Blissful narrow escape
thought this was time to relax, of course I was wrong.
Despite crawling along at an average speed of 3mph, there is always a challenge ahead when narrow-boating.
I am now faced with a 90-degree turn to go under a bridge with only inches to spare on either side, which requires me to utilise my hitherto unused – by which I mean nonexistent – reversing skills to manoeuvre and line up into position, and move forward into the impossiblelooking gap.
We (somehow) make it and, as I adjust the tiller to prevent the rear end scraping the bridge walls, I allow a moment of pride to bubble up inside me.
I feel I am gradually getting the hang of steering Amelie, our 62ft long Lautrec Narrowboat.
Just two days earlier, I had stepped on board a canal boat for the first time and despite a thorough briefing from Paul, one of Chirk Marina’s expert team, I had set out with a huge feeling of trepidation, borne out by my initial attempts at navigating this behemoth.
To say this floating house steers like a brick would be insulting to bricks, and using the tiller is counterintuitive to a car driver – a turn to the right takes you to the left and vice versa.
I soon learnt that you should not steer more than a gentle push, as it will easily send you veering off, requiring you to urgently correct your course – and narrowboats do not do “urgently”.
All this is manageable, unless a boat is coming towards you and then all manner of panicky adjustments are needed to get in a position to let them pass, preferably to your left (port-to-port) as per The Boater’s Handbook.
Surprisingly quickly, though, I start to get a feel for it and begin to relax and take in the beautiful views;
at every bend I am taken aback at how picturesque the countryside is.
The canal not only cuts a line through the countryside, it feels like it cuts a line through time, transporting you into a different dimension, away from the roads and hustle of modern life – the prison of lockdown quickly forgotten.
It brings you within brushing distance of cows dipping their nose in the water, sheep nursing their lambs, and herons standing statuesque on the bank. We set off from
Chirk, just across the border into Wales, for this new High Life route planned by Black Prince Holidays, which takes us along the Llangollen Canal to Ellesmere, before retracing our path and heading up to Llangollen itself.
We successfully pass through the only two locks on the route with the help of a couple of live-aboard boaters and my daughter Marie’s enthusiasm for turning the windlasses to raise the paddles.
As well as learning new skills you pick up a whole new vocabulary while boating.
I had never imagined that a short canal boat trip could take me to such remote and different locations, from the rustic farmland of Shropshire to the rugged hills of Llangollen.
The huge bonus is that because you are fully-equipped on board, you can moor up wherever you want – close to a pub or as far from one as you like.
After picking up supplies at Vermeulens delicatessen in Ellesmere, we stop for the night alongside Blake Mere, a tranquil lake reflecting the forest that surrounds it – the only disturbance made by
the splash-landing of geese and ducks.
Our boat has two bedrooms, two toilets, a shower, lounge and an impressive galley, as well as central heating and hot water, allowing us to enjoy the dying light over the still waters as we eat our home-cooked dinner.
But all this tranquillity does not equate to boredom for junior sailors – my daughter is engrossed in spotting wildlife, fawning over ducklings scampering out of the way of the boat, or creating artistic masterpieces for her scrapbook.
Black Prince also handily provides a Towpath Activity Guide to provide further inspiration for younger crew members.
The final waypoint of our voyage is Llangollen, where we climb to the unusual ruins of Castell
Dinas Bran, which overlook the town like a giant silhouetted sheep, before we walk to the man-made Horseshoe Falls.
We finish our day with an ice cream in the town, where I feel jolted back into the 21st century, having to negotiate the bustle of cars and supermarket tills once again.
But we are soon back on the water, negotiating the notorious narrows which lead out of Llangollen and back into the timeless countryside.
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As I look at the 126ft drop below, butterflies gather in my stomach ‘‘
At every bend I am taken aback by the picturesque countryside