Canals

[DaveyWavey]

Hi folks,

I know this is UK Rivers Guide, but I was wondering if any of you good folks knows anything about kayaking on canals...

Are they open access, no hassle places or even worse than rivers?
What about the working canals, say the brecon to radnor one (or wherever it goes), or the bristol-bath canal, etc, could I just jump on there with my kayaks and go head to head with the longboats?

Any thoughts or knowledge gratefully accepted, thanks.

DW

[maryinoxford]

You need a licence to kayak the canals, and the simplest way to get one is to join the British Canoe Union. Membership £35 a year, gets a one-boat licence that covers the canal network, Thames and some other rivers. There are a few restrictions, e.g. I'm pretty sure canoes/kayaks are not allowed in canal tunnels. Display the licence, and you're entitled to use the canals, but watch out for bigger boats. A narrowboat in the hands of an inexperienced holidaymaker can be a danger to small craft.

At point of membership, the BCU splits off into sub-sections for England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland. I believe that whichever one you join, you still get the national licence, but you might want to check that. I hope some Welsh members on this board will chip in with their knowledge, because trying to get questions answered by the BCU can be an uphill struggle.

Start your research here, anyway: http://bcu.org.uk/about/membership/

Mary

[DaveyWavey]

Fantastic, thank you so much Mary, that is very much appreciated.

DW

[chriscw]

You can indeed paddle on Canals, often they are not busy but some certainly are, the Llangollen one being a case in point where the canal is both busy and in places quite narrow. Of course as always there are anglers to contend with, they are never aggressive on canals, at least not that I have heard like a minority on some rivers can be. This is all the more reason to show them consideration, many believe that passing boats disturb their fishing many more believe that they catch more fish after a boat has passed so be sensitive and do give them time to get their rods out of your way our to give you an indication of where they would like you to pass.

I have certainly seen kayaks and Canoes going through canal tunnels whether or not they are allowed to, the normal method if there is a bit of traffic is to follow a canal boat as passing in tunnels is not normally possible this does make things safer you cannot be run down by someone coming the other way who did not see you.

Joining the BCU is a cost effective way to get a licence that covers your for almost all waterways that need one, otherwise you may find that if you plan to paddle on different canals you will need different licences each costing nearly as much as BCU membership. That said your licence will not often get checked but all the same fair is fair these are maintained waterways that cost money to keep up so paying something towards this seems like a sensible thing to do.

[pjmartin]

I believe British Waterways and the EA recognise Canoe Wales membership cards, so presumably that's all you need to carry to avoid hassle.

[jmmoxon]

Also useful is the BW website: http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-ri ... econ-canal

If you live in Wales you can get Basic WCA membership for £28 which includes the canal licence, a BW licence for year is £39.40.

Mike

[morsey]

Do not get BCU membership for canal use, get a British Waterways licence. If you intend to paddle roughly every other weekend it costs less than Basic BCU membership.

[chriscw]

Morsey understandably disproves of the BCU / Canoe England stance on access which is ambiguous to say the least. But a WCA licence is your best bet despite it meaning joining the BCU which is in most paddlers opinion a pretty poor NGB. If you have not already done so and fell you need a licence it is probably your best bet.

[morsey]

Chris they are called Canoe Wales. If you only intend to paddle for a limited number of days the British Waterways licence is cheaper. British Waterways have helped developed canals and addressed many issues to make them accessible to all, especially for recreation, they are transparent with their finances and it is clear to see where your licence fee goes. Regardless of the politics of the Canoe organisations, sadly Canoe Wales remains part of BCU, the optimum financial outlay for limited canal use is to take out a BW licence.

[chriscw]

But not if you plan to use canals and other 'paid' for waterways on a regular basis.

The BCU policy if they have one appears to be based on the fact that they beleive (unfortunately they are correct in this belief) that no one is going to legislate to make the existing legal right of access to all river clearer because a vocal minority of MPs are of the 'POSH' angler brigade who wopuld like everyone to believe that riparian rights and navigation rights are the same thing.

The Access issue is probably not the worst thing the BCU have done, that would be their destruction of the coaching system!

[morsey]

Cannot argue with figures:
£32.75 Basic BCU Membership
£28.45 30 day Multi use BW licence

If you want cheap membership of an organisation to allow you to use canals and rivers the Stand Up Paddle Board Association Membership presents the deal breaker:
£28 SUP membership, £35 Family SUP membership.

[jmmoxon]

Um, you can get Canoe Wales membership from £28 and paddle as many days as you like...

