Friendly water in the West Midlands

[Simonp]

You missed out the Vintage Railway next door! Its probably the best serviced bit of water in the Mids.

SimonP

[welshhealey]

Yeah I agree with Rapier on the access .. in fact the m6 toll runs right alongside the souhern shore of the lake ! and is literally 2 min from the motorway. The bank of the M6 toll were built up on purpose I think to stop drivers getting distracted as they drive passed .. it's that close. and a good attration for the family also is there's a vintage railway that runs round the lake in which the station and engine sheds are right by the sportscentre club house :cheers:

[welshhealey]

oops missed simonp post about railway sorry to duplicate the subject

[Dakota]

Hi Simonp,

I am more than happy in joining you guys to champion the cause - it is a great location - plenty of water and good facilities but more importantly a doddle to get to - the southern guys can use the canals if need be

[Simonp]

Dakota

Give me a ring

I have sent you a private message

Thanks

Simon

[bigminiandy]

Hi, i live and work literally 10 minutes from chasewater. Your bang on, it's a great place.

The service manger at the car dealership i work for is a member of the ski club there. He has told me (I haven't actually seen the lake recently) that the lake has lost a lot of its water due to the maintenance being conducted on the dam end of the water.

[Carvalin]

Just picking up on this slightly tepid thread, but is there a general opportunity for people to share their favourite/local "runs" on the forum? Just detailing friendly launch sites (whether lake, river, or sea where you dont have to sell a kidney to pay for the car park), a decent pub where you can moor up for lunch, areas for a blast etc etc. I for one am already starting to wonder whats available ouside of the Thames, but really don't know where to start (yes I'm itching to get the Big Twin opened up somewhere!). I know that the organised runs do this and very well indeed, but I can never get along to enough of them to broaden my horizons..... just a thought.

Andy

[Alacrity]

Hi Andy

In theory we have this already in the 'Venue's' section, althought there are not that many places listed.

I have an even worse problem than you - at least you have the Thames nearby that you can get on for a reasonable fee, down here in Eastbourne the harbour - where I live and the water is 5 mins walk from my house - want to charge me £65.00 for launch & recovery with a huge hoist, Newhaven want £25.00 for a tractor launch. Both these places however have absolutely nowhere to go & you are on an exposed coast. It is for this reason that most of my non - 'CMBA official' boating is done down on Southampton water, where prices are reasonable & there are places to go & things to see + pubs etc. That said I still have a 1 3/4 - 2 1/2 hour trip to get there but it is well worth it. Rapier has put up a nicely detailed post on this spot in the Venue's section.

Another thing to think about - especially when on open water is the worry about breakdowns in these old tubs of ours, even the best maintained of boats will probably have a 30 - 40 year old motor on/in it, so there is an increased risk of breakdown. An informal 'get together' run like Nick's Itchy Scratcin' runs provide security in numbers - you may have some idea what I am talking about . . .

[Carvalin]

Ahh, didn't see the Venues section - excellent. Thanks Alicrity for the painful, but quite correct reminder re saftey in numbers .

Andy

[C2c]

The places/clubs that don't reply to you in any format are by their silence/unwelcome manner,quietly hoping that u'll Not Return and go elsewhere to pursue your hobby. This happened on a lake in England some years ago and went from catering to all users, to just a select few today.