Jane Turner and her friends took to the Leek and Caldon canal on a narrow boat

If someone had asked me for my idea of a perfect boating holiday, it would be swanning around on a yacht in the Med. Narrow boats didn't come into it. To me, they meant hard work opening locks and squeezing through long dark tunnels, but, worst of all, narrow boats conjured up an image of chemical loos. That was until I spent a very leisurely, laugh-a-minute trip with four friends cruising the canals of Staffordshire in a 52ft-long narrow boat called Estelle.

Forget cramped conditions, Estelle was bigger than some  London flats I've seen. And, as for the dreaded loo — it proved modern, flushable and in pristine condition.

We took our mini-break trip on the tree-lined Caldon and Uttoxeter route — gorgeous scenery interspersed with industrial revolution landmark sites, including the Wedgwood and Royal Doulton potteries. There are lots of picturesque little pubs on the riverbanks. We simply moored up and headed in for good food and wine — which, of course, we had more than earned at the end of a hard day navigating and steering!