AllWays Traveller Features
Plying the Kennet & Avon Canal in winter
There were those who were alert to the joys of Britain's canals as early as the mid-19 Century.
It was however, some one hundred years later that taking a canal narrowboat holiday really began to take off.
Since then, the popularity of canal boating in England, Wales and Scotland has soared, particularly during the warmer months of late spring, summer and autumn.
In more recent years, however, state-of-the-art narrowboat construction and less severe winters has offered the chance to enjoy a totally different canal boat experience during the colder, darker months of December, January and February.
With 150 narrowboats out of nine marinas throughout England, Anglo Welsh is the only company currently operating year-round, including on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Southern England.
It's got to be the going not the getting there that's good
For those wanting to embrace slow travel, there is nothing that comes slower than a canal narrowboat.
By Ashley Gibbins and Ann Mealor
Reading Anthony Burton's The history of Leisure boating in Canal Boat, I discover the promoters of the Trent & Mersey Canal published a pamphlet in 1766 that described the benefits a canal boat trip would bring.
And Sir George Head, travelling in a narrowboat along this canal in 1835, found the experience to be : at first, just as delightful as the pamphleteer had promised.
His party were basking in the sunshine, and gliding through a continuous panorama of cows, cottages and green fields, the latter gaily sparkling in the season with buttercups and daisies.
Head did however write that things changed as they neared Manchester where : The water of the canal is as black as the Styx, and absolutely pestiferous, from the gas and refuse of the many factories with which it is impregnated.
https://www.canalboat.co.uk/canal-boat/a-history-of-leisure-boating
Some 190 years later and the UK's rural waterways remain just as idyllic and the stretches through urban landscapes greatly improved.
Having lost their industrial relevance, the canal network has been cleaned up and is maintained to accommodate the leisure seekers who now dominate the waterways.
Shunning the winter months
Back in the mid-19 Century I doubt Sir George would have ventured on the water during winter.
The boats available back then would have been ill-equipped to cope with the colder months with the canals ice bound during what were more severe winters.
While the narrowboat leisure industry still sees spring, summer and autumn as its major seasons, there are a growing number of canal aficionado's taking trips between December and February.
It includes those laden with Christmas tree and festive decorations and the provisions needed for the Christmas dinner afloat.
Taking our third trip on a narrowboat, Ann and I decide to see what the appeal of a wintertime canal break was - if any!
We opted for Anglo Welsh, which is the one company to offer hire in December, January and February.
And with a fleet of 150 boats, out of nine marinas, in England and Wales, the company has a wide range of options available.
On board Centaurus, our Constellation Class narrowboat
Our winter getaway was on Centaurus, a 65ft Constellation Class narrowboat, which has accommodation for up to four people.
And as with all of the company's steel-hulled craft, it is based on the traditional narrowboat design and comes fully equipped with all the mod-cons one could wish for.
The saloon has an all-important, multi-fuel, stove around which we would sit come evening in our really comfortable, reclining armchairs complete with footstools.
The adjoining fully equipped galley had a four-burner gas cooker with grill and oven, so good to cook anything including the festive roast dinner, and there is also microwave, fridge and freezer.
There is also a TV/DVD player and CD/Radio player in the saloon, although we preferred our own music via a Bluetooth speaker, and I'm told some families ask for the TV to be removed to take temptation away from the kids. Which also highlights how the team at Anglo Welsh are happy to meet any requests from their guests and to answer all questions in advance of a trip.
Centaurus has two cabins, both of which can be configured with a double or two single beds and there are two shower/toilet rooms and ample storage.
As with any narrowboat trip, keeping everything neat and tidy is a pre-requisite.
To negate the cold spells there is full central heating throughout and a wood burning stove in the main cabin.
The stove provided additional warmth and a real cosy atmosphere during the dark winter evenings on board.
Our winter trip on the Kennet and Avon
We took the Centaurus out of Bradford on Avon Marina on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
We had planned to cruise to just before the Caen Hill Locks, which are the 'notorious' flight of 29 locks just outside of Devises.
However, our meandering pace and fewer hours of daylight meant we did not quite make it.
We decided instead to through the five locks at Seend by the end of our second day before making our way back to the Marina.
There were also two fine pubs at Seend.
This itinerary gave us plenty of time, however, to get used to steering Centaurus and getting it through seven locks and six swing bridges, as Ann explains below.
With J M Pearson and Son's trusty Canal Companion, one can easily locate position and see where the next winding hole is for turning the long narrowboat around.
Pearson's also shows pubs on route for lunch or dinner, and if a local hostelry is not within reach, again no problem.
We had everything we needed for a cosy evening on board.
With this type of slow travel, it's the going not the getting there that provides the experience.
And we found the winter experience on the canal different, though equally rewarding, to other seasons on the water.
One has to be prepared for weather that could be chilly and somewhat inclement, and towpaths that might be a little more muddy.
Warm clothing and sensible footwear can easily accommodate for this.
Then one can embrace a waterway with relatively few other boaters and surrounding countryside that is silently serene in its stark winter garb.
Our relative solitude on the Kennet and Avon brought another bonus. Kingfisher!
One rarely spots these wonderfully elusive little birds, and then just a fleeting glimpse of bright metallic blue or turquoise as they skim the water and disappear.
On this trip we saw a grand total of six kingfisher and with time to admire them as the flittered from tree to tree as we approached.
They were the 'stars of the show', with heron; mallard; coots and moorhen, swans and long-tailed tits also on 'the bill'.
AllWays leading to narrowboating in winter.
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