Canal Holiday

22nd to 28th August 2011

Check-out the Hannah's Log below!

Although most of the leaders had been on the canals, most of the girls had not so this was something of an adventure!

We hired two boats (Lancelot & Guinevere) from LNBP complete with Skippers (Mike & John) for a week. The boats are based in Braunston in the Midlands and our route involved cruising to the centre of Birmingham and back, allowing us to call in at Cadbury World!

On the first day, we got in a minibus and drove to Braunston to collect the boats at lunchtime. We set off along the Grand Union Canal towards Birmingham. At the first locks we all received training on how to use the locks. We then tackled 13 locks before stopping for the evening at Long Itchington.

Day 2 saw us heading to Warwick, continuing down more locks to a supermarket shop in Warwick. Warwick is the lowest point for this part of the Grand Union Canal which meant that it was now going to be uphill all the way to Birmingham. After the two Cape Locks, we tackled the impressive 21 lock Hatton Flight which we managed to do in a respectable time of just over three hours. After our first tunnel, we moored up for the night.

On day 3, we turned off the Grand Union Canal and on to the northern section of the Stratford Canal. This meant climbing the 19 locks through Lapworth. Unlike the Grand Union, these locks were narrow which meant that boats couldn't share the lock. This was a very pretty flight of locks. At the top of the Stratford Canal, we turned on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and headed towards the centre of Birmingham. We didn't travel much further and moored up at Bournville.

On day 4, since our route had taken us to Bournville, we felt that it would be rude not to visit Cadbury World. We spent the morning there, learning about the story of chocolate and overdosed on various types of chocolate. We then took the boats on to the centre of Birmingham, where we were allowed to go shopping for a few hours. Towards evening, we retraced our route back on to the Stratford Canal and moored just on the outskirts of Birmingham.

Day 5 was an easier day (in preparation for a hectic day 6!). We came back down the Stratford Canal and rejoined the Grand Union Canal before cruising to the top of the Hatton Flight.

Day 6 was probably the hardest day. We set off down the Hatton Flight very early and managed to do all 21 locks in less than two and a half hours. After another supermarket shop in Warwick, we began the climb back to Braunston, stopping near Stockton for a well earned meal in a canalside pub, having completed 43 locks during the day! Mike & John had done a really terrific job keeping us going and keeping us safe, and since this was our last evening together, we presented them with a few thank-you gifts from Sussex as well as a card signed by us all.

Day 7 was (sadly) our final day and with only 3 locks to tackle, it was considerably easier than the day before. We arrived back at the boatyard during the afternoon and set about packing our things ready for the mini-bus trip back to Storrington.

Despite the wet weather on some of the days, we had a terrific time. The large number of locks meant that we developed muscles we didn't know we had and we lost count of the number of bruises received. However, there were no accidents and the first aid kit was not needed. No-one fell in and apart from the rain, no-one got wet!

For the record, the statistics for the holiday are:

A big thank-you to Mike & John and to all at LNBP for making this a huge success.

Hannah's Guinevere Log

Monday - after a rather vocal minibus journey from our home down south (in the middle of nowhere), we set off from Braunston in the early afternoon. Fully equipped with life jackets it didn't take long for temptation to arise to tip one or two of our less introverted members off the boat.

Tuesday - the reluctant crew glared the sun into rising as we set off at ridiculous o'clock in the morning. The day was action-packed, let's say, with locks galore. Our all-female crew discovered muscles we didn't know we had!

Wednesday - certainly the expedition for early risers. We plundered through Hatton Locks with our surprising definition of efficiency. Despite ample sustenance from our excellent chef, the girls were thrilled when ice-cream was awarded for their lock-busting efforts. We were welcomed into Birmingham by trains rumbling past and anticipation of a chocolate overload at Cadbury's the next day.

Thursday - sugar was at the forefront of our minds in the morning as we got ready for our day mostly on land. The excess of purple street fittings prepared us for all things Cadbury, and although there was a disappointing lack of Oompa Loompas, we returned to Guinevere feeling slightly sick but satisfied. Propelled by the sugar rush we hit the ground running and flew through Birmingham city.

Friday - we retraced our route and, with new-found expertise, triumphed all the locks. By now all the girls had attempted driving the boat at least once. She still floats so we can't have been too awful!

Saturday - it was our last full day with Guinevere and we were tired and gradually soaking through while we tackled the flight of double locks. We moored at Birdingbury Wharf and found new energy at the Boat Inn. It was a curious feeling, being able to travel up a hill without doing locks on a road that doesn't flow. The chef catered for all our eating requirements (however finicky or downright ridiculous). Gifts and thanks were given to our brilliant skipper, and our guiding leaders, and we came back to the boat already starting to miss it.

Sunday - as I write this the rest of our crew are packing away and saying their goodbyes to the beautiful boat which has been our home over the last week. We are on the home stretch - three locks and a matter of hours away, the Guinevere will be rid of her inhabitants and safely moored at Braunston. We've had some tears; some tantrums; some laughs; some crashes; some painfully bad jokes and an awful lot of food but our time on the Guinevere has been overall ... unforgettable. Special thanks to John. Sorry for apologising so much!

Click on thumbnails for photos and slideshow. Click here for general notes on photos. Note that larger, higher resolution versions of each photo are available. Please ask Lesley or Mike for details.

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