Canal trip plies modern, historic England
After narrow-boat cruising five times on the canals of England and Wales, my husband, Joe, and I decided we were perhaps too old to do it again. Then came friends Rick and Mary Day, who heard about our adventures and talked us into doing it one more time. We reserved two boats from Black Prince Narrowboat Holidays and met up in Stoke-on-Trent in England on a sunny September day.
We chose the Cheshire Ring in northwest England because it affords the best of country cruising, small villages, historical sights and the big city of Manchester. Rick and Mary were given Lizzie and our boat was Charlotte. Narrow boats are 7-foot-wide steel barges. Our 52-footers weighed about 20 tons each. In most places, the canal is just wide enough for two boats to pass each other.
Our first obstacle on the Trent and Mersey Canal was piloting through the Harecastle Tunnel. Joe and I had gone through it before and we called it the Dreaded Tunnel. At 1.6 miles long it is pitch dark with black water. The brick roof of the tunnel drips water and is so low the driver has to kneel to avoid getting whacked in the head. A Canal and River Trust employee stationed at the tunnel opening gave us safety instructions and we set off. We worried about Rick piloting his boat. At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, he would have to drive on his knees. What a welcome sight when Lizzie emerged from the tunnel safe and sound.
When we came to the first set of locks, Mary and I piloted the boats while the men operated the lock mechanisms. That night we moored on a quiet country towpath and enjoyed dinner on the Charlotte. We toasted our accomplishment with glasses of wine. After 17 locks in 6 miles, Rick and Mary were no longer beginners.
The Cheshire Ring is made up of five canals. Since we had to complete 105 miles and 92 locks in two weeks, it was crucial to balance cruising time with sightseeing time.
We began at Etruria on the Trent and Mersey Canal and cruised northwest to Preston Brook. Along the way we stopped at the Anderton Boat Lift built in 1875. It is a two-caisson lift lock that connects the canal to the River Weaver below. It was restored in 2002 and very thrilling to experience that engineering marvel.
The Bridgewater Canal took us to downtown Manchester. The Rochdale Canal through Manchester is made up of double locks that took us under 20-story buildings. Troublemakers had vandalized the locks on the Ashton Canal so it was devoid of water. But we were able to reset six locks ahead so water would fill the canal and boats could keep floating. At Ashton we turned south on the scenic Peak Forest Canal.
We love to hike so we made sure to find great trails. From a path by the Macclesfield Canal we hiked to Lyme Park Estate, which was used as Pemberley in a 1995 version of “Pride and Prejudice.” One day we hiked through a herd of cows to tour Little Moreton Hall, built in 1508. That day we also walked up a very steep hill to see Mow Cop Castle ruin. It looked ancient but was built in 1754. We made it through the Dreaded Tunnel again and said our good-byes at the boat base. It was a perfect canal trip and no doubt our last one.
Want to try canal boating?
Anyone can rent a canal boat in England but it does take muscle to operate the boat and locks. We have used various companies and have been happy with Black Prince, www.black-prince.com.
If you’d like to experience the canals without all the work, there are hotelboats that offer trips in England, Wales and Scotland. A crew does all the work. www.hotelboating.co.uk/canal-rivercruising-holidays.html.
The writer lives in Mesa.