Birmingham Evening Mail
September 25, 2005

 A Different world just 30 minutes away.

Justine Halifax follows a quick and peaceful escape.

I would strongly recommend you buy the Canal Companion: Welsh Waters priced £7.95 before embarking on your trip. This is a straight forward look at the route ahead and clearly marks out all the locks, mooring points and pubs.

The canal lifestyle is very much about making the most of the pubs along the routes, so just stock up on cupboard and fridge essentials.

IF you're looking for a quick and peaceful escape from the humdrum of city life, there's nothing more relaxing than cruising along the picturesque Shropshire Union Canal. Not only do you escape the roar of endless traffic you don't see a house for miles just acres of pretty countryside. And what's more it doesn't take a long car drive or plane hop before you can start your break.

       Within half an hour from our Lichfield home, my husband and I climbed aboard Sir Fergus, one of the knights in the Countrywide Cruisers fleet at Brewood, near Cannock. Yet within just a few minutes we felt as though we were miles away.

       The well-laid out, clean, four berth narrowboat was our home for three nights. It boasted a good seating area and table for dining, a usual narrowboat-sized kitchen and bathroom and two double beds, although they were a little uncomfy, with plenty of wardrobe and storage space for a family of four.

       And if you find that you need to moor miles from a pub (not a usual practice for a seasoned boater!) then there is a television hidden under the seating and a flip out stand as well as a radio cassette player. With a choice of three routes to tackle for our long weekend break we opted for the Chester Run.

       Spanning 108 miles across the entire length of the Shropshire Union Canal - nicknamed the "Shroppie" - which has 84 locks for you to tackle along the way. To make it comfortably to Chester and back to base will take you around a week. In just three days we were able to get to the historic and picturesque Cheshire town of Nantwich and back.

       Built late in the canal age, Thomas Telford's masterpiece reflects the increased engineering sophistication of the time and, in contrast to older contour canals, its deep cuttings and impressive high embankments allow the canal to follow a relatively direct course.

       Three miles north of Brewood, the lock at Wheaton Aston is the sole obstacle in a 20 mile stretch. .You can then sit back and soak up the beautiful countryside for most of the route. This stretch culminates in a strikingly beautiful five lock flight at Tyrley, just north of Norbury - this marks the start of the hard work. After a brief break you'll have to tackle another five locks at Adderley before a whopping 17 locks at Audlem.

       This will take some time to get through depending on how many boats are already using or queuing for the locks so allow plenty of time to get through if you reach them late in the day.

       Eight miles beyond Audlem you'll find the historic and picturesque Cheshire town of Nantwich after a picturesque jaunt flanked by the flat prime dairy pastures of the Cheshire Plain.

       The wharf is tight to manoeuvre into so it will need some skill but here you can fill up with water and pump out and there's also a pleasant cafe and laundry facilities. In keeping with the canal lifestyle we thought it only right to sample some of the pubs along the way. The Wharf Tavern at Goldstone, Market Drayton, (bridge 55) was our favourite as it served up generous and tasty meals. After three days on the beautiful Shropshire Union Canal we wished we could stay a little longer. But that said just a short break taking in the Shroppie's picturesque features left us refreshed and relaxed and we would go back to enjoy its delights at the drop of a hat.

Depending upon the season it can get quite cold standing on the back of the boat so take warm clothes/waterproofs but also pack a rug for a canalside picnic.

Canal barging is great fun especially if you take friends along too—they can also hlep shareout the locks.

If you decided to head south instead of north at Brewood you could tackle the Stourport Ring taking you straight into Birmingham's industrial heartland and on to Worcester, or the Four Counties Ring, which covers Staffordshire, West Midlands (albeit briefly), Cheshire and Shropshire.