A Tourist Guide to a Canal Holiday in Britain

Next time you are planning your holiday in Britain and trying to choose where to go and what to do, take my advice and include a leisurely canal trip in a narrowboat as part of your agenda.

Canals wind their ways through some of Britain's most beautiful scenery and there can be no more pleasurable way to see the countryside than to take a leisurely trip through the places you love most. You can stop along the way to visit local villages or tie up at a canal-side pub for a pint and a friendly yarn.

England's network of canals stretch from London to Leeds and connect most of the old industrial cities. Birmingham is said to have more canals than Venice, and if you are planning to spend a few days in one of the cities, there can be nothing more convenient than a mooring right in the centre of town, or less expensive accommodation than a self contained narrow boat.

The history of some canals goes back 2000 years to Roman Britain. They were the major means of transporting goods from the sixteenth century to the mid 19th century, when railways started to take over. By the mid 20th century very little cargo was being carried and some of the little used canals started to fall into disrepair, but in the latter part of the century, tourists and holidaymakers started to take greater advantage of the leisurely pace and relaxed style of canal living.

These days there has been a resurgence in the use of canals and the growing demand has led to the reopening of some of the old waterways. The British Waterways Board manages and maintains the canals and controls the large fleet of Narrow Boats that are used privately or offered for hire.

All canals have different features and attractions, so, for the purpose of this article we will feature a trip that Jane and I spent on the Llangollen Canal with our friends Will and Pamela.

Our trip, on this occasion, started at the Swanley Bridge Marina at Nantwich, Cheshire. We drove for about an hour along the motorway from Birmingham, to meet up with Will & Pamela and to see, for the first time, their narrowboat "Charlton". After unloading our gear we went into the town of Nantwich for some lunch. Nantwich a busy town, with attractive shops. We found a nice looking pub but unfortunately I ordered a hamburger, which turned out to be pretty ordinary.

Swanley Bridge Marina is about two miles from Nantwich. It is quite large with modern amenities including showers, toilets and laundry, as well as facilities for servicing the boats and brokerage. It was my first experience with an inland marina and a bit strange to see a marina surrounded by land, just leading out into a narrow canal. Over two hundred narrowboats were in berths, plus some on hard stands.

We set off along the Llangollen canal with Captain Will at the tiller and Pamela and Jane and I as the willing crew. We soon learnt how to operate the locks and gates and I think Pamela was rather pleased to be able to hand over some of the task to us.

Life on the canal is certainly very relaxing as you travel along so slowly and apart from the occasional lock to negotiate, or bridge to lift, there is little to do except enjoy the scenery as you pass by. The pace is slow, but at no time did we feel bored as there is plenty to see along the way.

The canal locks are designed to raise or lower the level of the water in an enclosed section of the canal, the lock, to allow boats to go from one level to another level of water. Lock gates have to be swung open at one end of the lock to allow the boat to come in. There is just enough room for one narrowboat at a time to enter the locks on this canal. The gates are then closed behind the boat and valves are opened, by manually winding them, at the other end of the lock to allow water to flow in and raise or lower the water in the lock, to the level outside at the other end. As soon as the water level inside the lock and outside in the canal, are equal, the gates at the forward end can be opened and the boat can proceed on its way.

At one point in the Llangollen Canal, called the Grindley Brook Locks, there is a staircase of several locks in succession that enable boats to raise some 40 feet, or about ten meters, to reach a higher level of the canal.

Altogether we encountered about 16 locks and quite a few bridges that had to be raised by hand to allow nb "Charlton" to pass through the canal in each direction. As well as this there were many overhead bridges and three tunnels, one of which, the Chirk tunnel, is 420 meters long. However the highlight of our journey on the Llangollen Canal was crossing the two aqueducts near the town of Chirk, that carry the canal high above the surrounding countryside.

The larger of the aqueducts, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, near Llangollen, Wales, carries the canal 1007 feet (307 meters) across the River Dee valley. It is 126 feet (38 meters) above the river Dee at it's highest point. A cast iron trough, just wide enough for one boat, holds the water on the aqueduct and there is a narrow walkway beside it. Most amazing is that construction of the aqueduct started in 1795, and completed in 1805. All the work would have to have been carried out by hand - an amazing accomplishment.

However the highlight of our journey on the Llangollen Canal was crossing the two aqueducts near the town of Chirk, that carry the canal high above the surrounding countryside.

The larger of the aqueducts, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, near Llangollen, Wales, carries the canal 1007 feet (307 meters) across the River Dee valley. It is 126 feet (38 meters) above the river Dee at it's highest point. A cast iron trough, just wide enough for one boat, holds the water on the aqueduct and there is a narrow walkway beside it. Most amazing is that construction of the aqueduct started in 1795, and completed in 1805. All the work would have to have been carried out by hand - an amazing accomplishment.

The narrowboats travel at about four miles an hour so there is plenty of time to see and enjoy the passing scenery and wonder about the people who live in the occasional canal-side houses or surrounding farms. Wildflowers grow profusely along the banks and birds flit by among the trees and hedges. Hungry ducks and graceful swans are always looking for something to eat, and we saw herons, kingfishers, robins, yellow wagtails, and we heard many others about the canal.

There is always something to attract your attention in the ever changing scenery. On one occasion I thought we might have to rescue a sheep that was actually in the canal, but as we drew closer, it made its own way out of the water, apparently unconcerned. On another occasion we moored near a graceful steam launch, the "Mariamne", whose passengers were enjoying an outing on the Llangollen Canal.

When it was time for lunch or to stop for the night, there was usually a nearby pub where we could enjoy a drink or a hearty meal, and interesting towns or villages to visit. A favourite memory is of the very pretty Wrenbury, where our visit coincided with it's ingenious and amusing scarecrow competition. It was here too that, on our return trip, we enjoyed our last night's dinner at the Cotton Arms Hotel, which combines excellent food with friendly service.

Other memorable meals were had at the convivial canal side Jack Mytton Inn at Hindford, Shropshire, which is named after a gentleman who became a legend for his incredible exploits. Another inviting town that combined ancient buildings with interesting shops is Ellesmere, where there is also a large marina. At Ellesmere we had an enjoyable stroll around the town and lunch at the Black Lion Hotel.

The town of Llangollen is the centre for a beautiful part of the country surrounding the Dee Valley in Northern Wales. It is a very busy place with an interesting history and there is much to interest visitors in the town as well as in the district.

We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing week on the beautiful Llangollen canal with Will and Pamela. We couldn't help thinking how pleasant it would be to spend a few months travelling the network of canals which connect so much of this country. Some of the people we met on our trip were doing just that, and enjoying every minute of it.

A canal trip in a narrowboat will certainly be part of our next visit to Britain.