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Worcester to Stratford vs. Stourport Ring


greensha

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Hi All!

I'm looking for some advice about which route might be best to take for a one week (7 nights) trip leaving from Worcester.  The two routes we have been looking at are an out-and-back to Stratford and the Stourport Ring.  We will be starting out on Monday, July 24th and have to be back to Worcester by 9am the following Monday.  We are leaning towards doing the out-and-back to Stratford, but we a little concerned about finding moorings at the various stopping places.  How likely is it that some towns might have no available moorings, either for a lunchtime  or overnight stop?  This would be a bit of a disaster as it would force us to press on to the next destination.

If we choose the ring option, I don't think mooring would be a problem (from what I've read) but is this a nice route to take?  I know we will pass through some fairly urban and industrial areas, but is there enough real English countryside (including pubs) to make up for it?  If the canal is busy, how much of delay would you expect at the locks?  On the ring, it would seem that we are more committed to the original route than we are on the out-and-back.

Any advice and/or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Andy

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Hi Andy, I think you'd be a bit pushed to make Stratford and back in a week from the bottom of  the Tardebigge flight - unless you go up the Avon.  You can check on Canalplan: http://canalplan.org.uk/

The Stourport ring is doable in a week with long cruising days, in fact this was our 1st introduction to boating 20 years ago but we had to keep on locking in a deluge and surf down the Severn on amber, neither of which I would do again. For me now, both your routes are 10 day trips or more.

As for planned moorings: it's just luck or karma, although the later you arrive the less luck you'll have. Usually you can find a spot, it just may involve a longer walk along the towpath to your destination.

Edited by nikvah
caveat: unless you go up the Avon
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Stratford and return by canal is 220 locks. Mooring wouldn't be a problem though. The Avon Ring is technically possible in 7 nights but ideally it is 10 days. Stratford to Worcester is quicker via the Avon.

The Stourport Ring is very attractive. The Staffs & Worcs canal is one of the most beautiful on the network and going via the Stourbridge Canal is interesting in its own right. The lock flights on the Worcester & Birmingham are very rural are despite being lots of locks they are easy to work. There are plenty of places where a short stop could be justified and you shouldn't be pushed for time. It's a standard one week trip done by many hire boats every week.

JP

Edited by Captain Pegg
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I've done the Avon Ring in a week with a novice crew and it wasn't easy, it was on a hire boat, we arrived back a late on the Saturday and had to moor overnight in one of the short pounds on Lapworth as to have any chance of making it back we had to keep going until it was dark.  Didn't get time to stop in Stratford.

If you just go down the Severn and up the Avon, then return the same route you should be fine depending what time you get away.

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Do the ring. Assuming you can even manage it, you'll find Stratford and back hard work in a week and, whilst getting maximum mileage out of your hire week seems essential to good value, you'll get all you need out of the ring. There's a lot of variety on that route, so you'll not be left wishing you'd taken on something more scenic or more challenging. Have a great time!

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18 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Do the ring. Assuming you can even manage it, you'll find Stratford and back hard work in a week and, whilst getting maximum mileage out of your hire week seems essential to good value, you'll get all you need out of the ring. There's a lot of variety on that route, so you'll not be left wishing you'd taken on something more scenic or more challenging. Have a great time!

Seconded. Worcester to Stratford is too much for a one week trip as it would be a series of 10 to 12 hour days involving between 20 and 40 locks every day.

JP

Edited by Captain Pegg
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Reading the OP I was thinking that the out and back to Stratford that they were considering was via the river, hence the point about mooring.  By canal that sounds like a big ask in a week and it is a heck of a lot of locks.  By river it is not quite such a challenge.

The trip to Stratford on the Severn/Avon is a very different type of trip to doing the Stourport ring, I don't think you can really compare them, and to me the OP should be foremost guided about the type of trip that they want, either river or canal.

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2 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Reading the OP I was thinking that the out and back to Stratford that they were considering was via the river, hence the point about mooring.  By canal that sounds like a big ask in a week and it is a heck of a lot of locks.  By river it is not quite such a challenge.

The trip to Stratford on the Severn/Avon is a very different type of trip to doing the Stourport ring, I don't think you can really compare them, and to me the OP should be foremost guided about the type of trip that they want, either river or canal.

Possibly. Still don't think mooring would be a problem. Wrong type of boat would be more of an issue.

JP

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2 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

Possibly. Still don't think mooring would be a problem. Wrong type of boat would be more of an issue.

JP

No I don't think mooring would be a problem either.  But if you don't know the Avon it is a good question to ask, and you would do Tewkesbury to Worcester in one hop so no need to moor on the Severn.

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Just now, john6767 said:

No I don't think mooring would be a problem either.  But if you don't know the Avon it is a good question to ask, and you would do Tewkesbury to Worcester in one hop so no need to moor on the Severn.

I would still stick with the Stourport Ring though. Don't see much point in spending a week on rivers in a canal boat.

JP

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My experience of the Avon is there stopping in a narrow boat isn't easy. You can't just pull over wherever you like. Bidford and Evesham are fine if you can find space.

Of course my view might be colored by the fact we broke down, and had a real job getting the boat to somewhere near a road, thanks to the boat who towed us.

