THE first time I went on a canal boat, I thought I would be bored. Being a restless soul, the prospect of chugging along at a top speed of 4mph was not my idea of having a good time.
But I became hooked. Almost against my will, I was seduced by the peace and calm of the water- ways.
The obligatory slow pace forces even the most impatient person to wind down and to succumb to a more relaxed way of life.
There is time to look around, take in the countryside, watch the nesting moorhens, listen to the birds.
Away from the trappings of a frantic lifestyle, you slip into another world, a kind of sub- culture, away from your emails, the boss and other pressures of work. And the canal had lost none of its magic when I went on my second trip, a three-day break along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal from Worcester to Stoke Prior and back with Viking Afloat holidays.
Resplendent in yellow and maroon livery, Agnetha, our 57- foot, four-berth narrowboat, was kitted out with everything possible to make life easy - from comfortable beds and snug duvets, TV and radio, electric cooker and kettle to corkscrew and garlic press in the well-equipped kitchenette.
Warm and cosy with gas-fired radiators, constant hot water, a very hot airing cupboard, shower and two flush toilets, this baby was more home than home itself.
Before releasing Agnetha into our clutches, a company boatman pointed out the essential boating paraphernalia - boat hook, pole, ropes and mooring stakes - followed by a tutorial on how to operate the tiller, gears and, importantly, the windlasses for opening and closing the locks.
Then, after a glimpse into the underbelly to leam the mysteries of the stone greaser, weed hatch and bilge pump, we were off, armed with a 24-hour emergency telephone number and a list of pubs en route.
Steering this excessively long vessel through the narrow confines of the crowded Lowesmoor Wharf into the main waterway without ramming into passing craft was our first challenge.
After that, it was a chug through the pleasant suburbs of Worcester towards our first port of call, Tibberton, and an evening meal at the Speed the Plough pub.
It was only four miles away, but with 12 locks to negotiate it would take us three hours or more. We were adjusting to life in the slow lane already.
The Worcester & Birmingham Canal was built in 1815. Originally, using barges pulled by two donkeys, it transported salt and chemicals to the industrial Midlands, raw ingredients to the Cadbury's factory at Boumeville and coal to the Royal Porcelain works at Worcester.
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Its last commercial use was in the 1960s, although donkeys had long gone by then. It flows through leafy city suburbs and rural pastureland, passing under ancient bridges, several with crumbling brickwork needing an overhaul.
The reeds along the canal banks are rich in wildlife. In spring the overhanging hedges are white with blossom; in autumn, they are thick with blackberries.
Surprisingly, the M5 is only a short distance away but the noise of traffic is only heard when you pass directly underneath.
With some 58 locks along its length, including 30 in the Tardibigge flight just beyond Stoke Prior, this is one of the most heavily-locked canals in the English Waterways system.
On our short trip, we would negotiate 19 each way. As far as I was concerned, opening and closing the locks was easy, albeit very physical and demanding. Steering Agnetha, however, proved to be more problematical.
Keeping an even course is no mean feat - a single lapse in concentration will send you heading into the reeds. If you are really unlucky, you can get stuck in the mud, as a novice crew had already done, calling for us to give them a tug as we drew near.
Still wet behind the ears ourselves, it was a case of the blind leading the blind as we threw them a rope and then fiddled with our gears and tiller so we could pull them free.
Mooring up can be an entertaining spectator sport too, especially trying to parallel park this very long vessel into a vacant spot along a congested towpath.
And trying to line the boat up so it glided effortlessly into narrow locks without banging the sides was, for me, an elusive art.
Not wishing to return Agnetha to the boatyard with too many scrapes, I was happy to hand over the helm to a more adept crew member.' But despite, or maybe because of all that, narrowboating is hugely enjoyable and very sociable. Walkers on the towpath call out cheery greetings while other boaters share a joke as you draw alongside.
Fishermen wave good-naturedly as you try and avoid their lines, although sometimes you find the occasional grump.
That said, long stretches of waterway can become a mite tedious for those who like to be active. So, thank goodness for the locks to relieve pent-up energy.
To open them requires vigour and muscle power and after a flight of six, you feel you have well earned a cold beer or cup of tea. Total relaxation and keeping fit - this canal holiday combined both.
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