Life in the SLOW LANE

Mike Treacy and friends

try out narrowboating in

the heart of England

Photographs by Sara Flanagan

Mike Treacy travelled with Black Prince on  the Stourton and return route.

Prices for narrowboat holidays range in price, depending on the size of boat and duration of the break,  from £530 to £1,450.

Contact Black  Prince for further details on 01527 575115 or use the web site at www.black-prince.com
 

There is an open weekend on October 4-5th at the moorings in Stoke Prior, Stoke on Trent, Chirk, Acton Bridge and Falkirk  Wheel when boats are available for a look  round between 10am and 4pm.

Any full  week's bookings taken at open days give you a £100 discount off your holiday.

MORNING doesn't so much break around these parts as slip a lazy leg out of bed, decide it's still too early and slide back beneath the covers for some more sleepy contemplation.

The earliest of birds have been up and about for several hours, filling the air with their mellifluous concerto, but it takes a while for the rest of the countryside to catch up with the avian work ethic. Gradually, the day takes on its full colour. Dappled sunlight filters through the treetops, warming the air and reflecting across the still waters. The smell of cooking bacon joins the tangy scent of water plants fringing the towpath and muffled bumps and clatters from inside the galley tells the world that the human element has joined the day.

Breakfast is consumed heartily and enjoyed in only the way it can in the open air and thoughts turn to departure. Another cup of tea first, though.

To travel along the canal system is to take a waterborne journey back to before a time before the world got itself in such a hurry; to a time when it was just a pleasure just getting there - wherever there might be.

Black Prince offers a wide choice of canal routes throughout England and Scotland, providing a chance to slip back into a vanished lifestyle - all at a top speed of 4mph - from a time when industrial prowess put the Great into Britain. Our party of four embarked on  the picturesque, week-long, round-trip from the Black Prince base at Stoke Prior, along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the River Severn and through the green and pleasant land of the south- west Midlands to Stourton. At least, that was the plan. An enforced day's stop-over at Worcester due to bad weather meant we only made Stourport Basin and had to turn back several miles short of our intended destination and head back. We could have made Stourton if we'd hurried, but that cuts across the ethos of narrowboating. Steady as she goes.

With recent global events sowing the seeds of doubt in the minds of many, stay-at-home Brits have ensured that UK holidays are enjoying a renaissance. And with recent temperatures on a par with anything the Med can offer, then why not.

Narrowboating is easy Any fears of crashing, sinking or initial doubts about guiding a 70ft vessel are quickly dispelled after a couple of ours at the tiller. In any case, 30 minutes' instruction at Stoke Prior helps familiarise the procedure of steering and using locks. The boats are robustly constructed, too, and more than a match for any indiscretion. Just about everyone bumps the bank while mooring or jars the boat in the jaws of a lock - even those with years of know-how.

An onboard manual provides useful back-up guide to waterway etiquette, safety tips and general good housekeeping. Filling up points for water are fairly plentiful and enough diesel is already onboard to do away with refuelling worries.

Probably the most unpleasant and potentially the most dangerous task is delving into the weedhatch to remove any items tangled around the propeller. Obviously this isn't done while the engine is running - I made sure it was off and the ignition keys were in my pocket while performing this job because I quite  fancied the idea of finishing the holiday with the same  number of hands that I started with. There's also a ten-minute bilge pumping session to be done first thing in the morning, but Black Prince  has, thankfully, made emptying chemical toilets a thing of  the past. All the unspeakable stuff  is flushed into a tank and  is disposed of by the staff back at Stoke Prior.

One of the  beauties of chugging along on a narrowboat is that you can stop just about anywhere for a cup of  tea or an evening meal. Mooring sites are plentiful, especially in the little settlements along the way and once stopped it won't take long for the local wildlife to introduce itself. There's  many a Mallard swimming along waiting  for a hand-out and sometimes swans will  even glide over to help you dispose of your provisions. For the humans, there are a host of canalside pubs waiting to  tempt the traveller with lunches or dinners at reasonable prices. A sumptuous Sunday roast at the Eagle and Sun carvery in Hanbury springs to mind  - with plates piled high for less than a  fiver.

While the 19th century bargehand's life must have been tough, this kind of pleasure boating is a great way for a family to relax together. Of course, there's an element of activity involved but that just adds to the experience. An eye would have to be kept on toddlers (one we saw  was wearing a lifejacket, which seems like a sensible idea) but older children are likely to relish helping out. In fact, they'll probably take over, leaving  mum and dad to relax as the ever-changing scenery drifts by and the English countryside opens wide  its  picture book of delights.