A Narrow Boat Trip in England
A Narrow Boat Trip in England
They went for a week at the astounding rate of four miles an hour to go a mere 50 miles. They loved every minute and never got bored.
It took my friends Paula and Tom Eldridge all of a week at the astounding rate of four miles an hour to go a mere 50 miles on the Kennet and Avon Canal in southwestern England this past summer. Yes, had they been a bit younger, they might have been able to walk faster than the 65-feet-long, 10-feet-wide narrow boat they rented. Despite the slow speed, they say they had a wonderful time and were never bored.
When Paula posted just some of her photos and talked about how relaxing it was – as a friend of theirs said, “it’s the fastest way to slow down” – I wanted to learn more about their adventure narrow boating.
The Eldridges both grew up in picturesque Rockport, Mass., right on the ocean. They moved back to their home town (and Paula’s childhood home) when they retired more than a decade ago. It’s an understatement to say they love boating. They owned a 34-foot sailboat for 10 years and sailed all up and down the New England coast. They’ve done windjammer cruises and have taken canal trips in both France and Sweden. “We like boats,” said Tom, who, by the way, was a helmsman on a nuclear submarine when he was in the Navy. “Anything that is boating appeals to us.”
And, while living in Rockport gave them the love of the water and boating, it also gave them the opportunity to try boating of a different nature: taking a narrow boat on an English canal. Their Rockport home was a perfect place to use for home exchange vacations and that’s how the Eldridges met Nick and Tina Benson from Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England. “We exchanged houses with them in 2014 and struck up a friendship over the past 10 years,” explained Paula. “They visited us last September and proposed we go on a narrow boat vacation together.”
It didn’t take Paula and Tom long to decide that it sounded like a good idea. With a bit of research (https://www.cruise-england.co.uk/) they discovered that it’s a very popular activity. “It’s almost like RV-ing here where people go and live on the road,” said Tom. “There they go and live on the canal.”
These canals were built before railroads and highways.
They learned that the canals were originally built before railroads and highways as the most efficient way to deliver goods to the countryside, but they had fallen into disrepair. “They were overgrown and filling in,” explained Tom, “but finally people woke up and said they are historic and beautiful and we should save them.” So, volunteer groups throughout Europe took on the task and made the canals useable again for recreation. And along most of them, they also cleared the tow paths that are along one side of the canals. They were once used by the horses to tow the boats, but now are frequented by walkers, runners, and bikers.
“In addition to England, they have canals in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France,” added Paula. “And the ones in England are interconnecting. We could have gone all the way to London if we had wanted to.”
Luxury Cruising on Narrow Boats
The Bensons let Paula and Tom pick the boat and they didn’t skimp. They chose one with two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one even had a whirlpool tub), a salon, a full kitchen complete with a freezer, refrigerator, and a microwave, a woodstove (that they say they used one cool night), and even a TV. “We were greeted with flowers, a bottle of wine, and lots of goodies when we got there,” noted Paula. “It was quite comfortable.”
And, while Tom was very experienced with boats of all sorts, even has a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license, they found that you don’t even need a driver’s license to rent a narrow boat. Despite that, Tom downloaded the map of the canal stretch between Devizes and Bedwyn that they would be boating and laminated it. He also brought a walkie-talkie and binoculars. While Paula thought it was overload, they all were used with the book proving to be extremely helpful and in the cockpit the entire trip.
Paula and Tom were also happy to have the slightly younger Bensons along on the trip and not just for their company. “There are a lot of locks to go through as the land is not level as you go along,” explained Paula. Where they started in Burbage was the highest point so there were locks going up and locks going down and no attendants at any of them.
It is up to each person on their boat to open and close the locks themselves,” said Tom. “Sometimes it was so narrow we had to pull over and let the other boat go through. And, you have to be careful to be beyond the cill to keep the boat from tipping.”
“Nick and Tina did all the jumping off,” said Paula. “Tom did most of the steering as all of the boats are steered with a tiller. You have to know that the boat goes in the opposite direction that you turn the tiller. Unless it’s an instinct,” she added, “you really have to think about it.”
Never a dull moment
So, with 28 locks to go through, along with several narrow-arched bridges to go under, and a tunnel 500 yards (five football fields) long to go through, how else did the Eldridges occupy their time on their weeklong trip?
“There was never a dull moment even at four miles per hour,” explained Paula. “We were never in a rush. We’d get up and have breakfast and probably not get going until 10 or 10:30.” They enjoyed extensive conversations with their English friends and, of course, lots of tea breaks.
“In the afternoon, we’d decide where we were going to stay that night and pull over, maybe have a gin and tonic, and make our reservation at a pub—there was always a pub nearby,” said Paula. “In between towns it was beautiful along the canal with undisturbed countryside and wildlife in the fields. Can’t tell you how totally relaxing it was.”
Pulling over just involved picking a random spot – there were no marinas. They’d just drive two mooring stakes into the ground on the tow path side of the canal, tie up the boat line, then take the narrow wooden plank given to them to disembark to head to a nearby pub. “We always made sure we stopped where there was a pub nearby,” said Tom.
“It was a step back in time. Old England with towns with thatched roof houses, oldtime pubs – a lovely way to see the countryside,” added Paula. “It was one of our nicest vacations, but maybe not for everyone.”
After several decades working in a variety of jobs as a newspaper writer, event publicist, communications specialist, and marketing director, Karen Cummings is now “retired” and working on Travelers United’s social media and newsletters in addition to occasionally contributing a travel-related article to TU’s blog. She lives close to her family in Fryeburg, Maine, and travels as often as she can.
