Canal Holidays Totally Different Totally Peaceful

K now first that canal and         countryside, although,             waterway cruising is not a      occasionally, you may find         holiday that will please        yourself going through a town -    everyone. If you like playing         even through the center of a       tennis and golf all day, if your      major city.                        idea of happiness is lying beside                                        a pool looking at the young           To liven the proceedings you will  ladies in their miniature             frequently come across locks       bikinis, if you must absolutely       which, in almost every case, you   be able to enjoy a hectic night       will have to work yourself. You    life every day of your holiday -      soon get used to it. It is a       then a canal cruising holiday is      small but pleasant skill that      most certainly not for you.           provides an enjoyable break in                                           the day. It is also a good place   On the other hand, if you don't       to meet people from other boats    mind gliding peacefully through       who will be full of information    some of the most beautiful            and advice - some of it correct    country in the world at a speed       and valuable.                      of around 7 km an hour, seeing                                           parts of the countryside that         There are several guide books      other people never do, avoiding       available for each country, and    all the rush hour traffic, and        they list the waterside pubs,      slowing down the pace of your         which are some of the most         life to a gentle amble, then a        interesting and attractive of      canal cruising holiday will be        hostelries in Europe.              very much your speed.                                                                                          Basics                             Canals are not straight roads you                                        rush down. Typically they turn        If you are going to be operating   around following the bends of the     the boat yourself - and there is   no other way to totally enjoy the     When you want to stop you can      experience - then you need to be      moor the boat on the tow path      agile enough to get on and off        side. There is no charge for       the boat fairly quickly and you       mooring and you either use         need to have somebody to steer        mooring posts or hammer some       the boat. In fact, a three person     stakes into the ground.            crew is preferable. If that is                                           impossible, then there are hotel      You, of course, carry your water   boats, especially in France,          with you and you will have to      which cater to your needs.            re-fill the tanks every second                                           day or so. You will not have that  There are no high levels of skill     trouble with fuel as typically     involved in handling a canal          you will be supplied with enough   boat. It is not like a yacht.         to more than last for the          Steering is either from a small       duration of your holiday.          hand wheel or a tiller at the                                            back of the boat, and you have a      You can cook on the boats - all    throttle lever to control the         utensils are supplied - but you    speed.                                will probably find yourself                                              having dinner at one of the many   When you hire the boat you will       waterside hostelries. You will     be given a very short training        have to take with you proper boat  course to show you how to handle      shoes so that you do not slip on   the locks, bridges and other          wet decks.                         items of canal technology.                                                                                     On older boats, the person         There will be a towpath running       steering can sometimes be annoyed  along one side of the canal,          by the sound of the diesel         which is where the horses used to     engine. This is not a problem on   walk when they towed the boats.       the newer boats which are          normally those for hire. In           four people you hire a six person  either case, it is only the           boat.                              person steering who notices. At                                          the front of the boat there is no     The electricity - after all, this  noise except for the lapping of       is Europe - is weird and           the water and the swishing of the     wonderful and if you need to use   reeds.                                a hair dryer or recharge a                                               camcorder you need to check with   In Britain, the canals are fairly     the hirers very carefully before   narrow - two meters is fairly         you start out.                     wide - and that is why the boats                                         are called 'narrowboats'. Despite     In Europe there are several        their lack of beam these boats        cruising grounds, some more        have all of the conveniences of       attractive than others. For        home including showers, kitchens      example, canal boating in          and the inevitable television.        Scotland sometimes means that you  Note that they never come             are sailing across quite large     equipped with telephones - it is      bodies of water and you need       not meant to be that sort of          something other than a narrow      holiday. But if you need to be in     boat. Ireland, on the other hand,  constant touch you can hire a         has become a major area for canal  mobile phone.                         cruising and many of the canals                                          have been restored and reopened.   Almost all boats have a dining                                           area which can be made up into an     In Ireland the Grand Canal and     extra double berth. Unless you        Barrow Systems and the Shannon     are very pushed you should avoid      River offer you the freedom of     this. It is only suitable for         240 kilometres of uncrowded        young people. Thus the rule is        waterways. The start of the Grand  that if you are hiring a boat for     Canal is only 100 km from Dublin.  