 Always remember to close what you open, said the helpful man at the boat-yard, but I'm sure he was referring to the locks and not the ubiquitous wine and beer being loaded onto the luxurious narrowboat Serenade that was to be our home for the next four days. Locks are part of the very essence of canals in the UK, enabling canal boats to climb or descend hills by controlling the level of water via lock gates. Originally, canal engineers would survey the best route for a canal that involved the fewest locks, because they slowed the progress of commercial traffic. In this leisure age, however, they are all part of the enjoyment to be had from travelling on the canal system. Enjoyment? Hmm. I wasn't so sure. An enormous 67ft six-berth craft, aptly dubbed "our longboat", a raw crew of six, and locks! It seemed a recipe for disaster. Not a bit of it. You don't leave the boatyard until you are familiar with the workings of your boat, how to moor up and use the lock gates. A member of staff accompanied us through the first couple of locks and we were soon operating them like old hands. Even so, we decided against heading up through Tardebigge - the longest narrow lock flight in Europe with 29 locks - and instead took the more "lock-friendly" trip to Worces- ter furnished with a map marked with suggested stopover points (invariably a pub) and a route that we could comfortably cover in four days. Canals are a wonderful part of our heritage. The Worcester and Birm- ingham Canal linked the factories of Birmingham to the River Severn. It took 21 years to build and even until 1961, Cadburys used it to carry goods to and from its chocolate factory in Bournville. The word "navvies" comes from the term "navigators" - the workers who had to dig these canals to a level of four to six feet. With the advent of the industrial revolution, canals were overtaken by rail and road transport.
The legacy of this bygone era is a waterway system that uncovers a secret world of wildlife and rare plants running through the heart of England. And the great thing is that you enjoy all this at a leisurely 4mph, simply watching the world go slowly by - and this is surely the charm of a narrowboat holiday. Doing our best to remember the basic rule - steer the opposite way to the direction you want to travel - we headed on a reasonably straight course towards our first port of call (The Bridge Inn at Tibberton, which has moorings for up to 14 narrow- boats and where we enjoyed such a friendly welcome and good food that it was a unanimous vote of the crew to pop in again on the return jour- ney). As the canal unfolded before us - and we had safely negotiated the blackness of the 230-yard Dunhampstead Tunnel - we found that with a bit of teamwork, operating the locks and mooring in one manoeuvre became second nature. However, bear in mind that the sides of the canal can be shallow requiring the use of the handy long pole to become unstuck - we weren't the only ones! And don't worry about the occasional encounter with the bank, the boats are built to with- stand all sorts of "indiscretions".
After breakfast the following morning - has bacon and egg ever tasted better? - it was off to Worces- ter. We moored alongside the Com- mandery, a charming timber-framed building dating back to the 1500s that was the headquarters for the Royalists prior to the Battle of Worcester. It is now a Civil War Centre with a fascinating museum. Worcester has much to offer the visitor, not least the Cathedral which is one of the finest. Started in 1084 and largely completed some 300 years later, it contains King John's tomb and medieval cloisters. And of course there's the shops, and the must-see Royal Worcester Porcelain Works. After lunch it was time to replenish water supplies before braving Digits Locks, the gateway to the River Severn. The hire price includes 20 gallons of fuel, more than enough for the longest voyage, but the 100 gallon water tank needs to be refilled daily from water points along the canal.
Digits basins were opened in the 19th century to facilitate the trans- shipment of cargo between the river and the canal, and the locks raise the water level by 18ft - so they're big, and very deep! Despite our apprehension, we "sailed" through and were soon heading up river, the glorious Worcester Cathedral dominating the skyline. With the late September sun setting fast, we moored in the shadow of the imposing river lock at Bevere and discovered another gem of a pub, the Camp House Inn, named after an early army encampment. Nearby Bevere Island is said to have been used as a refuge in times of war and plague. Thank goodness we brought a torch - it was a good five minutes walk along a pitch-black path. Dawn brought one of those special moments, the rising sun glowing softly through the early morning haze, a man walking his dog silhouetted against the mist-shrouded far bank... magical. Sadly , the adventure was nearing its end and it was time to turn around and start the journey back. The weather had been kind throughout as we enjoyed the tail end of last year's wonderful summer, and being off-season the canal was quiet. It was a holiday of contrasts, taken at a snail's pace. The boat's are remarkably comfortably and every bend in the canal brings forth some new delight. You can never see it all, no matter how many times you return. But why worry? Narrowboat holidays are for relaxation and for doing what you like, when you like. It really is the great escape.
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