A Canal Boat Trip

And after over 24 hours navigating through water in the boat, we finally arrived in Bath from Bradford-on-Avon. We anchored the boat in and made dinner at nightfall. 

This fall I went on a narrow boat trip in the United Kingdom! Talk about slowing down in life. On the canal, what can take over a day via narrow boat might just be a three hour walk or twelve minute drive. It’s pretty silly in a way. So, why even boat it? 

Because you get to slow down. And it’s marvelous. 

These boats, generally between ~50 to 70ft long, go around 2mph, maybe even less at times. It allows you time to take a deep breath, stop rushing, and just enjoy what’s around you. The boat has beds, a little kitchen, a bathroom, some closets, and a front “porch” area to hang out. You slowly cruise by other narrow boats - tourists and residents - while enjoying the view of pastures, forests, rural neighborhoods, and even cities! What a way to spend time with friends or family. 

I love it too because there might be walking paths that cross over the canal that you have to manually move out of the way to proceed. There are also might be locks that you have to operate to get the boat to a different elevation. So, in a way, there are side quests. And who doesn’t love a good side quest? 

If you’re at an area where you can park and want to stop for a bit or for the night, you simply pull over, secure the boat into the side of the canal, and enjoy your time. Maybe you’ll take a walk along the path or go to a pub that very much operates off of the canal. Maybe you’ll read a book or take a nap. Or, maybe, just maybe, you’ll meet a dog.Yeah, that’s mostly why I’m here. This trip featured so many canal dogs. Dogs living on the narrow boats or in the nearby towns that are going for a walk on the canal walking path. There were dog friendly food establishments; most notably, there was a cafe in a narrowboat that served pup cups. Dogs were sunning, running on and off leash, meeting each other, or even barking from their kingdom of a narrow boat. I even had the joy of seeing a dog enjoying a visit to a 14th century barn in Bradford-on-Avon. I loved meeting so many dogs. And, because dogs can be such a catalyst for community, I had so many lovely conversations with strangers because of dogs. 

There was one time a dog was in front of a boat and I just had to meet the little pup. I asked the boat if it was their dog and they said no and pointed to the boat next to them. After a little conversation, I went over to the next boat to see if I could pet their dog. After speaking with them for a bit and seeing another dog pop up from their boat, I proceeded to pet their sweet pup. This one dog essentially introduced me to about five people and another dog. 

I also just have to say that the places I went to in England were so dog friendly. Bath, being the place I spent the most amount of time, was quite the place to be a dog. Navigating canals, cafes, the roman bath, and streets from a Jane Austen novel. It makes me want to bring Eddie on my next trip. I do think he’d be a sweet canal pup. 

It was quite the slow time spent. 

Warm Wags, 

Ross