I wrote this article for Canal Voyagers hotel boats, but I quite liked it and thought I'd share it here. I wanted to show that narrowboating can be quite active, contrary to the popular image of drifting lazily along on a summer afternoon...
Canal Boating is Not an Olympic Sport!
Did you see that picture in the Guardian of the narrowboat-shaped
water jump as part of an Olympic equestrian event?! That may be as close as a
canal boat has got to being involved with a sporting event this summer.
A few months ago I asked the wisdom of Twitter, what are the
best things about the canals? Of course people mentioned peaceful moorings, a
sense of calm, the sound of water running through a lock and the sun reflecting
the pattern of the water on to the ceiling. So I then wrote an article that described the
freedom, tranquillity and closeness to nature that attracts me to the
waterways.
However, an even better kept secret of the canals is that
they have a wild side!
Here are seven ways to get active on the cut.
Working the locks.
As you approach a lock as part of a crew you may be the one to leap to the bank
holding a rope and haul the boat in, then tie to a bollard. To fill or empty
the lock you will need to wind paddles with a simple device called a windlass,
and some of these mechanisms can be quite stiff! Then there is opening the lock
gates by pushing the balance beam. Some can be quite heavy and require you to
put your back into it.
Lock wheeling. Traditionally
this meant going ahead of the working boats, up the towpath to set and prepare the
next lock ready for the boats’ arrival. This was often done on a bicycle but
some people still call it lock wheeling if you charge ahead on foot.
Bow hauling. Not
something that is often done these days unless you have a butty (a boat without
a motor). Hotel boats usually travel as a pair; motor and butty. Occasionally manoeuvring
the boats requires pulling the butty by hand, on a rope, to get in or out of a
lock for example.
Walking. Take a
picnic and ramble away from the beaten track (towpath) across buttercup meadows
to discover ancient villages. Or stay alongside the boat and hop back on for
tea and cakes when you need to refuel.
Jogging on the
towpath. The towpath is such a picturesque running track, usually far from
any noisy traffic sounds. If there are a lot of locks you may find yourself
well ahead of the boats and need to wait a while with a cool drink in a canal
side pub.
Mooring up. As
well as leaping off with a rope and hauling the boat towards the bank, this can
often involve using a mallet to bang mooring pegs into hard ground. Great for
releasing any repressed anger by bashing that peg on the head!
Barge poling off the
bottom. Again, not so common if the canal is deep enough, but you may
occasionally get caught on an underwater obstruction and need to push the boat
off using a barge pole. This is done by standing on the roof of the boat.
Several of these perhaps should not be attempted for the
first time without supervision. That’s where the secret of hotel boats is
really revealed. Our skipper and crew have years of experience between them and
are more than willing to show enthusiasts the ropes, if guests want to get
involved.
So if you’re looking for an active holiday with a
difference, this could be what you are looking for!
We are currently finalising and publishing our routes for
2013.
Will you join us on an adventure?
