Jean kindly agreed to write something about her experiences of hotel boating on the English canals.

Jean (pictured left)

Jean says,

I can’t remember exactly when my first hotel boat trip was but probably in the early  80s. I had always been intrigued by the idea and answered an ad. in The Lady  when my mother died and my husband insisted that I did something I really wanted to do but had never done before. (We had hired a narrow boat for a week as a family when the children were little.)

The Mallard and Dabchick were based at Braunston (long before the place was developed) and were run by Michael Watson. These boats had previously provided very homely, cosy holidays where the guests were encouraged out to do the shopping and help in the kitchen; some of them did not take instantly to Michael’s efforts to introduce a spot of “style” into the experience! (He once told me that ladies had said that things were different in dear Peter and Joyce’s day!)

I loved it! For instance, nobody was allowed to “stack” the dirty dishes at the end of each course; Michael took them away himself! He always employed a first-rate cook as part of the crew and the food was excellent.

One of the things about travelling in the well-deck of the butty was that John the boatman frequently used a long line for towing so it was much quieter than close up and you could see more of the canal ahead. After several trips I persuaded my husband to try out a four night cruise and he too was instantly hooked. My daughter Alison also began to join me on trips and is still an ardent supporter of that style of holiday.

When Michael had to give up he sold the boats on to a man who was totally inexperienced and the result was disastrous and only lasted a year.

A few canal-deprived years passed and then my brother who lives by the canal in Oxford saw Snipe and Taurus moored near his home and picked up a brochure. I booked with Emma and Derek and thoroughly enjoyed some years boating with them. Yet again the boats were sold, abortively, and it was not till 2007 that Alison and I met Neil and Corinne. The rest is history. They have become good friends and as long as I can still clamber between the two boats I hope to keep on cruising.

You only have to compare the layout of the Mallard and Dabchick to see that things are now much more modern; there was only one shower on the two boats and the communal loos were portapotties. The boats were carpeted throughout and not so simple to keep clean. (Nice, though.) I liked the dining layout.

I have always loved traditional canal architecture and marvelled at the engineering. There is nothing more tranquil than a rural night mooring, waking up almost at water level with only natural sounds around you. Apart from town developments I don’t feel canals have changed that much and jarring notes remain few and far between. The holiday itself is what you choose to make of it, walking, cruising, chatting or retiring to your sanctum with a good book, overeating and above all relaxing. Anyone planning such a holiday must be aware that living conditions are cramped by home standards but they will soon get the hang of bringing only the minimum amount of stuff and stowing it all to hand. It has been fascinating to watch the improvements that Neil and Corinne have made over the years to turn the Snipe and Taurus into a first class holiday home.

 *

Many thanks to Jean for providing this lovely guest post.

Have you been on hotel boats before? We’d love to hear about other people’s experiences.

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Peggy Melmoth

1. They Have a Hobby Horse Festival

Banbury has held an annual Hobby Horse Festival since the year 2000.

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.

According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes a “Cock Horse” can mean a high-spirited horse, or an additional horse to help pull a cart up a hill. It also means a child’s hobby horse or an adult’s knee.

The origins and age of the nursery rhyme are unclear, although it dates back at least to the eighteenth century. The identity of the fine lady is also a mystery, and in some versions of the rhyme she is actually an old lady.

2. For 250 years there was no cross

Banbury’s many crosses were demolished by Puritans in 1600. After 250 years the current Banbury Cross was created in 1859 at the centre of the town commemorating the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria, to Prince Frederick of Prussia.

3. They’ve got Tooley’s Boatyard

If my previous article on the Shroppie encouraged you to read Narrow Boat then you will know of the legendary Tooley’s Boatyard. It was built in 1790, has a 200 year old blacksmiths’ shop and is an officially listed cultural site. Tooley’s was working until 1995 and is said to be the oldest continuous working dry dock in Britain. There is now a blue plaque there to commemorate the life of Tom Rolt.

4. They’ve got their own cakes

Banbury cakes are a bit like an oval version of an Eccles cake, made with mixed fruit peel, brown sugar, rose water, rum and nutmeg. These flat pastry cakes were once exclusive to Banbury, and have been made to a secret recipe since the sixteenth century.

5. ‘Ramlin Rose’ is based around Banbury

In the late 1980’s author Sheila Stewart realised that if nobody had yet captured a boatwoman’s life-story it would soon be too late. She resolved to find a boatwoman and write her biography. She put a letter in the Banbury Guardian looking for any women who had been born and bred on a horse-drawn boat on the Oxford Canal. As she could not find one woman who could provide enough memories to comprise a biography she wove the memories of several women into the fictional life story of Rose Ramlin. It’s a fascinating account of a way of life that no longer exists.