Sue

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Another one for Stourport.

Stratford is an attractive destination but the locks are unremitting. It doesn't take long to 'do' the town and that leaves Mary whatsit's farm. Doing Stratford from the Avon is more pleasant and less of a push, but - as is said - few mooring places. You can also 'do' Worcester.

With the Stourport ring there are more opportunities for visits. 

We used to crash around the system, not stopping at many places - and that's a great mistake.  

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Thank you for all the replies.  I should have been a bit more specific when I said Worcester to Stratford; I was thinking of heading down the Severn and then up the Avon, not going on the Avon ring.  My worry about the river option would be finding moorings in town.  We are leaving from Lowesmoor Wharf (with ABC Boat Hire) in Worcester, if that makes any difference at all.  Thirty years ago, when I was 20, we did the Avon from Stratford and I think we got to Upton-on-Severn, but my memory is a bit hazy.  I understand that the waterways are a bit busier these days, hence my concern about moorings.  I've attached a PDF with the itinerary I put together with the help of canalplan.  Does it look realistic?

As a bit of background, I grew up in the UK (in Marple, the junction of the Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals) and I have lived in the US for 30 years.  My wife and in-laws are American, so all the pressure is on me to get this right!  To be honest I think we would likely be fine whichever route we pick, but I did want to get the opinion of those more informed.

Thanks!

 

Canal Boat Holiday 2017.pdf

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4 minutes ago, greensha said:

Thank you for all the replies.  I should have been a bit more specific when I said Worcester to Stratford; I was thinking of heading down the Severn and then up the Avon, not going on the Avon ring.  My worry about the river option would be finding moorings in town.  We are leaving from Lowesmoor Wharf (with ABC Boat Hire) in Worcester, if that makes any difference at all.  Thirty years ago, when I was 20, we did the Avon from Stratford and I think we got to Upton-on-Severn, but my memory is a bit hazy.  I understand that the waterways are a bit busier these days, hence my concern about moorings.  I've attached a PDF with the itinerary I put together with the help of canalplan.  Does it look realistic?

As a bit of background, I grew up in the UK (in Marple, the junction of the Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals) and I have lived in the US for 30 years.  My wife and in-laws are American, so all the pressure is on me to get this right!  To be honest I think we would likely be fine whichever route we pick, but I did want to get the opinion of those more informed.

Thanks!

 

Canal Boat Holiday 2017.pdf

That looks a good plan to me, and given the history you have explained I would say do that route.  If your family have never been to Stratford then it makes a very good destination for the trip.

My main comment would be, the mooring at Upton is very limited, you will most likely need to breast up to another boat and be happy to climb over another boat to get ashore.  A plan that does not have stopping at Upton (other than optionally for lunch) would give more certainty.

As to moorings on the Avon, there are more than just in the towns, they are listed here http://www.avonnavigationtrust.org/downloads/Services Mar 130001.pdf and if you use canalplan.co.uk then you will be able to identify their locations.  You will get a leaflet with you Avon licence which you will need to buy, £50 for the week.

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After some discussion with the family, I think we have decided on the Stourport ring.  I did some trip planning on canalplan and after a lot of looking at potential lunch stops and overnight mooring places, I was left wondering if there is any difference in which way you do the ring? 

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1 hour ago, greensha said:

After some discussion with the family, I think we have decided on the Stourport ring.  I did some trip planning on canalplan and after a lot of looking at potential lunch stops and overnight mooring places, I was left wondering if there is any difference in which way you do the ring? 

Some prefer to travel downstream on the river.

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2 hours ago, greensha said:

After some discussion with the family, I think we have decided on the Stourport ring.  I did some trip planning on canalplan and after a lot of looking at potential lunch stops and overnight mooring places, I was left wondering if there is any difference in which way you do the ring? 

Hire boats from Lowesmoor Basin will have a folder including route information for the Stourport Ring that I believe will guide you to going anti-clockwise. That's certainly how I did it a few years ago but I am sure you can choose.

Lots to see on the route so it can have a bearing on the direction of travel if there are specific things you wish to see.

JP

 

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One of my concerns with the direction of the route was getting through the Tardebigge flight efficiently.  I don't want to get stuck at the bottom if we arrive too late in the day to make it up the flight as I gather there are no places to moor overnight once on the flight.  

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32 minutes ago, greensha said:

One of my concerns with the direction of the route was getting through the Tardebigge flight efficiently.  I don't want to get stuck at the bottom if we arrive too late in the day to make it up the flight as I gather there are no places to moor overnight once on the flight.  

There are places you could stop if you needed. The passage up the locks from Worcester to Birmingham will be quicker than any planning aid will tell you unless you have a crew of two and aren't rushing or it is exceptionally busy. My experience of Tardebigge is that it is more likely to be quiet than busy although there are certain times when the Black Prince or Anglo-Welsh boats are nose to tail. The flight is very rural and above the top lock is a beautiful spot but there is nothing on the flight at all after the pub at the bottom. Nowhere for a refreshing beer or an ice cream.

You will likely moor on your second night either above or below the Tardebigge flight. Birmingham is about 5 hours from the top and 8 from the bottom.

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