Over the past few years we've all become more aware of our well-being and our mental health, and a change of scenery is often all it takes to get us back on track. And a week on the inland waterways certainly helps you change scenery. Constantly, in fact.
I've just come back from a midweek break on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, on a boat I borrowed from the nice people at Silsden Boats.
Now part of the Anglo Welsh group, this firm still has a family-run feel about it, and the boats are beautiful. Our vessel for the week, Dan's Drum, was a 59ft narrowboat but Silsden Boats also offers a fleet of wide beam boats, which are, obviously, a lot more spacious, if a lot heavier and trickier to steer.
But myself and a friend, and my two dogs, didn't need the space offered by a wide beam, so we opted for the narrow version.
Living in a space six-feet wide is easier than it sounds. Steel narrow boats are remarkably civilised. You have central heating, a fully fitted kitchen, comfy chairs, a bathroom with a large shower, and double beds or singles and bunks, depending on your preferred layout.
All your cutlery and crockery is provided, even down to a cafetiere, and so is the bedding. Towels were about the only thing we had to bring on board, but these are provided for overseas hirers.
And choosing where to take your borrowed boat is as easy as picking a direction. We opted to head west, into the countryside, and towards Gargrave, a small village bisected by the busy A65.
Setting off on Monday afternoon, promising to have the boat back by 9am on Friday, we had plenty of time to get to Gargrave and still stop off to see some sights along the way. Had we gone the other way, incidentally, we could have tackled the Bingley Five Rise, the steepest set of locks in the country. But the heading towards Liverpool seemed a more sedate and rural direction, and sedate and rural was more what we fancied.
Not that we were able to sit back and put our feet up, that is. Our stretch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was interrupted, initially at least, by a series of swing bridges. These ancient devices allow roads to cross canals, but boaters can open them when they want to pass through. They're mostly for quiet farm tracks, but there were a few busy roads on our stretch, and stopping traffic is always fun.
Some bridges are a doddle to open, others take some serious effort. Occasionally you'll encounter an electronic one, but these are slow and apparently can be troublesome. But we didn't have any problems on our trip.
You finally clear the swingbridges as you near Gargrave, but then you arrive at the first lock. And it's the first of plenty. Locks allow the canal to ascend or descend, and the locks on this stretch were short, but quite deep. So using them is a slow process.
After three of them we were ready to turn around, rather than tackle the set of six at Bank Newton.
But it had been a delightful journey. Our first stop was in Low Snaygill, right by a pleasant pub called the Bay Horse. There was an Aldi nearby for supplies and a McDonald's my friend was delighted to be near to.
The second night was in Gargrave, where we stumbled upon the delightful Mason's Arms and picked up a curry from the Bollywood Cottage, and for our third stop-off we settled on a busy stretch close to the centre of Skipton.
It's a delightful town, with a beautiful, sun-drenched waterfront at which we found the lovely little Boat House Bar, where we sat for a refresher before seeking out some Chinese food.
Night four was spent 10 minutes away from Silsden on a picturesque stretch, and we polished off the last of our supplies in the sunshine before packing up and getting an early night.
There's something for everyone on the canals, and the Leeds and Liverpool is a perfect example of that. Wildlife lovers, like myself, will delight at the sights and sounds of Curlew, lapwing and oystercatchers, while history buffs will marvel at the industrial architecture.
And if you just want some peace and tranquility, it's honestly one of the most stunning stretches, with views over the moors, rolling farmland and pretty villages.
Steering a 59ft steel boat is certainly an acquired skill, and I'm not sure I ever really did master mooring up, but everything happens so slowly on the canal thanks to the 4mph speed limit that you've got plenty of thinking time if and when things do go awry.
As with all holidays, it can be spoiled by the weather. We were lucky not to have seen a drop of rain on our trip, and we were blessed with plenty of sunshine, but it was very breezy. And on some of the more exposed stretches this made moving off the bank nigh-on impossible.
But it'll only spoil your trip if you let it. Head out on your holiday with just a vague idea of where you want to be and when, avoid the temptation to plan too much, and you'll soon melt into a carefree mindset, and the world slows down with you.
And that really is such a tonic in this day and age. Cruising on a canal might present some physical challenges, but it slows you down and takes your mind off the day-to-day trials and tribulations.
It's a brief change of perspective, and a window into a world that moves at walking pace. It's honestly one of the best ways to relax, unwind, and clear your head. I'd recommend it to anyone.
- Anglo Welsh Waterway Holidays is one of the largest canal boat holiday companies in the UK, offering the choice of over 160 boats from 11 bases across England and Wales, including Silsden on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in West Yorkshire.
- Boat hire prices for 2023 at Silsden for "Dan’s Drum", providing accommodation for up to five people, start at £580 for a short break (three or four nights), £885 for a week.
- Prices for a wide beam in 2023, on a boat for up to eight people, start at £990 for a short break, or £1,505 for a week.
- For more information, go to www.anglowelsh.co.uk or call the bookings team on 0117 304 1122.
- For more information about visiting the canals, go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
- Don't go cruising without this....
In much the same way it's technically possible to play tennis in Wellington boots, it's technically possible to navigate the canal network without a guidebook, but you really shouldn't.
And the guidebook I wouldn't take to the water without is the Canal Companion series, by JM Pearson and Son. It's a handy size, the illustrations are easy to get to grips with, and there's plenty of useful detail.
But more than that, it's just thoroughly entertaining, and beautifully written. Michael Pearson, for example, describes one of the swing bridges we encountered as a "particular rotter". He wasn't wrong. As he advised on an earlier page, in some cases you need a handcuff key and "perhaps a rugby pack" to dislodge them.
You won't find that sort of light-hearted observation in any other guidebook, and for £11.95, a Pearson guide is the perfect accompaniment to a trip. You'll find them at any good hire base.
