A gentle tapping awoke us on the first day. It was the neighbours calling round to smooch some breakfast. Without so much as a good morning please or thank you, they disposed of the best part of a loaf in double-quick time. That's swans for you. Still, who could complain about missing their toast when the sun was shining and our canal adventure stretched ahead of us. We'd set sail on our maiden voyage the previous evening from the Black Prince marina at Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire.
Home for the next week was to be a 52-foot narrowboat, complete with coffee lounge and dining area, well-stocked 'galley' (kitchen to you landlubbers), central heating, a powerful shower and a surprising
amount of storage space. After being given a rundown on how everything worked, we headed north on a near empty Macclesfield canal a a leisurely three or four miles an hour. Corner-turning had to be planned well in advance and the rudder had to b tweaked rather than turned. Practice was the order of the day but, luckily, one of the younger crew members—from the PlayStation generation—figured it all out instantly, so I left him to it and cracked open a beer. Passing crumbling relics of bygone industry, we were soon clear of Stoke and heading into a rural setting. For more than a century, these were very much working canals but, come the '60s, they'd all but fallen into disrepair. Extensive renovations are gradually returning the waterways to use but mainly for recreation. It was a revelation to discover this quiet, secret world hidden away from car-cocooned travellers whizzing by a mile or so away. | So, as light began to fade. where could we berth for the night? Answer—just about anywhere. Our guide-book suggested tying up at one of the canal-side inns, or any stretch of water that takes the fancy. So, the first night we pulled up just short of the Hardcastle tunnel, at Kidsgrove, which we tackled the next morning. In a convoy of four, we headed through the two-mile long, dank, spooky, low-roofed passage, dripping with icy water. The boat's spotlight led the way, and it wasn't hard to believe the tales that this place is haunted. You'd pay big bucks for a trip like that at Disney World Bursting out into the sunshine an hour later, we continued through peaceful countryside, before oohing and aaahing at the magnificent canal-side dwellings with matching Alan Titmarsh gardens as we passed through Congleton. Bet there's a Corrie star or two lives along that stretch. Our trip was in the last week of September and the weather couldn't have been kinder. Being off-season the canal was quiet. There were more residents than holidaymakers, folk who have left the rat race behind to spend their day afloat. We chatted to a London couple who were in their 40s who were in a brand new £50,000 narrowboat. They looked as green as us and it turned out they had sold everything and taken delivery of the boat only just the previous day! They had never been on one before but 'had just fancied it'. Good luck to them—I wonder how they are doing? There was a moment or two of panic when we reached our first set of locks. We'd read the book but it looked complicated. | Never fear, ask for help and it will be given. Some old-timers helped us through. Unfortunately there were a dozen more locks in quick succession! Binoculars are a must as wild-life abounds. Seeing a heron rising from the reed-lined bank just feet away like a grey, prehistoric ghost is a heart-stopping sight. Then there was the flash of blue as a kingfisher darted from ti perch. One morning, as the sun burnt off the thin mist, a two-foot goldfish (a carp or beam maybe?) surfaced lazily, then disappeared into the murk with a casual flick of its tail. The days passed quickly. As the boat puttered along, we took it in turns to leap ashore ands troll for a mile or two along the towpath. Occasional stops at quaint villages to replenish supplies and a picnic lunch stretched out atop the boat was as hectic as it got. Evenings were spent playing cards, reading or tucking into super value-for-money meals at inns just yards away. (Take a torch as returning from the pub along a pitch-black path is no fun). There was a telly aboard, but even the hardened soap addicts amongst the crew didn't bother reaching for the zapper. The Macclesfield canal is part of the Cheshire ring, which goes north as far as Manchester, before looping south again. | The round trip is do-able in a week but, at our leisurely pace, we would have needed a fortnight. Instead, we returned the way we'd come, but that wasn't hard—there was so much to see and do. By the end of our journey we'd become the 'experts' helping novices through their first lock and offering advice on the best moorings and interesting stops. So, to the practicalities of a narrowboat holiday… The vessel is fairly open-plan so, if you are taking the trip with friends rather than family, be sure you know them well! I'd suggest first-timers should have a party of four or more. Locks can be tackled by two, but the extra hands will make life a lot easier. You do need to be moderately fit to operate locks and to leap on and off the boat. Black Prince have come up with all the questions and answered them. It's little wonder they they lifted the Tourist's Board's 2002 Gold Award for the hire craft operator of the year. |
