A Day the Narrowboat Way

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Our Home for Two Weeks

Although in many ways living on a narrowboat for two weeks is similar to spending time in an RV, there are also many differences. To give you some idea of what it is like I will describe what a day could be like.

If we have a lot of locks to work our way through, we will usually sit and have breakfast together. The boat has an apartment sized fridge working on LPG, so we have cold milk for cereal, butter margarine and jam for toast, or eggs and delicious English bacon. As well, a nice cup of coffee is needed to start our day even on the boat. If we do not have locks to navigate, Bill likes to get underway right away, so he or I go check the engine, start it up and we push off. Whoever is piloting the boat, expects his or her breakfast (or at least a hot cup of coffee) is delivered out to the back of the ship where the tiller is. The other option is to get the boat under way and then eat in shifts so the pilot can take a break to have breakfast.

If we do not have locks to go through, the person piloting the boat is the only one who

Ok, I think the pub is just up here . .

actually has to do much, and they have to be constantly alert; a momentary laps to watch the cows in the field next to the canal can result in running ashore. The canal is often barely two boat widths wide, and in places two boats cannot pass without running into weeds, so it does not take much to be into the banks. It is not usually a problem however and the boats all have a long pole to push you back off the bank. You can zip along at the dizzying speed of 4 MPH at times but when you are passing other boats, even moored ones, or houses, you are expected to slow down to 2 MPH, so people walking on the paths beside the locks often pass you. Although the pilot stands and steers the boat with the tiller, and occasionally adjusts the speed, they have to be constantly alert, and it is actually quite tiring if you have to do it for a long time. Normally we take turns so no one has to be at the tiller all day. The people not piloting the boat can sit and watch the countryside slide by, or they can read, play games or even write

Watch out for Wildlife

blog posts on the computer . . .

A day with locks is completely different. Every time you need to go through a lock, someone has to get out of the boat to operate the locks. They take a special crank or windless to open and close the paddles which allow the water into the locks or drain it out. One person can operate the locks, but it is easier with two because you need someone on each side of the canal. If it is just one lock the person piloting the boat lets the lock workers off before the lock and picks them up after the lock. However if there are a series of locks in a row as often happens, the lock workers may as well stay out and walk to the next lock. On the days when we had to do 18 locks, you spent most of the day off the boat working the locks or walking to the next lock. If the locks are close together it is useful to have more than one person, because one person can go ahead to prepare the next lock. You spend a lot of time standing around waiting for the lock to fill or empty so you can open the gates to let the boat in.

 

Keep to the Canal

Sometime during the day we just decide to take a break and pull over and make a cup of tea. Bill has discovered that the blackberries are ripe along the canal and there are buckets of them. Sometimes when we stopped he would disappear to go pick blackberries and we had no idea where he was.

Usually around 3:00 we will find someplace to pull over to moor for the evening. Although there are designated “mooring” areas in towns, you can normally stop almost anywhere along the canal. There is a walking path beside the canal; these paths are called “tow-paths”, because before engines powered the boats horses towed the boats along the paths. These paths are right beside the boat, and all evening people out walking, biking or exercising their dogs go by usually with a cheerful greeting. They are used to finding someone new parked beside the canals close to where they walk. If you are in a town, you might find an interesting pub to try for dinner but in the countryside someone has to prepare an evening meal.

Tying up the Boat

Then, especially on days when we had a lot of locks, everyone goes to bed early, to be rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the water. You sleep pretty well after a busy day on the canals.

Becoming a Lock-Smith

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Working the Locks

Today I learned how to actually pilot the boat in and out off the locks. I have watched how it is done, but knowing that it can cause a serious problem if it is not done right, I was hesitant to do it myself. Today I asked the captain of the boat (That would be Bill), to give me instructions on how it was done. His instructions were excellent, but he guided me through one lock and then politely announced that he was going to go and work the locks leaving me to run the boat all afternoon. Obviously this was a good plan, and by the end of the day I was sliding the boat into the locks with barely a bump. These locks are very narrow, with room for only one boat and there are barely inches on either side, and only a few feet aft and astern. As well, it seems that they like to put the locks on a slight angle so you cannot go straight in, but need to turn in at the exact time. Of course, turning a 60 foot long boat on a dime is not easy. However, you do feel good when you finally slip the boat around a bend and into the lock without touching the sides.The rest of this entry I wrote at home giving you a brief explanation of the locks.

