Five Go Barging

I heard cruise, she said crews.....

I'm going to kick this blog off with a statement; this was the most relaxing holiday I have ever had. There, said it, forget beach and pool holidays in the sun, holiday cottages on the coast, or even staycation holidays with relatives. This week was a great way to get away, with the family but not always in the same place at the same time!

We picked up our boat, the longest we could get on the Worcester & Shropshire Canal, loaded on some provisions, plenty of drinks and the kids (in that order of priority) and after a safety briefing were let loose for a week. And after a day or so of getting used to navigation (the boat was 69ft long and 6ft 6" wide) we felt comfortable around locks and other boaters. Our top tip? Take it steady, the boat weighed 15 tonnes so wouldn't stop quickly and we did want to return it in one piece.

And although the locks here are rarely more than 72ft long it's the width that gets you each time. You have 3 inches either side and you can guarantee the time you make a hash of getting into a lock there will be a crowd watching (and if I could find a pub garden near my home to do the same thing I would!).

But not all of this canal is narrow, when you get onto the River Severn and cruise up past Worcester it couldn't be wider and at this point, I let the kids have a go at steering (under supervision).

Each day was simple, up, untie and set off, MrsG makes breakfast and brings me tea whilst we travel slowly along. The kids alternate between board games and books until a lock comes up then it's a battle to see who will be helping this time. Lunch was always a hot picnic on the move, bacon or sausage baps (one-handed whilst steering) and a beer. The only decision to make was where to moor up for the night and this was based on which pubs looked like they would do great food and could be booked in advance. On this stretch of the canal the pubs are evenly spaced so after a few hours of meandering each day we'd tie-up for the night, and do some exploring before dinner.

Each day blurs into the next, I'm either navigating past a few scattered moored boats, cruising through open fields of cows, making a sharp blind turn (use horn) or having the occasional excitement of lining up the boat for a lock or even better, a long dark tunnel. Before thinking about what's for dinner and whether I can squeeze in more than 2 local ales. Board games and occasionally a DVD film entertain the kids after dinner before all of us roll into our beds. One good point about having such a long boat is not having to make up the kitchen table into a bed each night as this is an eight berth for us 5 - one indulgence I insisted upon.

As we end our week on the boat we all agree it has been fun, not too hot, no rain (until it tipped down on the last morning) and some great memories to take away with us. We felt relaxed, fresh aired and exercised and all took something different from the trip. Thank you @BlackPrinceBoats - we will be back!

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