Narrowboats in Britain - Travelers intercom: readers' opinions, tips & recommendations - Letter to the Editor

The writer of the letter on page 118 of the July '03 issue gives a very "either/or" picture of the canal scene in Britain, one which is not altogether correct. She writes, "The more adventurous can rent a narrowboat; the less adventurous can visit the Stoke Bruerne Museum."

There are, in fact, many other activities that take place on the canals. For instance, in summer 2002 my wife and I, who are far beyond the adventurous age, took a cruise on a narrowboat from Stratford-upon-Avon to Warwick, two historic towns in the center of England, using the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and the Grand Union Canal. (A surprise was the rural nature of the Grand Union Canal. At school in the U.K., one learns to think of it as an artery Of trade--of course, 150 years ago!)

This type of canal cruising, while very relaxing and suitable for elderly people, need not be idle. Navigating through the locks, which can be as many as 20 or 30 in a flight, becomes hard work for the crew of two who usually works the cruise boats. In our case, we were the only passengers except for an Australian male who chose to include the experience in a world tour. The female member of the crew, who did most of the lock work while the male steered, was also an outstanding chef.

The maximum number of beds on a narrow boat is about seven, the width and length of the boats being limited by the size of the locks.

Ours was a standard midweek cruise, Tuesday to Thursday, at 275 [pounds sterling] (about $410) per person. While the operator of our vessel, a firm called Away4Awhile (The Boat Yard, Nelson Lane, Warwick CV34 5JB, U.K.; phone 011 44 1926 493073, e-mail enquiries@away4awhile.com or visit www.away4awhile.com), specializes in short cruises, there are others that offer tours of 10 days or more and cover much of England and Wales as well as part of Scotland.

Renting a narrowboat is both possible and most appropriate for families with active members, including teenagers, or even for two families, each in a separate boat, who can help each other through the locks.

The advantages of this form of cruising are the complete silence at night, when the boats stop on a stretch of canal away from roads, trains and towns, and the opportunity to see central England as it may have been at the beginning of the 19th century. It does not hurt that at lunchtime it is usually possible to stop near a "pub" with a charming garden in which to take a drink of beer! During our trip we had no rain.

Good references are the websites www.kateboats.co.uk, www.valleycruises.co.uk and www.canalboat-holidays.co.uk.

JOHN & KATHLEEN KAY Chevy Chase, MD

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