Drowsy Maggie

Plank Lane is now key / self-operated. It has restrictions at rush hours morning and evening - something like 8 - 9 am, and 4:30 - 6 pm.

F Drake - I think you mean a screensave? I would like to be able to download the entire map, so I can search it offline when I have no internet connection. Any ideas, anyone?

I've just been to Llangollen and back and it is VERY busy - and not even the school holidays yet. I agree with rgreg above. The Leeds-Liverpool around Skipton is very nice indeed, and you could take the Skipton - Settle - Appleby train ride before or after your boat. It's the Settle-Carlisle route (reputed to be the prettiest in Britain) but there's no need to go all the way to Carlisle. Appleby is the 'far' side of the Dales National Park, and is a nice little town to see for a few hours. Skipton Narrowboats may have availability? You could even hire a widebeam on that stretch. Pleanty of swing bridges as well as locks. If you went the other way, towards Leeds, you could see Saltaire, and 'do' the Bingley 5-rise. Personally I'd avoid the Cheshire ring. A week is rushing it, and the middle of Manchester (the Rochdale 9) is an unpleasant experience.

Could you please add a 'Help' page for newbies. For example, How do I ad a 'label' (flag?) to a post? If you DO add a Help, (or one already exists) can you make it easy to find?

The CRT 'KM-Length' map is here... https://canalrivertrust.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTools/index.html?appid=b46e3e0bda4a44a0be267df7674139a5 In the search box use, for example 'GU-100' (2 letter canal, 3 digit Km position along canal) If you zoom in far enough you will see dots on the canal. These are 25 Metres apart. Click on a dot to get its full place reference. It can be very difficult to see the start and end of a single KM-length, as CRT use dark blue for the highlighted length, on light blue for the rest of the waterway (Doh!) If anyone finds a way to DOWNLOAD this map please, please let me know CROPREDY is around OX-072

Very handy - Thank you

http://www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk/boating/stoppages/default.aspx

Succinct! Does 'nope' refer to just the Tipton / Dudley area, or the whole BCN? How about Ladywood, for example? Thanks :o)

Just to clarify, the ACS laundry list http://www.aylesburycanal.org.uk/#!acs-laundry -list /c18gi is not available to browse online, only available to BUY a copy online £4-50. But the money goes to a good cause (the IWA I think, or maybe ACS itself)

I'd like to go through the centre of Brum, either Old Line or New Line, and stop over to watch Alarum Theatre's 'Idle Women' show. I've not stopped overnight in Birmingham before except in Gas St, which is well lit and busy so pretty safe. Are there any spots around Tipton, say, that I should avoid overnighting?

I find a lot of (inexperienced?) boaters drop their engine revs moments before reaching my boat, and increase them again the moment they've passed. They don't realise the engine revs are irrelevant - it's the displacement of water i.e. their boat's speed through the water combined with the canal depth, that is the issue. On deep canals (e.g. Glos-Sharpness shipping canal) there's no need to slow at all, whereas on a shallow canal (Llangollen, Macclesfield etc) there's much more consideration required.

Thank you all. I didn't realise I booked it online. I just looked, and it's pretty full all summer already. A few dates in late June and fewer in July.

Can anyone please give me a rough idea how far ahead I need to book the Ribble Link, to go Northwards in late June / earlu July?

CRT are trialling this on Sandfield Bridge (by Saul Junction) but have a bridge keeper there too. The bridge keeper at Junction Bridge (300 yds north of Sandfield) sometimes covers both bridges. There is no sign at this time of a phone app. It was rumoured, but now looks unlikely - what happens if the local kids play with the app? What if a pedestrian is on the bridge at the time? etc &c.

Update (?) of web site for info on visitor licence fees... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/river-thames-boat-registration-charges