Messing about on the River...

I have been on two narrowboat holidays in my life, and I can't work out why I have not taken more of this type of holiday as on both occasions I have had a fabulous time.

Some of my memories of the first time are a little hazy as it was over 25 years ago but I will always remember my mother-in-law running between locks along the towpath, my dad taking about 10 attempts to manoeuvre the boat around a tight bend to take us from the Grand Union Canal back on to the Stratford Ring, catching the back of the boat on a lock gate in the middle of Stratford-upon-Avon being filmed by a number of fascinated Japanese tourists and the stillness of the canal first thing in the morning as the mist rose off the water and only the sound of the birds and the phut phut of engine as we set off on the next leg of our journey.

My more recent trip was in 2020 when we picked up a narrowboat in Bradford on Avon. This time my husband and I were joined by his sister and her husband for a 4 night trip that took us along the Kennet & Avon canal to Devizes to the west and back towards Bath to the right of the town. The Devizes leg was the most challenging as we had to navigate Caen Hill Locks - a flight of 29 locks. Of course, having gone up them we had to come back down the following day. We were certainly in need of a stiff drink at the end of those two days! The journey towards Bath was more relaxing but the views just as lovely especially crossing the Avoncliff Aqueduct.

Although the boats have a kitchen one of the great attractions of travelling along the canal system is the waterside pubs and cafes. The 2020 trip was a little bit lacking from this perspective as some of the pubs were closed so my tip would be to check the options along your route in advance and when stocking up with supplies add an instant meal just in case - the M&S lasagne we picked up in Devizes certainly came in handy towards then end of our trip.

To find out more about this wonderful type of holiday get in touch, I look forward to hearing from you.