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Forget Me Not

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Hi everyone, I'm after recommendations for a narrowboat holiday. I've not got a lot of spare cash (understatement!) but all the advice is that, if you are planning to liveaboard, you should try a holiday first. So I'm looking for advice about

1 Easy stretches of canal suitable for total beginners.

2 The cheapest times of year to book.

3 Recommendations for the best hiring companies

Im only planning a short 4 day break and hoping to spend £500 or less.

Thank you all in advance.

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A bit of a distance from Melton Mowbray but the Bridgewater Canal is good for beginners I think, with no locks you can concentrate on steering, mooring etc. and the lack of locks means you can travel that much further. When we first thought of buying a boat we did a boat handling course with Cheshire Cat Training based at Overwater Marina, then hired a boat for a week from Claymoore on the Bridgewater.  We did that in October last year. I'd recommend both  businesses. Claymoore do short bookings. Earlier and later in the year are generally the cheapest times to book but remember the days will be shorter so less time for cruising although if you plan to live aboard it may be best to sample the canals when the weather is bleak and cold. Many hire firms offer last minute bookings at considerable savings.

Edited by bill brown
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Thousands of folk new to canals manage a holiday which includes locks every year. If your holiday is a taster before becoming a liveaboard, don't go for too easy a section and certainly don't avoid locks. The good thing about your shortage of cash to spend on this 'taster' is that you can save money by going in the most off-peak of times, which is essential if you are to get anything like the experience you need. You may also benefit from taking out a hire boat at the end of the market in which you will be buying. 

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Surely of the OP is planning to get a boat at some point then a stretch of canal with some locks would be better?

All bases will give you some basic tuition that will be enough to get you on your way.

The hire boats on the Chesterfield Canal are cheap enough. Not the most modern but they look clean and tidy enough.

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Try Wyvern at https://www.waterwaysholidays.com

If you select the first dates in March next year and select Show All Available there are some short breaks for around £500 and if yo head north from Leighton Buzzard you'll go through several locks but not too many plus some long stretches of beautiful countryside and semi-urban areas.

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3 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

The only thing to bear in mind is that most hire companies don’t like hiring to just one person. 

...nor indeed to all-male or all-female groups, as they apparently fear that said groups will don pirate clobber, drink every waterside pub dry and become boisterous, not necessarily in that order.

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Just now, Athy said:

...nor indeed to all-male or all-female groups, as they apparently fear that said groups will don pirate clobber, drink every waterside pub dry and become boisterous, not necessarily in that order.

True, but I dont think that applies to just 2 people of the same gender.

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5 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

True, but I dont think that applies to just 2 people of the same gender.

I have no idea how many people constitute a "group" in the eyes of hire companies - more than one would be an interpretation - but it is worth checking with the O.P.'s chosen hire company.

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8 hours ago, Athy said:

...nor indeed to all-male or all-female groups, as they apparently fear that said groups will don pirate clobber, drink every waterside pub dry and become boisterous, not necessarily in that order.

Er, based on hire companies on the K & A western end, the above behaviour is mandatory

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Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions, I really appreciate the input.

 I will check the links out. I will be taking a female friend with me as I know I'll not manage the locks on my own as a newbie and I'm not sure how I'll manage even when I've more experience. I am also planning to take a helmsman course and an engine maintainance course. I really want to do the helmsman course before I hire the boat. I was thinking of WillowWren but I will check out Cheshire Cat too or any other recommendations that you might have.

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11 hours ago, Forget Me Not said:

Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions, I really appreciate the input.

 I will check the links out. I will be taking a female friend with me as I know I'll not manage the locks on my own as a newbie and I'm not sure how I'll manage even when I've more experience. I am also planning to take a helmsman course and an engine maintainance course. I really want to do the helmsman course before I hire the boat. I was thinking of WillowWren but I will check out Cheshire Cat too or any other recommendations that you might have.

Have you thought as offering yourself as crew? There might be another single handed boater who would welcome the help and company for a trip or two.

 

Kevin

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13 hours ago, Forget Me Not said:

Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions, I really appreciate the input.

 I will check the links out. I will be taking a female friend with me as I know I'll not manage the locks on my own as a newbie and I'm not sure how I'll manage even when I've more experience. I am also planning to take a helmsman course and an engine maintainance course. I really want to do the helmsman course before I hire the boat. I was thinking of WillowWren but I will check out Cheshire Cat too or any other recommendations that you might have.

This may be a bit of a flyer (that is, inappropriate - or seemingly so), but give a bit of consideration to the course that's run at Bisham Abbey on the Thames. OK - it's a way to go, but there's more chance to get some real experience of how to handle a boat, not only because it's a river with some flow, but also it's WIDE - and that means you'll get experience in manoeuvring and turning a boat because of that space of water. You can even learn something about locks in general on the Thames. 

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On 18 November 2017 at 10:59, Kev's Halcyon said:

Have you thought as offering yourself as crew? There might be another single handed boater who would welcome the help and company for a trip or two.

 

Kevin

I didn't know that was a thing you could do. It sounds like a really good idea, thank you. Where would I advertise that, is there a thread on here?  Found the thread, thank you.

On 18 November 2017 at 13:11, OldGoat said:

This may be a bit of a flyer (that is, inappropriate - or seemingly so), but give a bit of consideration to the course that's run at Bisham Abbey on the Thames. OK - it's a way to go, but there's more chance to get some real experience of how to handle a boat, not only because it's a river with some flow, but also it's WIDE - and that means you'll get experience in manoeuvring and turning a boat because of that space of water. You can even learn something about locks in general on the Thames. 

Thank you. I will check them out.

Edited by Forget Me Not
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19 minutes ago, Forget Me Not said:

I didn't know that was a thing you could do. It sounds like a really good idea, thank you. Where would I advertise that, is there a thread on here?  Found the thread, thank you.

Thank you. I will check them out.

Just give as much information about yourself as you feel confident with (remembering that this is an open forum), any dates you would like to travel, areas you would like to travel in etc. There will probably also be boaters who will be happy to give you a day trip from and back to their home mooring.

 

If you're ever in East Yorkshire, I can take you on a good trip from Thorne which includes an electric pedestrian bridge, and electric lock, followed by a manual road bridge, then an electric road bridge and a manual lock. In a 12 mile round trip, that's experience of the majority of obstacles you'll encounter on the canal system.

 

Kevin

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27 minutes ago, Kev's Halcyon said:

In a 12 mile round trip, that's experience of the majority of obstacles you'll encounter on the canal system.

 

Kevin

Thinking of another thread currently running, make sure there's a boat moored on a lock landing as well.

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18 hours ago, Kev's Halcyon said:

If you're ever in East Yorkshire, I can take you on a good trip from Thorne which includes an electric pedestrian bridge, and electric lock, followed by a manual road bridge, then an electric road bridge and a manual lock. In a 12 mile round trip, that's experience of the majority of obstacles you'll encounter on the canal system.

 

Kevin

Thank you so much, that is really generous of you. I may well take you up on that offer in the New Year. 

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