  

Cruising the Panama Canal

When you transit through the Panama Canal, the lock system is a big deal, and the real highlight of a cruise with hundreds of passengers trying to get the best spot to watch the ships guided through the locks. On our river cruise through Europe the locks were not even mentioned in the literature and we tended to slip through overnight as if they were an unwanted hindrance to our trip. On this trip, we have almost 100 locks to navigate on the 100 mile trip; only these locks we have to operate on our own. In their heyday during the industrial revolution when these canals were THE method of transportation, each lock had it’s own Lock-keeper who lived in a cottage beside the canal and worked the locks and maintained the canals and the locks. Now the locks sit lonely and deserted and the users need to know how to operate them if they want to use the canal system.

Fortunately it is not difficult, and we quickly caught on after the first one. Most of the locks operate in both directions, so if the canals are busy you need to be aware of boats moving in both directions and if the locks are wide enough and traffic is heavy you are encouraged to share the locks and conserve water. If you are lucky, the lock is ready for you as you approach, the doors are open, the water at the right level and you can pilot the boat right in. Someone has to get off the boat to operate the gates and doors, so you need to get close enough to the shore to allow someone to jump ashore. If you are going up you need an empty lock, if going down you need to start with a full lock.

Don't do this!

Once in the lock chamber, it is very important to hold the boat in the center of the lock. If too close to the doors at either end you can become swamped by the incoming water or hung up on the frame as the water goes down; neither is good! Once the boat is in the center of the chamber, the operator outside makes sure all doors are closed tightly. Then the gates in the doors are opened allowing water to either enter the lock or flow out. The gates are small doors in the larger swinging lock doors. The gates are operated by remote ratcheting gears, which the operator works with a lock “windlass”. As the small door opens water rushes into the lock if going up, or out if going down. The pilot of the boat has to carefully keep the boat steady against the in/out flow of the water with the engine or with ropes.

Typical British Locks

You quickly learn that the water on both sides of the doors must be equal before the big doors will open; the procedure cannot be hurried, water pressure will not allow the doors to move. The operator works the doors by leaning back into the large counter-balanced leaver attached to the doors, and pushing back along the track beside the lock, worn by hundreds of feet over a hundred years. Once both doors are opened the boat can motor out, the operator can jump back onboard and you can continue on.

If lucky you can then settle back and enjoy the rest of the trip, but on two days of our trip we have to repeat this procedure 18 times . . . . .

Back to Plan A

 

Well, after completely changing our plans and developing a completely different route, we arrived today to pick up the boat and discovered that the broken lock would be fixed and navigable once again.

Leaving the Marina

We were a little concerned with Plan B as it took us right through Manchester and one section required us to do 27 locks in one day, as it is not recommended to moor the boat along the canal in Manchester. Although the city’s reputation has improved in recent years, it was not unheard for boaters to be treated rather violently by local gangs of teenagers when they tried to stay overnight in Manchester. The decision therefore was not difficult, and we decided to go back to our original plan and do the Four Counties Ring.  

Our boat was ready to go on time, and the fellow giving us instructions on the boat was very happy that we had done this before and knew most of the information. There were a number of other boats coming and going , but we were the first out of the Marina. Finally on the boat and underway. Yay!

On the Canal at Last

The day started out miserably, and we woke at the B & B to a downpour of rain, so resigned ourselves to the first day on the boat a wet one . . . but, by the time we picked up our groceries and celebratory libation, the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing, and we motored out of the marina under blue skies.

