Narrowboat holidays: an overlooked experience?
Mindful meandering…
A holiday on a canal boat is one which I wonder whether many people have considered. I never really thought about it either before I went on one. I have now enjoyed three separate holidays on one and I’ve enjoyed all three. It is hard work, but also peaceful, satisfying, fun, and a welcome break from the intense busyness of modern life.
The most recent holiday my family enjoyed was last year, in the summer of 2021, for a party of 7 including two dogs. This was the first time we had taken them, and they enjoyed every second, tongues to the wind. Now, you may think that being a small boat it felt a bit cramped at times. However, when on a canal holiday, you hardly ever spend any time on the boat at all during the day! We were all busy either walking the dogs, helping with the locks, steering, bird watching or just relaxing in the sun.
We set off from Braunston Marina, travelling along the Grand Union Canal, and almost getting to Cosgrove before turning around and returning. On the way back we took a little detour up to Crick just to complete a staircase lock, where each lock goes into another one with no gap in between. We tackled an immense 42 locks, and that was just on the way up! It is a lot of hard work, but if you have enough people, then it is also a lot of fun and immensely satisfying. There were always three of us helping to wind the paddles down and push the gate open, so no matter how stiff the locks are, they always get done with a smile on everyone’s faces.
This holiday allows you to see some beautiful English countryside; you feel like you’re in a different world. There were long stretches of water where we didn’t see anyone else on the water, with only the odd person on the towpath next to us, though that was few and far between as well. Every now and again we would pass through towns or villages; most of the time we got off the boat to buy supplies or just have a walk to explore. There was one place in Stoke Bruerne where there was the best ice cream place ever. It was ‘proper’ ice cream, the kind where there are tons of flavours and each one is soft and creamy and just very delicious. I highly recommend getting a cone (or three!) if you’re ever in the area.
Another exciting part of this holiday were the tunnels! We went through three separate tunnels: Braunston Tunnel (2042 yards), Blisworth Tunnel (3076 yards), and Crick Tunnel (1528 yards). Blisworth Tunnel can take up to 45 minutes to get through, and it is one of the longest tunnels in Britain, according to the Canal & River Trust. Crick Tunnel is also supposed to be haunted, and I can’t lie when I say I did stay inside the boat! Not that ghosts exist, of course…
The Canal & River Trust is a volunteer-led charity which works to clean up Britain’s canals. In fact, during the pandemic, it seems the waterways have never been clearer, with the number of extra volunteers who have worked hard to make the canal and the wildlife around it happy and healthy. They work to keep the paths safe for walkers and boaters alike. The different fish seen in the canal, and the birds seen in the bushes along the towpath shows off their work, as the habitats are improved to help give the animals a better place to live.
This in part makes this type of holiday perfect for all ages. We saw older-age, retired folks as well as families with very young children all enjoying the waterways. It is a very welcome break from the busyness of everyday life to cruise along at a mellow pace, with no strict schedule. We were very lucky and had glorious sunshine almost the entire time we were there. The front of the boat also allows for some lovely sunbathing, or just sitting with a book while keeping an eye out for other boats every now and then. The back often has some seating depending on the layout, but be warned about getting in the way of the skipper! The only agenda items for the week were finding idyllic evening places to moor up and of course, filling or emptying the locks as part of our journey along the waterway, but the latter was fun, so we were happy to do it every single time.
And so the peace and quiet that everyone wants and looks for can be found exactly here: on a canal boat in the middle of nowhere.
