Canal Boats

The boats come in two sizes, with a family get the big one since the smaller one sleeps four, but two people have to sleep in the living room. If anybody offers optional bilkes, skip it, you don't need them. The most boring trip is out of Sawley Marina (south of Nottingham). The two best ones are out of Blackwater Marina (Shropshire) or Market Harborough (Union Warf Marina). The former has a neat track across an aquaduct, the latter is best if you go up the Foxton Locks and continue through the tunnels. Working the boats is easy. Some sections of the tow paths are full of sloggy mud: if you're trying to walk, keep the boat in sight so you can get around them. (Places to turn the boat around are far apart and they're hard to back any distance by a novice). Stop at every pub and village along the way. Take rain jackets (the steering position is uncovered) and have one night's worth of grub on board in case the weather turns to crap and you don't want to walk to supper. You can stop most anywhere, but if do so in a spot that's unimproved (bushes and bramples between the canal and the tow path) watch out for stinging nettles. If somebody falls off, the emergency procedure is to stand up and walk to the bank. Kill the engine so they don't get chopped up by the prop. Swans are mean as hell.

That sounds a little daunting. We are booked out of the Worcester Marina, headed to Stratford Upon Avon. I found info for the Stratford and Cotswold area, but nothing about the boats, in Rick's Great Britain book. Was just hoping for a little more info. on that particular canal/trip.

Beth. Especially if you have never been there , Stratford as a town is worth going (for a day). I cant say anything about the canal. But as someone who has read (or is gonna be required to read) Shakespeare its worth doing. The typical sights are Shakespeares house, Anne hathaway's cottage and also the church and graveyard. Also some wandering around town. All are of interest and worth doing while you are there. Of course if you are even a mild theatre buff, you may want to attend one of his plays- but they are extremely popular. And for Ed, there is a lot of green lawn, and riverside with swans

Ed, your comments were very amusing to say the least; but perhaps, not to Beth! Beth, I have friends who did a canal boat cruise in France) and enjoyed it immensely. What about looking up your cruise on trip advisor to see if there are any reviews?

Here's the typical choice of boats: http://www.canaltime.com//narrowboats/nb_boats.html. Here's the trip: http://www.worcestermarina.com/routes.htm#stratford. It's not my favorite, but only because I don't care for Stratford Upon Avon. Who cares? The rest of it is fine. The best part about it is that it's a ring/loop, so you don't have to retrace your outbound track heading home. Waterscape.com has more information on the canals. It's not daunting at all, very relaxing. Kids can handle the boats if they're tall enough to see over the cabin structure. Locks can be intimidating, but only for the first one. One person runs the boat, one works the gates and paddles. The boat rental people will explain the sequence of working the paddles. (Paddles are the holes in the lock gates that let the water in or out. There may or may not be lock-keepers, if there are, all they do is coordinate, you still do all the work. Speed of the boats is maybe three knots tops, slower when near other boats (deadl idle crawl). To figure time, each lock takes about fifteen minutes, maybe much more if other boats are waiting to pass through. None of the statements in my first post were meant to be amusing, they were the highlights of the facts aimed at somebody who has never done it. I expressed no opinions (except uring frequent stops) and made no factual misstatements. The cautions were every one I could think of based on a good bit of experience - - none are awe-inspiring. For background, I've done maybe a dozen trips on narrowboats and almost that many in France. The systems are completely different, so are the locks, so are the boats. The narrowboats are better.

I'm not sure why Miss Kerry chimed in since she only has friends.........and no personal experience. Nevertheless, I've never known anybody who's had a bad time on a boat in protected waters. The point about safety was based on the fact that I've seen a couple of idiots come off the boat (drunk, stupid, whatever) and thrash about like they were about to drown in all of three feet of water - - then head for the boat in desperation (with the prop still spinning) instead of wading over to the bank - - which is easier to climb than the boat hull. The boats are six feet wide, most of the canals are only fifteen or twenty or so feet wide. Tunnels are two boats wide, plus a skosh. Locks may accomodate two boats side-by side, most often they are one boat wide with a foot of clearance on each beam. When in a descending lock, you need to be aware of the cill (lock gate foundation sub-structure) line (prominently marked, but hidden in a flooded lock) so you don't hang the boat up by it's stern or damage the prop - - easily avoided, but you need to be aware of the potential. I repeat, watch out for the swans. They can reach over the gunwale and stab you toes. They're all banded and crown-protected, so you can't whump them with a machette.

