AS a seasoned veteran of canal holidays—two week-long breaks on the waterways of the Great Glen—I jumped at the chance to show off during five days in stunning South Wales.
But while the experiences had plenty in common, there were enough differences to make this trip on the Monmouth and Brecon Canal a whole new ball game.
First off, my pals and I were on a narrowboat. You don't get these on the Caledonian Canal because they're not designed for open water and would be all at sea on the likes of Loch Ness.
Then there's the question of scale.
Thomas Telford's Highland masterwork was built to carry ships from coast to coast, so it's wide and deep with enormous powered lock gates and swing bridges—all conveniently operated by obliging chaps who are delighted if you drop off a couple of beers on your way through.
The Mon and Brec is a far smaller waterway, dug in the early 19th century to carry farm produce to market and coal, limestone and iron ore from the quarries to the tram-roads which fed the industrial revolution in this part
of the world. The upshot of all this for yours truly was the challenge of steering a 50ftwater-caravan along an alarmingly narrow canal. And we (well, they—my crew) had to crank and curse our way through locks and lift bridges with brute force.
It all seemed a bit daunting when the bumf from the boat hire company; Cambrian Cruisers, came through. The instructions on how to tackle said obstacles seemed rather technical, and as a skipper who once came to grief at supposedly 'foolproof' powered locks—I forgot to tie up and nearly got blasted through the back gates by thousands of gallons of foaming wet stuff—I was having second thoughts.
However, over a spectacular dinner and buckets of drink at the fabulous Griffin restaurant near Brecon on the Sunday night, we reminded ourselves mat they'll let anyone have a go at this, even the notoriously impractical press, and anyway everyone would laugh at us if we backed out now.
Arriving late due to car troubles at the boatyard near Pencelli (pronounced Pen-keth-li, who'd have guessed we were reassured by the laid-back attitude of owners Nicola and Bob Atkins, and only slightly alarmed when the nice chap who showed us round the good ship Bronwen reeled off another bewildering guide to locks and bridges.
"It's obvious when they're in front of you," he said.
By the time we reluctantly brought the narrowboat back, only slightly scraped and dented, a day without locks seemed dull fare for us crusty canal-dogs. This is a holiday for the lazy, those of us who like pottering along through scenery that's both wild and welcoming.
| A WEEK on a Cambrian Cruisers holiday will cost from £480 for a short break (three nights over a weekend or four nights mid-week). For details contact Cambrian Cruisers on 01874 665315, email cambrian@talk21.com or log onto www.cambriancruisers.co.uk Also see www.waterscape.com for full inland waterways tourist opportunities throughout the country. DRIFTERS is a consortium of ‘award winning’ holiday boat companies www.drifters.co.uk 08457 626252. Find great ideas for enjoying the waterways on www.waterscape.com. Visit the waterways museums
www.thewaterwaystrust.org.uk
The worst that can happen—other than scraping the roof in the 343-metre Ashford Tunnel (no towpath here, so you'd have had to lie on your back and push with your feet) —is running out of bread to feed the omnipresent ducks and cutesie offspring.
The canal itself is only 33 miles long
and we didn't cove half of it, but as the Usk Valley drops away beneath you, giving evening more spectacular views, you pass pubs and restaurants too numerous to list, and villages too difficult to pronounce.
My personal favourite was Bwlch—and I m sure we only said it right by chance after our excellent final dinner at the White Swan.
The boat employed all the space-saving tricks you could think of to house three double beds, a well-equipped kitchen (sorry, galley), shower/toilet and a sitting and dining area with TV video, DVD and stereo.
She's steered from a small open deck at the back (stem), so take your waterproofs given that it's Wales.
We were lucky with the weather though—we only got wet once and actually came home sunburned.
The countryside is gorgeous, the wildlife abundant and everyone you pass on the canal or towpath says hello’.
The legendary welcome in the hillsides still exists, especially in the pubs where which all come with a genial landlord in shirt and tie holding court to a line of jovial rugby forwards on barstools.
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