Ride a hotel boat to Banbury Cross

In late September our hotel boats will be taking a short cruise along the upper River Thames between Lechlade and Oxford and then the Oxford Canal to Banbury. If you’re interested there’s not many places left!

Hotel boats to Banbury.

Have you been to Banbury? Does your local canal town have any interesting traditions or anecdotes?

Peggy Melmoth

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Carrying the tea tray over the roof as we boat along the Staffs & Worcester

We had a couple of wet days on our second cruise, but managed to persuade the weather to take a break when there were locks to work – we even had some sunshine as we went down Audlem!

Oh yes, and this weeks quiz questions:

Q1: What is the name of the deep canal cutting through the hillside near Tyrley?

Q2: Name the famous canal-side pub in Audlem, with its narrow boat shaped bar.

Q3: How many locks are there in the Audlem lock flight?

Q4: We travelled through four counties on this cruise – can you name them all?

For a bit of fun, this year the crew have devised a quiz for the guests, with a few general knowledge questions, a few about the boats themselves, and a handful about the cruise they are on. Go on, have a go yourself!

Snipe & Taurus Quiz

General Knowledge Round:

1) Name the most expensive painting to ever be sold.

2) What is the date of the Olympic Opening Ceremony for London 2012?

3) What are the names of the four children that form the central characters in the novel ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”?

4) Name 10 parts of the human body that are spelt with just three letters (no slang words)?

5) Name the planets in the solar system.

The Boats:

1) What is the correct term for the tool we use to operate most locks?

2) How many birds can be found on the outside of the boats?

3) How many Perry buoys (life rings) are there on the roofs of the boats?

4) “Taurus” is not the original name of our butty boat. What was it called before it became a hotel boat?

5) Which village is pictured on all the placemats on the dining table?

The Cruise:

1) How many locks have we passed through on this cruise (not including stop locks)? Multiple Choice: a) 70 b) 80 c) 90

2) How many tunnels have we travelled through? Multiple Choice: a) 3 b) 5 c) 7

3) What was the name of the pub at the foot of the Delph lock flight?

4) Name all the canals we have cruised this week (1 point for each).

If you’re keen, you can email us your answers and we’ll let you know how you’ve done. No cheating with google now! (total possible points: 42)

People sometimes ask me, “do you think you might ever move into a house?” When the engine breaks down, or the diesel stove is dodgy*, when the washing machine won’t work or the local tap is frozen in winter, then yes, I do think that a house would be easier. But I’ve been living on the canals for twelve years now, so what makes me stay?

Many live-aboard boaters say that it’s all about the freedom: Freedom to explore England in a peaceful, unhurried way. Cruising through a variety of diverse landscapes; from historic streets to unspoilt countryside, discovering canal side villages and quaint tumbled-down buildings appeals to my sense of adventure.

I like working the locks on a silent summer’s day, taking in a deep breath of fresh air that comes across the open space and green fields all around me. I like to spy a lonely farmhouse in the distance and discover an ancient waterside pub up close. I love the illusion of being away from modern life, yet travelling along knowing that I have all of my home comforts with me indoors. I am exploring new places, stood at the tiller with my own mug of coffee in my hand.

I never get tired of coming out onto the front deck in the haste of a Monday morning, and suddenly finding the time to pause as I notice the swans drifting towards my bow looking for some bread.  The moorhens and coots are across the cut, perhaps repairing their nests and a heron stands silent and watchful on the opposite bank; waiting for a fish to catch. I hear ducks and geese in the morning, ropes creaking when I’m in bed at night, and rain on the roof when it’s stormy.

It’s no wonder that small and intimate hotel boats like Snipe and Taurus are so inspiring for photographers, artists and writers.

So what have I found, by choosing to live on the canals? It’s the freedom, the tranquillity and the closeness to nature that have brought me here.

This is England: So alive and yet undisturbed.

What do you like best about the waterways?

Peggy Melmoth

*Please be assured, there will be no engine breakdowns or dodgy diesel stoves on our 4 star hotel boats!

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Hotel canal boats

A few years ago when I was travelling in India I heard the acronym IST which stands for Indian Standard Time. However, I often found the people of India to be laid-back and relaxed; affectionately referring to IST as Indian Stretchable Time. A friend of mine on holiday in Goa waited two hours for a slice of toast in a beach-shack restaurant. When he politely enquired about his order the waiter became agitated,

“It’s coming, it’s coming!”

A boy had been sent to the shops for bread. I often found restaurants had a ‘can do’ attitude when it came to hospitality, and would have hated to admit that they could not provide what a customer had ordered.