Ed, Whether you intended humor, or not, you have certainly given me some chuckles. I have scoured the Canal Boat websites, and read all the info. I just wanted an unbiased review, from someone who has done this. You certainly gave me that. You don't like Stratford, because it is too touristy, or for other reasons? We have a timeshare and I chose to trade for Worcester, rather than Sawley. The trip sounded better and I thought it might help the kids have a better understanding when they are studying Shakespeare. I'm still in the window to cancel the trade without penalty. I've been a little ambivalent, and am just trying to make up my mnd.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ed and Kerry. Beth

Ed, I actually didn't mean to sound chastizing; I really thought your comments were funny and I LIKE FUNNY. I just thought Beth might have been upset because you kind of put a negative spin on your planned trip. Obviously, Beth has a good sense of humor too. Miss Kerry will now shut up and won't comment unless I have personal experience from now on. Sorry to ruffle your feathers, Sir Ed.

My sister and her family went with another couple on a narrow boat and cruised the canals for a week. They had a super time! The also loved Stratford-Upon-Avon. It sounded like a very peaceful relaxing way to travel and they said they slept well.

Miss Kerry: I was snotty. Sorry. If I can find a rusty sword, I'll fall on it. Miss Beth: Don't you dare skip it. It's the most relaxing week you'll ever have. I don't do something a gazillion times because I don't enjoy it. The kids will love every minute of it. If they get tired of the boat, let them walk the paths for a while. If they're half old enough, let the big people walk for a while and give the short ones the boat - - an eight-year old can handle it on the quieter parts of the canals. If you're not comfortable with that, sit downstairs and drink coffee and let them feel like they're running the show - - the worst they can do is bump the bank and that won't hurt anything. There are no real draw-backs. I was just trying to point out the potential stumble points, which are a minor annoyance only. And, you guessed it, my aversion to Strattford is the crowds of tourists. However, with that loop, you'll have to hustle to spend more than a single night there. Don't go out of Sawley, the scenery stinks.

Thanks Ed! No need to fall on a rusty sword, a clean sword will do....ONLY KIDDING. I'm sure you've been enormously helpful to Beth and I would like to gain personal experience of a canal boat ride with my family one day. How much do these canal boat rentals cost?

Ed, Kerry, Dave, Thanks all of you. My husband is the one who REALLY wants to do this. My 'kids' are 19, 16, 10. They've all driven houseboats, so they can manage the canal boat. I'm just wondering if they can manage the slow pace. I personally like the idea of visiting every town and pub, as Ed suggested.
Know anyone who has gone with teens? Beth

We started out doing what Beth is. We traded a time share we inherited, but never saw, for other stuff - - mostly narrowboats. The cost was just the exchange fee. Now that we've gotten rid of that darn thing, we still have a membership in RCI (rci.com). Since we no longer have anything to exchange we use their 'extra vacations'. I'm not a fan of summer in europe, so the spring and fall ones come as a bargain. I think the one last year went for around five hundred bucks, and one I'm fiddling with for this fall is about four and a quarter (gas and insurance adds about another hundred bucks). I'm not real sure, but a straight rental might go for a couple of grand for a week on the smaller boat. Were I to do a straight rental, I'd probably switch back to France or the Netherlands since they seem to be a bit cheaper - - especially in the non-peak periods.

Sorry you didn't like the timeshare, Ed. We love ours, in Estes Park, CO. We only trade it if we aren't able to make it up there. Just so happens we had two weeks to trade, and will use both next summer. The second in the Benelux area. Got any tips on that?
We'll visit London, Bavaria(where friends live) before and after.