Traveling on the canals on a narrowboat is not at all like touring in a car. England is a very densely populated country, and you rarely drive without seeing houses, stores and industry, but on the canals you mostly motor slowly through the countryside, surrounded by fields and trees. Our boat is named “The Great Blue Heron”, and soon after leaving the marina, a blue heron lifted off from the side of the canal and flew over the boat – a good omen if there ever was one.

Making Friends Along the Way

We did pass by a rusting very shabby looking industrial complex, but quickly were surrounded by gently waving cat-tails, fields of corn, and huge trees with branches we had to duck to avoid as we glided by. The canals are narrow and we are often less than two feet from the sides so the purple flowers on the bank could have been picked as we went by, and we saw another boater who  had discovered a plum tree growing beside the canal and had stopped to pick a basket.

The first day was an easy one with only three hours and one lock to do, so we arrived at a pleasant mooring spot just outside Middlewich, and after a delicious dinner of English meat pies purchased at the street market before we left, we are relaxing in the boat.

Now tomorrow is a six hour day with 17 locks to navigate, so  . . . . .

Acting Childish

Time for Dinner

My 'little' sister Margaret and her husband Bill are our travel companions on this trip.  Although I now get to take advantage of the 'seniors' discount occasionally, and I do still sometimes refer to her as my 'little' sister, she is not that much younger than me, however this is a story of her acting a bit 'childish'.

After a huge English breakfast at the B & B, we were all feeling rather full, and although we skipped lunch, even by dinner time we were not really hungry. Stopping for an early supper at a nice looking pub, we decided to order off the lunch menu rather than waiting thirty minutes to get the evening menu. Margaret commented that she did not want a big meal, and wondered if she could order off the 'Child's Menu'. After all it should be the portion size, that is reduced as well as the price, and she was informed that of course, regardless of age she could order from the 'Child's' menu.

Some nice English Beer

Margaret and I both ordered the same thing, a delicious sounding steak burger. When our meals arrived fifteen minutes later, she was presented with a 'Child' sized burger and I got a regular one. However comparing them we could not see any difference. Both came on a full sized plate. Both were served with a pile of crispy 'English' fries, and a mound of slaw. They both looked the same size, and were served on a full size bun.

I then noticed the burger toppings, we both had melted cheese, but I had a mound of three kinds of shredded lettuce and a big red slice of tomato, where she had nothing.

Ah, now I understand . . .the English know their children . . . They know that children do don't want to eat their vegetables . . . so the 'Child's' burger did not include any.

And she still didn't finish it all, so we did not allow her to have dessert . . .

Filling The Day

We had almost two full days in Anderton before we pick up the boat and begin our actual boat trip, This gives us time to find everything and get supplies for on the boat as well as giving us some room incase of delays etc. As a result, we had a day here with nothing planned to do.

The day began with an “English Breakfast”, and anyone familiar with these knows that it is an overwhelming meal which results in having no room for food all day. It did however give us time to plan how to fill and unplanned day. Fortunately, the cheerful waitress at the B & B had a couple of useful suggestions, including a castle, and Regis simply cannot pass up a castle visit.

 

Going UP!

Going in.

Our day started with a visit to the Anderton Boat Lift. This is what happens when you challenge Industrial Revolution engineers with a problem. The Canal which was used to transport pottery and goods around the Midlands, was 50 feet above the River Weaver which connected to the ocean. Both were busy transportation routes, but goods transferring between the two had to be unloaded, carted up the hill and reloaded (And vice-versa of course). The solution to this problem was to build a “lift” to take the boats from the one to the other. Simplifying it a bit, the boats are floated into a tub of water, which is then lifted or lowered by hydraulics to the other level. Two of these tubs operate side-by-side, thus creating a balance and actually used very little energy. Originally operated by water hydraulics, this proved to be very corrosive due to the salt and chemicals in the water due to industry in the area. The system was converted to counter-balanced weights powered by electric motors, but this finally jammed and shut the lift down. It sat rusting for years, but has recently been restored and is now operated by oil hydraulics. We watched a couple of boats being moved up and down, and it is a fascinating process which we hope to fit into our schedule at the end of the trip.

