Relaxing is a real pleasure on the waterways. When navigating a narrowboat, your journey is dictated by the walking pace of your boat. Even at full throttle, you can only just edge ahead of a walker on the towpath. A break on the UK's waterways is the perfect way to relax. And the best time, as our family found out, was not during the summer, but during the quiet period that is out of season. Our four-days on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in April began at Stoke Prior, just south of the old Worcestershire market town of Bromsgrove in the heart of England. Our boat, named Alison, was a spacious, well equipped, floating hotel. As well as being able to sleep four comfortably on double beds, this narrowboat seemed anything but narrow, with central heating, carpeting throughout, and the kitchen, bathroom and lounge wonderfully appointed. What's more, the central heating worked and hot water was in plentiful supply. After a quick run-through by one of the yard staff on the workings of the boat, we were off—straight into our first lock. Although we had had some taste of navigating a narrowboat before, a 72-footer, in fact, this was our first real test. It presented, thankfully, no real problem. The speed at which we approached the lock precluded anything nasty and we were soon heading south to Worcester, just 10 miles away. Soon we were leaving the industrial estates on the banks of the canal behind us and heading through the rolling countryside, with high clumps of sedge bordering the canal, on a sunny, spring afternoon. This is the real time to enjoy the boat. Whilst idling away we spotted herons, kingfishers and we caught a fish - a little bream called a 'skipper' in these parts. We took turns at the controls to begin with. My partner left the steering to me while she worked the locks.
On the canals, the locks tend to be manually operated and can be hard work, especially opening the paddles controlling the flow of water. By the time we had navigated the first flight of six locks, we were getting into a rhythm, helped along, of course, by a pint of real ale. Being the spring, it was quiet and there was just the odd boat waiting its turn at the lock, and a chance for a friendly chat to fellow travellers. The friendly staff at the yard had supplied a map with useful recommendations for overnight stops. It is not a good idea to travel on the canal too late in the day — in April the light fades fairly quickly, making navigation a little tricky, and those all-important moorings are soon taken up. Reminders of the heyday of the Canals are still very much in evidence along the canal — the 236-yard Dunhampstead Tunnel presented a wonderful adventure for the children who were sure that we'd gone back in time during our passage. Though small in com[ariso with many tunnels it still pricked the imagination quite nicely. The entry into Worcester was surprisingly rural in character but by then the sunshine had given way to blustery winds and rain - this suited the view of the rugby being played in the fields to our left - but this was no second Rugby World Cup. We were undaunted by the inclement weather and carried on our merry way. We stayed overnight in the Diglis Basin in Worcester where we were overjoyed to find a local pub - with locals. In peak season, finding a mooring can be difficult but, having filled up with the necessary supply of water, we found a place for the evening easily - another benefit of travelling slightly earlier in the season. Our return journey in sunny weather once again gave us the opportunity to stop at a different mooring - another lovely pub at canalside. The last leg of our journey was short, and as we entered Stoke Prior our boat was still dictating the pace, but at least by now we were reasonably confident in guiding it home.
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