Kerry - this is a long established holiday company that arranges boating holidays, we have used them for boating on the Norfolk Broads. It should give you some idea of boat types, sizes etc and prices. http://www.hoseasons.co.uk/boat-holidays/canals-and-rivers

Please don't trade the ring you have opted for. It is in beautiful countryside, the stretch between Kings Norton to Kingswood (Lapworth) is very nearly lock free. The locks from Kingswood to Stratford are very well spaced and really easy to work. Stratford Canal locks are different to most because the bridges have slots for the rope. I really think of all the ones I have worked they are the easiest. Don't underestimate the swans. You will see Kingfishers, Egrets, and many Herons, ducks and swans. Plenty of farm animals near the banks, and many wild ones too. Worcester has a gorgeous Cathedral, one of the best, with a nearly unbeaten ring of bells. Normally boat hire is Sat to Sat. Perhaps they will be practicing. Up through Alvechurch you will work. I've never done the Avon. Towards Evesham you will see the Malverns and Cleve Hill. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Want me to work the boat through Kingswood for you? That's where the wife and I go for our walks. Good restaurants there too. (As a local I agree with Ed about Stratford. But I'm not seeing it for the first time. And you won't have to park. It will be even batter from the boat.) ((Eat at Carluccios near bottom lock if you like Italian food)).

Nigel, Thanks so much for that information! I really appreciate it! We are booked for June 2012. I'm just anal about doing my homeowrk, so I don't miss anything really great. We love Italian. Maybe we can meet you and your wife for dinner? We try to share the table with locals, even if we just travel in TX. It's much more fun that way.
Got any tips on lodging near London, for a family of five?

I don't think your idea will work. Sawley only lets you go west on the Trent and Mersey to about Northwich and east to the edge of Nottingham.
There's no way to connect to the Grand Union (Market Harborough/Union Warf) with a rental boat. If I'm wrong, there's still another problem. You can't park in Union Warf unless the boat is from there. What you'd have to do is park a mile or two out on the Market Harborough Arm of the Grand Union and hike the tow paths in. Once you're at Union Warf, it's another mile hike from the marina to the train station. Canaltime has the rentals/exchanges in both places, you might ask them.

I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon this site! I just booked a trip via RCI on a narrowboat out of Sawley...I read the posts here and see it is not the nicest scenary, but alas it was the only 6 passenger that is available for the week of the olympics in 2012. My family of 5 is planning a trip to see 3 events during the olympics...we would like to use the boat as our base to travel into London for 3 days and then sightsee the other 4 via the boat and small towns it will allow us to see. From Union Wharf, the train to London is 59 minutes and the town seems much more alive than Sawley. Would anyone know how long it would take us if we left Sawley and went straight to Union Wharf to stay? Also, are there fees for staying at other marinas, like there are here in NY? We are boaters so we are comfortable on a boat and traveling...our oldest is 14 and has a boat herself so we will have help. Any info on traveling from Sawley South toward the London area, so that we can reduce our commute to London on days we are going in, would be much appreciated!! Thank you

Ed & Nigel, What treasures you both are! My step-son and I have been trying to convince our " chancellor of the exchequer" that this is something we should try.
Beth, Thanks for raising the question.

We were in Windsor last Monday, walking along the river and looking at the canal boats tied up at the banks. It looks very tempting. . .

Tracy, If that route won't work, I suggest that you call RCI, rather that using the online booking. It seems the 'guides' can always locate options that don't show-up on the site. There's another site that might help you. I haven't looked for anything during the Olympics, though.
Private message me, if you are interested. I don't have any vested interest, but am not sure if it would violate rules to post it. It is a site where you can rent/purchase directly from owners, rather than RCI. Thanks for all the responses to this question! It has been so helpful!

My advice dont bite off too--- much --a circle route has been the downfall others locks are about the same energy and time as changing a car tire. concider this when choosing a route

A circle is no different than an out and back - - just you're always covering new ground. The locks are identical and take the same effort, either ascending or descending - - two cranks at each end, plus two gate tails (sometimes only one on a narrow lock). If somebody else is directly ahead or behind you, you only have to do half the work. Passage in either direction takes ten to fifteen minutes. The only effort is the first turn on a crank (a kid can do it) or trying to swing the gate before the water pressure is off (kids can do that too).