We also have something like IST on the canals. When you are planning a canal journey you can estimate the time it will take you. The ‘lock-miles’ system is a way of roughly calculating journey time: Add the number of miles to the number of locks and divide the result by three. This gives you an idea of the number of hours the cruise will take. We use the Nicholson’s guides to the Waterways which have little countable mile markers indicated along the cut. But then you may need to allow for service stops such as water, shopping, pump-out, and rubbish disposal. A flight of locks will take much longer if they are all ‘set against’ you. Then there is the ubiquitous canal-side pub that has caused many a leisure boatman to pause in his journey for a pint of ale. Because of this stretchable time twenty-first century boaters have to be a little flexible about their estimated time of arrival.

Not only does time stretch on the canals it also slows down. The official speed limit is 4 mph on most British Waterways canals, and to be honest that is pretty fast. It’s not good form for a boat’s wash to break against the bank or cause large waves, particularly when passing moored boats or anglers.

Our working lives are so often full of time-management challenges, despite time being totally unmanageable! No matter how well organised you get, time still marches on. Yet on the canals it’s very difficult to do anything in a hurry and this sometimes reflects in the character of the people you meet on the cut.

When you are cruising outside of the cities you may even find that time has stopped. Some old wharves, waterways workshops and pubs retain their original Victorian charm, and away from the roar of twenty-first century traffic there is a comfortable sense of calm and tranquillity. The wildlife too remains timeless; the resident waterfowl are the ancestors of birds seen (and poached!) by our boat-working ancestors.

If you’ve ever been spellbound, gongoozling at a lock, or strolled down the towpath and lost track of time then you may have been drawn in to the timeless ways of the waterways. So to me, this is the seventh wonder of the waterways: the strange stretchable, magical things that canals do to time.

What do you think? Can time be managed?

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Peggy Melmoth

But how can you enjoy narrowboating in the rain? On the plus side there will be fewer boats around and so there’ll be no queues at the locks. Make sure you pack some decent wet weather gear in case  you want to experience the camaraderie of being part of a crew working the locks. But if you’re on a hotel boat you can choose to leave that bit to the Canal Voyagers crew and retire to your own cabin with a good book. At the moment I’m reading Water Gypsies byAnnie Murray, but I also recommend Narrowboat Dreams by Steve Haywood, Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington or Ramlin Rose by Sheila Stewart. Our hotel boats have a good selection of books on board too. There’s something very comforting about the sound of the rain drumming on a steel narrowboat roof.

If you’re travelling alone this might be the time to get to know your fellow travellers, sharing some fine wine and food. I’m sure a hot drink and a bit of cake will warm you up inside. Soft drinks, tea and coffee are available at all times and alcoholic drinks are available from the on board bar. The other guests on board are likely to share your interest in canals and narrowboats, so don’t be shy!

In our busy lives we rarely get time to stop and play cards or board games, let alone on board a warm and cosy narrowboat.  Treat the place like a hotel and allow yourself to be pampered. However, to prevent cabin fever there will also be the opportunity to visit canal side pubs and sample local real ales.

Nice weather for ducks

When I’m boating in the rain I wear a great big rain poncho, and still enjoy the peaceful rural views. It makes it all the more worthwhile when you come back indoors, get into some warm dry clothes and have a hot drink, feeling a kind of smug sense of satisfaction and achievement at having moored up at the day’s destination.  Perhaps you have to really love narrowboating to enjoy it in all weathers: but luckily I do!

Would you be on deck with me, windlass in hand, or curled up on board with a book?

Take a look at where our hotel boats are cruising in 2012.

Peggy Melmoth

One of the more unusual sights on the British canals this summer will be the trading boats gathering at Mile End on the Regent’s Canal in London, not far from the Olympic Stadium, from 27^th  July to 12^th  August. The floating market will give boating business a chance to catch passing trade from the increase in visitors to the capital this year. The boats will then move to Little Venice in West London from 20^th August to 9^th September.

I can just imagine what a colourful, vibrant place the boat market is going to be. Anyone who remembers the floating market in the 1996 TV series Neverwhere, might also like to imagine it as a bit of a magical place. In Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry’s TV series it was underneath Battersea power station; where as in the subsequent book of Neverwhere, Gaiman was able to return to his original plan of setting it in Harrods. Neverwhere depicted an urban fantasy world called “London Below” that coexisted alongside the London we know.

London’s canals are often an undiscovered, quieter, parallel world coexisting alongside the hustle and bustle of city life.  When I was living on a narrowboat in London I’d be surprised how little many Londoners knew about the canal.

“So is the Hackney canal the same as the Camden canal then? Are they joined together?”

