the water but NOT via any other mode of transport) plus lot of locks to work off,

• the booze
• faggots (food)
• excess of -
• curries
• Chinese
• and culture

definitely Been There Done It - so not Bull****

 

[Dave-Shafa]

"We are open to all areas of the UK. There will be 6 off us. "

May I recommend my own dear Caledonian Canal and
https://www.caleycruisers.com/

....a fleet of motor boats, with 10 different classes to choose from, all fully equipped and available for weekly or short-break self charter on Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal. ....

You can meander down Lock Ness and bash into the sailing yachts which gather at the Lochs at Fort Augustus.

 

[funinthesun]

Hello

A group of friends and I were discussing the possibility of hiring a narrowboat for a week / weekend.
We were aiming for around September time and thought I would post here for advice and recommendations.
We are open to all areas of the UK. There will be 6 off us.

We took a 60ft boat from alvechurch just south of Birmingham some years ago. Did a four day hire which was great fun, the boat was fab and we also enjoyed transiting wast hills tunnel, the longest of its kind in the uk, very strange when you enter it and can't see the light for 10 or so minutes! . Then on to the lapworth flight of locks. I'm not really a canal person, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience with family. Couldn't fault the hire company

 

[ianc1200]

I would second the Irish idea; we took a friends Narrowboat on the Sharron-Erne waterway, down the Shannon, the Grand Canal, then the Barrow towards Wexford, really good time, only about 4 locks on the Shannon, wonderful cruising ground. Masses to explore. There are lots of images here;

http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Tour_08/Index.html

 

[Firestone]

We had a great time on the Oxford canal a few years ago, hired a 50ft boat at Heyford. Its very picturesque and rural with great history .Highly recommended.
Incidentally we also hired a narrowboat on the Barrow which was also good,hardly anyone else on it and very unspoilt,I think we hired from some place near Monastrevin.

The Barrowline hire fleet is based at Vicarstown Inn, Vicarstown,Co.Laois,Ireland. Tel:+353 (0)578625189 . Contact Phillip Crean .

 

[apollo]

Total thread drift

Talking of narrowboats....

Has anyone been watching Timothy West and Prunella Scales on the telly?

I am soo impressed by Pru, getting out, winding the locks and pushing the gates whilst Tim stands at the tiller.

She is a star!

Great TV

 

[Malabar]

Lots of choice. I have chartered around Braunston/Napton for many years - the heart of the British canal system. However you probably do not want to spend all your time traveling to the boat. If flying in look for hire companies not too far from Birmingham or Leeds/Bradford airports. Otherwise, as others have pointed out, you have some great waterways nearer home.

 

[Eyore]

Talking of narrowboats....

Has anyone been watching Timothy West and Prunella Scales on the telly?

I am soo impressed by Pru, getting out, winding the locks and pushing the gates whilst Tim stands at the tiller.



She is a star!

Great TV

They are a sweet couple.

 

[TrueBlue]

Talking of narrowboats....

Has anyone been watching Timothy West and Prunella Scales on the telly?

I am soo impressed by Pru, getting out, winding the locks and pushing the gates whilst Tim stands at the tiller.

She is a star!

Great TV

Absolutely; both of them .
However, some of their navigation and lock handling techniques were somewhat cringeworthy.

You wouldn't see that on the Thames??

 

[JClarkes]

Thanks for all advice, a lot to consider and do research on. If I have any more questions I will ask here.

 

[byron]

Absolutely; both of them .
However, some of their navigation and lock handling techniques were somewhat cringeworthy.

You wouldn't see that on the Thames??

I've only seen a couple of episodes but I know where you are coming from. Hands over the face and peep through your fingers. Still Granny from Wigan doesn't know either and it's her and others like her they're after not the likes of us. Look how bad the 3 men in a boat on the Thames was.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

I don't know much about the UK canal system, but my wife and I spent a week at the same time of the year on the Union Canal in Scotland in 2009. The weather was perfect, which no doubt helped. We started from below the Falkirk Wheel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_wheel and travelled up and over it towards Edinburgh (although we didn't get as far as that.) Along with the Wheel itself -- what an experience -- the locks are all operated for you by keepers from Scottish Waterways or whatever their name is, so all you have to do is steer in and hang on....

Crossing the Avon Aqueduct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Aqueduct was a great experience too -- my wife hopped off at one end and walked alongside the boat down the towpath taking photos.

One of the nice things about narrowboating, I found, was how much the pace of life slows down. All in all, that was one of the most restful holidays I've had in my life.

Mike

 

[jordanbasset]

I suggest the Llangollen Canal, stunning scenery, beautiful countryside and some nice pubs/restaurants

 

[Firestone]

I suggest the Llangollen Canal, stunning scenery, beautiful countryside and some nice pubs/restaurants

+1.