A NARROW ESCAPE
Could a sedate narrowboat holiday just a short hop from Birmingham hold the attention span of two jaded urbanites? You’d be surprised!
BY JULIE ALPINE
Our beach-loving writer,
Julie Alpine, together with
husband Shaun [left]
swapped
deck-chairs for
deck shoes
on her first
trip on a
narrowboat.If you’ve mastered a three-point turn in a Renault Clio during rush hour in central London, you might think that you’d have no problem attempting the same thing in a 55ft narrowboat in a secluded 75ft turning point in the Shropshire Union Canal. We did. We were wrong.
As the ornate rope fenders – the narrowboat equivalent of car bumpers – of our boat, Sir Ulfius, bounce gently off the side of the canal for the hundredth time, we’re still pointing in the wrong direction, and beginning to wonder if we’re ever going to get our trusty vessel back to the hire company by the agreed time. Okay, so that’s not until tomorrow evening, but with a top cruising speed of three miles an hour, our 6pm deadline is beginning to look near impossible. Oh well. Maybe it’s time for a break and a nice cup of tea. Evidence of the healing powers of slow travel, surely?
Rewind two days and we’d arrived at Brewood Wharf, a half hour’s drive from Birmingham International Airport, hot and bothered after a hectic week in the urban jungle (and an argument over directions). The moment we caught our first glimpse of the Shropshire Union Canal, though, the tension started to ebb away.
Slicing through the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire, the graceful waterway links the canal system of the Midlands, centred on Birmingham, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Completed in 1835, it was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of famed Scottish stonemason, architect and engineer Thomas Telford. And if this all sounds somewhat industrial, the surprise is just how beautiful the “Shroppie” – as the canal is affectionately known by locals – really is.
Another surprise was just how luxurious the interior of a narrowboat could be. We were like excited kids when we discovered the comfortable double beds, two bathrooms (one with power shower), kitchenette with all mod cons and – wonder of wonders – a TV in the living area. More stress drained away as we happily put our groceries in the fridge – all local, organic produce that we’d pre-ordered and was waiting for us on arrival.
The people at Countrywide Cruisers, the small, family-run company that rented us our boat, know the canal’s twists and turns, its wildlife and the amenities inside out. Which is why we were grateful when, as complete narrowboating virgins, they sent Trevor with us to show us the ropes for the first hour of our glorious three-day trip.
Having enjoyed holidays on the waterways for over 17 years, Trevor packed in his job six years ago and “got myself a job in a boat yard”. After he’d shown us the basic maintenance we’d need to know for the duration of our voyage (easy enough, even for someone who doesn’t know how to check the oil on her car), and how to map our route and plan the itinerary with the help of the Pearson’s Canal Companion book, we cast off the ropes, started up the engine and were on our way. As we passed boats with names like Serendipity, Stress Free and Moving On, Trevor’s decision suddenly started to make a lot of sense.