The Shannon is the backbone of a      The river Thames provides yet      vast network of inland waterways,     another area for cruising, but it  joined to the Erne via the newly      has some differences. The locks    restored Shannon-Erne link. The       right up to Oxford are worked by   Grand Canal connects it to Dublin     lock keepers, who know the area    and the east coast, while the         and are normally great characters  Barrow Navigation makes it            in their own right. The banks of   possible to travel to the south       the Thames are a panorama of       east. The river immediately to        English history and you could not  the south is ideal for beginners.     be bored for one minute.           But it is in England that British                                        canal cruising comes to               Then there are the canals which    perfection.                           run throughout England and Wales.                                        There are about 3,000 km still     There are three areas.                available for recreational use,                                          as they are rarely used now for    The first is the Norfolk Broads       commercial transportation. It is   which consists of canals and          here that you have to use a        rivers connected to lakes which       narrow boat. It will come with     are called Broads. There are no       all the comforts of home and is    locks in this area, but there are     very simple to use. Anyway, you    tides and you need to acquire the     cannot do much damage at a         skill of using the tides to move      maximum speed of about 7 km an     you along.                            hour.                                                                                                       This is some of the most              The centre of the canal system is  beautiful country in Europe, and      in the city of Birmingham, but     even for England, it is a very        most of the canals run through     quiet and remote place.               the countryside. You amble along                                         and enjoy the scenery and then at  night moor beside a waterside         whether to carry a bicycle. You    pub. You probably will only           will find that carrying a bicycle  travel for four hours or so a         for each person on-board will      day, which will leave you plenty      make the trip much more            of time for exploring.                interesting because it is very                                           easy then to cycle along the tow   It takes about 15 minutes to get      path to some close by              through a lock and you need to        destination. On the other hand     change your way of thinking of        storing them can be a dashed       distance from km to lock km. You      nuisance, and if you put them on   will it normally find that you        the cabin top you will find        travel at something under 30 lock     problems with overhanging trees    km a day.                             and some of the bridges, which                                           can be very restricted.            You can either cruise from your       Nevertheless, they improve the     starting pint and back along the      holiday no end.                    same canals or you can go on a                                           circular tour which brings you        When you have finally decided      back to your starting point. Take     where to go, and have arranged to  the advice of the boat yard as to     hire a boat, buy a guide for the   how long a trip will take. Their      canals you intend to cruise. In    judgment is better than yours.        Europe Nicholsons, Pearsons and    Canal cruising on the Welsh           Waterways World each publish a     borders between Chester and           series of guides. These are        Llangollen can get a little           useful on the cruise, as they      crowded at the height of the          will show you where the villages,  season, but many regard this as       pubs and water points are. An      the ideal first trip.                 overall map of the system is                                             useful for appreciating where the  There is much discussion as           canals are in relation to the      rest of the country, and for          with the pleasures of canal and    overall planning.                     waterway cruising, as well as a                                          resource for experienced           There are no big differences          boaters.'                          between cruising in Britain and                                          cruising on the continent.            UK Canal Network                   Perhaps the biggest difference is     http://www.ukcanals.net/ Has more  that on the continent the major       links than you can poke with a     canals are still used for             stick. Total coverage. Whatever    commercial traffic. But otherwise     you want to know, this site has a  it is much the same. You never go     link to it. Quite amazing.         faster than eight km per hour -                                          there is a speed limit - and you      UK Vacations Afloat on Canal,      need to allow 15 minutes for          River and Sea                      going through a lock. Otherwise,      http://www.holidayuk.co.uk/canals  it is a very similar experience       /index.htm Commercial site         and the canal system extends          listing what it has to offer.      through France, Germany and           There is an immense amount.        Holland.                                                                                                       AccomoDATA - Canal Boating         Web sites                             http://www.accomodata.co.uk/boats                                        .htm Another commercial site       George's: Canal Boating in the        dealing with canals in Britain.    U.K. and Europe                                                          http://www.canals.com/index.htm       Croisières Le Dauphin / Dolphin   The definitive guide. Has             Cruisers, Pelican Canal Boat       everything you want to know plus      Rental                             links to lots more. Says of           http://www.le-guide.com/dolphin/p  itself, modestly, ‘Being an         elican.html Commercial site on     introduction for those unfamiliar     cruises - more powerboat than      true canal boats - in France.          About the Author: Gareth Powell is the author of several travel books, has been the travel editor of two metropolitan newspapers and has a travel website - www.travelhopefully.com, a non-blog web site - www.bloggeroff.com and a digital image web site - www.pixelates.com. He is passionately against restrictive laws and copyrights and lists free software on his site Source: www.isnare.com