Crossing the border in style by Simon Bishop

THERE is nothing quite like messing about in boats, as Ratty quite rightly said in The Wind in the Willows. When that boat just hap- pens to be decked out with a well-appointed bathroom, two double bedrooms and a cosy  lounge, enjoying Britain's splendid waterways  couldn't be more pleasant. My wife  Adrienne and I began our week on the canal  in the delightful town of  Chirk, nestling in the hills spanning the border between England and Wales. After a friendly tour of our  vessel, the Pandora, we were taken out of the marina and  given a chance to steer the  boat for ourselves. Getting the hang of a tiller, instead of a wheel, is a little daunting at first, but we soon got to grips with operating the 60ft vessel. In truth, it's very hard to go wrong on a canal. The speed limit is just four nautical  miles an hour, and most of  the time  we were overtaken by  dog-walkers. The boats themselves are  sturdily built,  and are  designed to  withstand knocks and  scrapes.
Falling into the  water shouldn't be too much of  a concern either. For the most part canals are between three and five foot deep, so if you do go overboard, you should be able to walk to the side. Just  make sure you get out before somebody takes a picture. Our instructions over, we were left to steer our own course down the Llangollen  canal. A couple of gentle turns  and we were faced with our first challenge - a tunnel  460 yds long.

Chirk tunnel, the only one  we encountered in our travels, was a daunting first hurdle for the casual boater. It was just wide enough to fit Pandora through with a foot to spare on  either side. There was also a roof low enough to force me to duck down as we went through. In many ways, the dark,  damp tunnel seemed tailor-made to give  first-time boaters second thoughts. Our chills were  forgotten when we got to the other end, however, as we found ourselves at the entrance of the glorious Chirk aqueduct, spanning rolling  fields of green.

Opened in 1801, the aqueduct is 698ft  long and carries the canal 70ft above the river Ceirog, which forms the boundary between England and Wales. With the sun long past the yardarm and threatening to slip behind the rolling Welsh countryside, we decided to moor up at Chirk Bank. Starving and desperate for a drink to steady our nerves after the tunnel of doom, we stumbled upon a welcome sight as we made our way  down the embankment. The Bridge Inn is the last pub in England, and serves some of the best food I've ever had the pleasure of eating. A stacked plate of roast dinner cost me  little more than a pint would in south Essex, and the  hot chocolate fudge cake was simply heavenly. The wonderful thing about a boating holiday is that you can enjoy it at a pace that suits you. While some boaters had clearly set themselves daily goals to cover as much ground as possible, we were content to bob along at a more relaxed speed, mooring up at every other watering hole. Despite our dawdling, we did manage to try our hands at a couple of locks, and they  are not as daunting as they first appear. Once you've mastered the technique, the ingenious feats of 17th century engineering can actually be quite fun to use. If you are looking for a holiday full of activities  for all the family to enjoy, and the opportunity to see the countryside from a new perspective and at a sedate pace, you  could do a lot worse than trying out a canal boat.