“Yes,” I’d explain. “You can get all the way up to Birmingham!”

I love the way the canals are a secret world; often undiscovered, even by locals. An artist afloat is moored near to me at the moment; just one of many undiscovered floating traders. Others on the canals include: The Cheese Boat, a jewellery boat, The Graphics Boat, a fudge shop and people who make cratch covers. Then there’s Mikron Theatre, travelling marine engineers, sign writers, a puppet barge and even a floating hairdressing salon.

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of books describes a romantic community of gypsy-like boat people: So the canals and rivers are an inspiration to authors, screen writers and anyone who likes to dream of a magical parallel world where time slows down.

What parallel part of the world have you not yet discovered? Visit our canal hotel boats schedule for 2012 and see which cruises still have availability.

What else is magical about the canals? Do you know of other fantasy stories inspired by the waterways?

Peggy Melmoth

What parts of the system have you always dreamed of cruising but never had the chance to visit?

Image credit: Wikipedia

I actually fancy going to Liverpool. I’ve never been there and I’m a huge fan of the Beatles. My four year old daughter likes to sing, “We all live in a green narrowboat,” to the tune of Yellow Submarine! It would take weeks to get my boat up there though, so the only way I would manage it is if I booked myself on to a canal boat hotel at some point.

Travelling by boat you’d get a good look at the new waterfront in Liverpool city centre. The collection of dock buildings and warehouses at the Albert Dock were opened in 1846, and it was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world. It’s the most visited multi-use attraction in the UK, (outside London) and contains the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK.  In May of this year canal hotel boats Snipe and Taurus will be moored right next to the famous Albert Dock.  The hotel boats will then pass in front of the ‘Three Graces’ on the new Liverpool Link Canal: a beautiful trio of historical buildings. However, after passing through the Mersey Dock Complex, they’ll be cruising on into the open countryside north of the city.

I hope Neil and Corrine have got some Beatles tunes to play on the journey:

“Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

There beneath the blue suburban skies…”

I don’t think they’ll pass the original Strawberry Fields but there’s a surprising amount of parkland and scenic green views on this cruise.  Those two Beatles songs refer to John and Paul’s nostalgia about growing up in Liverpool. This journey also includes a nostalgic passage down the Bridgwater Canal, which was the first ever canal to be built in England. Towards the end of the holiday you would get to experience the famous Anderton Boat Lift: As you may know the Anderton Boat Lift was considered one of the seven wonders of the waterways by Robert Aickman, (co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association).

If you don’t like the Beatles, perhaps you could make a Liverpool themed music compilation that includes: Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Ferry Cross the Mersey and Mersey Paradise (Stone Roses) to put on your iPod as you drift lazily from Liverpool to Northwich.

“Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn’t matter much to me.”

Read more about Liverpool to Northwich including the Anderton Boat Lift: Canal hotel boats Liverpool to Northwich

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What music would you choose for a narrowboat cruise?

Peggy Melmoth

Image credit: Braunston Village Website

Have you ever played that game, How Many Miles ‘Till Braunston? Probably not because, 1) I made it up, and 2) it’s a bit silly. Whenever we’re travelling on the Grand Union Canal and there’s a pause in the conversation I like to ask my husband,

“So, how far do you think it is to Braunston now?”

He’ll smile. This is a test. Did he notice the little black knee-high signpost that we just passed?

“Oh,” he’ll say, as if pondering an estimate.

“About fifty-eight I reckon.” He did see the sign! We both grin. We’re not going to Braunston but at one time Braunston was the hub of the English canals network, and many a working boatman needed to know how much further there was to go.  This little village is at the site of the old waterways depot, where the Grand Junction Canal joins the Oxford Canal.

The village is on the hill above the canal, and prospered for over 150 years when the British canals were essential to industry. It still has the busiest flight of locks anywhere in the country. The marina hosts many small boating businesses, and “The Stop House” on the towpath is where tolls were once collected from the working boats. The current village church dates from 1849 but a church has been on this site since Norman times.

The canal-side shop near the bottom lock sells souvenirs, food and ice-cream. The canal side pubs are the Boathouse or The Admiral Nelson and in the village you will find The Old Plough, the Wheatsheaf and a Tea Room.

For more information visit the Braunston Village Website. Or why not join our canal hotel boats from Warwick to Leighton Buzzard this summer? We will travel along the northern half of the Grand Union Canal, with two of the longest canal tunnels in the country at Braunston and Blisworth, the Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum and Bletchley Park to explore.

Don’t you just love visiting those tiny canal-side villages and imagining the hustle and bustle of times gone by? What’s your local waterside village or town? Have you ever been on a hotel boat? Where have you dreamed of visiting? Leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear what you think.

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