We like boating because  other than having to get the boat back to it's base by the end of the holiday there are very few restrictions on how you arrange you cruise. Other than the overall speed limit of 4 MPH (I recommend that 3 MPH is a more realistic and enjoyable pace) and there being no night navigation allowed in hire craft, how you arrange your cruising time is your own affair.

As you always have toilets, beds, cooking facilities with you all the time you can decide weather to moor up in so called civilisation and make use of the many canal side pubs for a meal or to find the middle of nowhere and provide your own amusement for the night.

We tend to avoid mooring in civilisation at night, with the exception of one evening meal, and the last night when we always return to the hire base and spend the night. If there is a convenient lunch time pub, then we'll use it, and now opening times are much less restricted many canal side pubs are keen to promote their services, they also offer good secure moorings. Remember though that at night when people come out they may not be very quiet so if you have children on board this may wake them up at closing time.

There are few formal rules about mooring, so here goes :-

1) No mooring in locks or at the moorings reserved for lock operations.
2) Don't moor up at refuse, water or toilet stops longer than you have to.
3) Don't moor where you cause an obstruction, remember some craft can and do navigate at night.
4) Don't moor up in tunnels or under bridges.
5) Don't leave mooring ropes across footpaths.
6) Only moor up on the towpath side unless moorings are specifically provided on the other side.
7) Don't moor up in, or obstruct, the winding holes (turning areas).

Now the unofficial rules :-

1) Avoid civilisation except at recognised mooring sites such as pubs and boatyards.
2) If mooring rings are provided use them in preference to your own spikes, they're more permanent.
3) Don't moor up where the boat is grounded out unless you really have to, firstly it makes a grinding noise all night, secondly you will have to use the gang plank to get ashore.
4) If using piling to moor make sure you use 'piling hooks' - don't tie your rope around the piling, it will wear through.
 

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