What a View

Next we took Regis out to her castle. This was an amazing visit. The Beeston Castle sits on a beautiful 40 acre hill with a view over 60 miles of English countryside. You can imagine how this 4000 year old castle could control the entire area. Unfortunately it was not invincible, and lost to a siege and was mostly demolished, so is mostly a ruin now.

Pretty well exhausted from a day with nothing to do, we required a visit to a nice English pub for a good beer and some pub food to recover from the day. 

Plan B

Things do not always work out as you plan them. When you travel on the canals in England, you rent the boat and go where you want to. We choose a particular boat that we liked the layout of and we decided to do a route called “the Four Counties” ring. This route matched the time we had the boat for and seemed to have a nice mix of scenery. We felt we could do the 100 miles comfortably in the 14 days we had the boat.

However . . . . .

Anderton Boat Lift

Arriving at Andertion, the town where we were to pick up the boat, we decided to locate the Marina and have a look at the Andreton Boat lift, a historical hydraulic machine that lifted boats fifty feet from the river up to the canal. When we stopped at the boat rental office and started discussing our route with the girl in the office she told us that the “four counties” could not be done as a loop because of a “Stoppage” half way around. You could still do section of the route, but no boats were getting all the way around.

Time to look at Plan B Over a Beer

This was a shame, because Margaret (My sister) and I had carefully charted how long we would travel each day, how many locks we would have to use, and the choice of pubs we could visit along the way.

So, all that is out the window and we will have to move to plan B. A look at our options showed that there was another “ring” route that we could take from the same marina. It was a little shorter and went through a more urban area (Right through the centre of Manchester), but we could take our time and perhaps stop more often.

It does have a series of locks that is nick-named “Heartbreak Hill”, because there are 27 locks in a row. That sounds like an adventure, and we may have time to actually go through the Anderton Boat Lift.

Narrowboatin'

Dawn on the Canal

We are off on our latest travel adventure. This time we are going to England to rent a Narrowboat for a two week trip through the canals of the Midlands of England. I am writing this prior to going, and will post it just before we leave. It is not our first trip on a Narrowboat, but I think a lot of you are not familiar with this form of travel.

The Narrowboat is a unique type of craft, designed for the vast canal network crisscrossing most of England. Once a major system used to transport goods around the country, the canals were often abandoned once trains and trucks became a more convenient means of transportation, but some of the old Narrowboats used on the canals were converted to houseboats and used for recreation, and with the encouragement from a popular book, Narrow Boat by L.T.C Rolt written in 1939, the canals and the hundreds of locks along the way were restored and are now well maintained as a popular recreation facility for many people.

Narrowboat Layout

The actual Narrowboats, are a pretty standard design, once wooden hulled but now steel, they are 7 feet wide (Well, actually 7 feet narrow), and up to 70 feet long. Where they once had a tiny cabin at the rear for the captain and crew, and a large open hold for coal, local pottery, or other goods being transported, the modern Narrowboat is a well equipped floating British RV. They contain a full galley with fridge, stove, coffee maker, and even a microwave, bedrooms with comfortable beds, bathrooms with full showers and hot water. As well they have full electrics, heat, and now even WiFi.

Unlike a riverboat vacation where you are transported through Europe in luxury with a captain, program director, and a full crew to look after your every need, on a narrowboat, you are given instructions on operation and sent on your way. You pilot the boat, you cook you meals, and you clean the boat.

Working the Locks - Everyone lends a Hand

Now it is a casual style of travel. We have a trip of 180 km and we have 14 days to do it, so the speedy 4 km speed limit is not a problem, but we do have almost 100 locks to go through and we have to do everything on our own (perhaps more on that later . .). Hopefully the WiFi on the boat will allow me to write my blog as we progress, so look for information on some of the interesting places we visit and how things work along the way.