One of our bucket list items for sure. Have a wonderful time! I especially enjoy seeing the world from a waterway - you get a totally different take on an area. Enjoy getting away from it all
That’s the same company we have used several times. They have a number of different boat sizes and layouts and you can often choose the bed configuration. They have a number of different bases around the UK canal network, and their size means that there is always support available if there is an issue with the boat.
We did a 2 week trip in order to give us plenty of time to do a circular route without having to rush. Part way through the second week our fridge stopped working. My husband managed to pull it out and have a look and saw that some wiring had corroded. We were actually moored at the Black Country Museum and had planned to spend a day in the museum with no travelling. We phoned the helpline and told them where we were moored, and they came and fixed it while we were enjoying the museum. The timing could not have been better!
@Vanessa_A Have a fantastic week on the canals and a very Happy Birthday!
If you’re on Facebook there’s a page for canal boats. Lots of good information. Make sure to watch the videos from the canal trust.
Finally my update And I have to say we are converts! Absolutely loved our between sits canal boat trip even though it involved just a short section of the Kennet & Avon. It was a perfect mix of laid back, relaxing time but with some challenges and skill learning … after all several tons of steel boat is no mean feat to manoeuvre!! And everything is that much harder with just two of you on board!
On our short trip we perfected our mooring skills (particularly outside pubs!!), turning the boat, otherwise known as “winding”, opening and closing swing bridges (realising sometimes you end up on wrong side of canal to the boat ), a couple of short tunnels, 2 aqueducts and 10 consecutive locks to join the River Avon … 5 down and 5 back up again
We negotiated the second deepest lock in England which left me exhausted after opening, closing gates and “paddles” (where the water comes in and out), but was preferable to being down in that deep confined space with a huge boat and swirling water!! It also got me lots of sympathy from passers by
One of the most special moments was the approach into Bath. Having lived in Bristol for many years, I’ve been to Bath by most forms of transport, but this was by far the best! Almost like a Venice moment and totally recommended!
So, if you get the chance to try this out, please do. We are going to look for end of season offers to try a different canal system in Northern England. We are obsessed now with “The Canal Boat Diaries” currently airing on BBC4 (UK) - a young guy who lives and travels the canals of England!
Flipping fabulous and what a story teller!
Wonderful memories you’ve brought for me!
WoW!! Very nice!!
Love this! Will definitely add an experience like this to our bucket list!
So good to read of your wonderful experience onboard the narrow boat as you slowly travelled along part of the Avon and Kennet system @Vanessa_A. Love the pics!
Oh, that’s glorious! Have had a couple of narrowboat holidays - two weeks with family when I was about 14, and a week with friends when I was about 22. The latter was up and down the Shropshire Union: I remember when we arrived in Chester all being astounded by the speed of the city [AKA a perfectly normal day but we’d adjusted to life at 4mph maximum ]