Mike

[Sweepdog]

Whoever supplies the licence/authority to paddle it, I can say that the lower end of the Neath Canal from Briton Ferry upward is a very nice place to be. I cycled along the towpath the other night (NCN 47 for those who know about these things), and I very much fancied taking my own boat onto it.

[chriscw]

Cannot argue with figures:
£32.75 Basic BCU Membership
£28.45 30 day Multi use BW licence

If you want cheap membership of an organisation to allow you to use canals and rivers the Stand Up Paddle Board Association Membership presents the deal breaker:
£28 SUP membership, £35 Family SUP membership.

So you are saying BW multiday licence at £28.45 = £341.4 for 12 months use is not a good deal compared to CE or CW membership at £28 basic, £32.75 comprehensive. Shows what a good deal the CW or CE membership is then and for that matter the stand up paddle board association! I am sure that BW do a better deal than 12 off 30 day licences though. The BIG advantage to the CW, CE and I'm sure the Stand Up Paddle board people too is that it includes not just BW but most other waters where you might need to pay and third part insurance to cover you if you damage someone else's property or person while out paddling.

It really depends on how often you want to paddle, just during May each year or any time you like.

Again though I have to say I cannot recall EVER having my licence checked except when passing through Thames Locks. Most likely if you do get caught you will just be asked to buy a day, week or month licence on the spot. To be fair as I said before if using artificial maintained waterways then paying for the privilege is fair enough, natural rivers are another matter.

[morsey]

So you are saying BW multiday licence at £28.45 = £341.4 for 12 months use is not a good deal compared to CE or CW membership at £28 basic, £32.75 comprehensive.

Haha! sourcing twelve of the thirty multi day licences!?! That would be financially retarded (and leave you five/six days short if you were attempting annual cover)!

I'll see if I can clear up what I was saying:
Canoe England: Basic Membership - £32.75 > is MORE than >BW 30 multi day licence - £28.45

If you intend to paddle roughly every other weekend it costs less than Basic BCU membership.

If you only intend to paddle for a limited number of days the British Waterways licence is cheaper.

the optimum financial outlay for limited canal use is to take out a BW licence.

If you want cheap membership of an organisation to allow you to use canals and rivers the Stand Up Paddle Board Association Membership presents the deal breaker:
£28 SUP membership, £35 Family SUP membership.

If you need further convincing that the BW licence system is cheaper for limited use canals/rivers in the BW network:
BW 1 month licence £20.32
BW 1 week licence £12.18
BW 1 day licence £4.07
For canals alone approx 40% reduction.

BCU/CE membership costs more than Canoe Wales! No mention of the Thames on the CW membership!

I am not so sure I would be happy promoting membership based on the insurance aspect. If it turned out that the insurance was not required and the membership had been "mis-sold" where would that leave you!?!

[Scots_Charles_River]

Nothing required up here. Although if doing the Caledonian canal, worth buying a shower/toilet key.

Nick

[oboat]

Hi folks,

I know this is UK Rivers Guide, but I was wondering if any of you good folks knows anything about kayaking on canals...

Are they open access, no hassle places or even worse than rivers?
What about the working canals, say the brecon to radnor one (or wherever it goes), or the bristol-bath canal, etc, could I just jump on there with my kayaks and go head to head with the longboats?

Any thoughts or knowledge gratefully accepted, thanks.

DW

The Neath & Tennant Canals are still in private ownership and for anybody who is planning to do the OBS trips this week-end no licences is necessary as the Welsh Waterway Festival is an IWA sponsored event. The River Neath below the Sunday meeting point at Aberdulais is tidal so again no licence required. For more details see Welsh Waterway Festival/OBS posting.

[oboat]

Whoever supplies the licence/authority to paddle it, I can say that the lower end of the Neath Canal from Briton Ferry upward is a very nice place to be. I cycled along the towpath the other night (NCN 47 for those who know about these things), and I very much fancied taking my own boat onto it.

Not BW waterways so no licence required for the OBS event (s) this weekend. Just turn up.

[theswimmer]

The Neath & Tennant Canals are still in private ownership and for anybody who is planning to do the OBS trips this week-end no licences is necessary as the Welsh Waterway Festival is an IWA sponsored event. The River Neath below the Sunday meeting point at Aberdulais is tidal so again no licence required. For more details see Welsh Waterway Festival/OBS posting.oboat

As a newcomer to the sport I am now a little confused! (not unusual)!
If the Neath and Tennant canals are both 'private', does this mean I cannot paddle them anyway? I hope this is not the case as I live locally to them both and had intended to use the section above Aberdulais, (where there is a purpose built entry point?) to practice my very poor skills!

Advise please?