This was a wonderful way to enjoy the British countryside. If you have a week to give yourself time out while visiting Europe you will love this.
We drove to Nantwich near Crewe and found our canal boat called Rebecca, emptied the necessary clothes and food into the cupboards, received our driving instructions from a very entertaining host and set off at half speed along the canal towards Wales. We coped very well with the logistics of opening and closing locks, raising hydraulic footbridges, steering a 25metre long narrow boat under bridges placed on bends in the canal, and negotiating our way past other boats.
The boat was clean and tidy inside and had a well equipped galley and two bathrooms for the six of us. Everyone had a go at driving and maneuvering through the locks. After the first few bumps and collisions we relaxed as we discovered the boat was solidly made and we weren't in danger of sinking.
The highlights were the aqueducts that took us high above the valley at Chirk, and even higher above the River Dee. This canal system was built in order to take coal from Wales to industrial England and is a tremendous feat of engineering that has stood the test of time- the Pontcysyllte aqueduct is 200years old in November 2005.
The countryside was alive with wildlife and the sides of the canals were lined with wildflowers. The water was relatively slow moving which meant we had wonderful reflections of trees and flowers and boats.
At times some of us jumped ship and walked along the track beside the canal. In the evening we would find a pleasant place to pull over and tie up for the night - in the middle of farmland or close to a pub with good food and drink. A superb, relaxing holiday.
