Canal holiday memories
The sun is setting on the canal holiday season 2009. But not to worry, re-live the golden days of the last 40 years with this selection of waterway memories sent in by our readers.
Do you have a fond memory of boating on the canals that you'd like to share? Please email any stories or photographs to us at feedback@waterscape.com.
"Leaping madly onto the towpath and much more..."
The day I found Agnes
“In 1994 I bought a narrowboat in Diglis lock basin in Worcester. I renamed her Agnes while she was out of the water being surveyed. She was an ex-hire boat with six berths; I took out the bunks in the front to make two sofas and painted the inside bright blue. I went on a voyage to Llangollen, picking up family and friends on the way and then doubling back, returning them to their cars. I really enjoyed being a single, female owner of a narrowboat and took pride in being able to handle it on my own.” Lesley Gaukroger
The best hen weekend ever
"This was the best hen weekend I have ever been on! We went on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in July this year, and the weather was glorious. We hired two boats for 16 of us and stopped off to sample the nightlife that Skipton had to offer on Saturday, and then stopped at the Cross Keys pub for some much needed comfort food after all that sailing. I would absolutely 100% recommend barge hen weekends to any bride-to-be." Kathryn Hurst
Me and my mum
"Me and my mum (below), taken on the Birmingham mainline during the early 1970s. Forks like this were quite commonly found by the locks - often an essential tool for clearing debris from behind the gates so they could be opened. Our hireboat is in the foreground." Sally Ash
Leaping madly onto the towpath
"Everyone had warned us about Leicester – vandalised locks, unfriendly locals and a long day to get right through the city to the safety of the open countryside beyond. But the sun burned through the early morning mist and we had a perfect day, winding our way past the surprisingly green factories and back yards. We were rewarded with a beautiful mooring that evening – a wheat-covered hill, a curve in the canal and utter peace. City people that we are, we couldn't resist the opportunity to make a noise. On went the music (loud) and up on deck we went for an impromptu, two-person disco, leaping madly onto the towpath in the sunset. No wonder they warn you about Leicester." Emma Keyte
Fishing for slime
"My interest in the canals started as a little girl in 1969, when most Saturdays we’d walk into town and cross West Bridge in Leicester. We’d stop to admire the water lilies that blanketed the canal and get really excited if we saw a boat - it didn’t happen very often! Other times, as a treat, we’d walk to Freeman’s Meadow Lock, watch the big kids swimming in the canal and perhaps do a bit of fishing with our nets. The only thing I ever remember catching though was slime (blanket weed)." Sally Boddy
Collecting wildflowers on the Staffs & Worcs Canal
"This is a prize I won in a class competition in 1954 for the child who collected the most wild flowers. On an evening walk along the canal between Stafford and Penkridge with my parents (I was nearly seven) I collected 73 different flowers. Unfortunately I no longer have a list of them but it would be interesting to know how many could be identified there today." Gill Bradbury
Happy memories
"This is a photo of a friend of mine, Joan Langmead. If memory serves me right it was taken on the Shropshire Union canal, about 15 or 20 years ago. We had a great holiday and your 40th anniversary item has brought back lots of happy memories. I checked with Joan to see if she minded if I sent the photo (taken by my husband) in, and she said it was OK as she'd always wanted to be famous!" Anne Whalley
A very special dad
"I have very special memories of cruising the canals of England and Wales from an early age. My father, Ian Gall, who sadly passed away three years ago, was a terrific waterway enthusiast and contributor to our great canals. As you can see from his plaque, he dedicated his life to making the waterways a more pleasurable place for all. I would like to thank you for letting me share my memories of a very special Dad!" Julie Shaw
Poetic justice
“In the 1950s when we lived in Shropshire my father acquired a small, flat-bottomed canvas and wood boat. He kept it moored at Hampton Bank on the Shropshire Union Canal, and at weekends the whole family would "go to the boat" – though not without some protestations. We used to take picnics and swim in the canal, we seldom saw another boat and the main hazard was weed choking the propeller. On one momentous occasion my father arrived home one evening soaked to the skin; he had been punting under a bridge when the inevitable happened and he fell in - in front of several onlookers. He smoked a pipe at the time and even his tobacco pouch was soaked through - poetic justice I guess, for leaving the rest of us at home!” Heather Cooke
Waiting at Gailey
“This photo was taken in July 2007, on the Staffs & Worcs Canal at Gailey. One of the locks below Gailey had been damaged and Gailey lock was closed whilst it was being repaired. It shows the rush of boats wanting to get going again once the locks had been re-opened. With that many boats and the rain, we decided to wait until the next day before we set off again.” Diane Byrne
Trent Bridge
"Earlier this year I was doing a photoshoot in Newark Castle and whilst I was photographing the North East Gate, the light being just right, I took a digital shot of Trent Bridge with the river flowing beneath it." Dave Poole
Newark Castle, photographed by Martin O'Neill
Save Our Waterways
"This picture is from one of the first Save Our Waterways protests held in November 2006. We were on a mission that weekend to cruise from our home mooring to Bulbourne, in time for the start of the protest. We travelled with narrowboat Jannock and cruised in record time, through horizontal rain, hail, thunder and lightening! The sun came out for the protest even though it stayed quite cold and windy. You can see MP David Gauke in the middle of the picture and former BW CEO David Fletcher. After the protest we all went to the pub! Overall it was an enjoyable and worthwhile weekend." Deborah Figueiredo
Where it all began
"This photo was taken in 1970, after just passing through Harcastle tunnel and breathing a sigh of relief. Four adults, two children and a dog, with two adults camping on the towpath each night. There were hardly any marinas and it was often necessary to 'poo' over the hedge. How did we do it?" John Poulson
Where it ends
"This was taken in 2008 when we were marooned in a marina on the Mon and Brec, after the breach but awaiting that day to travel once more." John Poulson
Gairlochy in the autumn, photographed by Peter Quayle
1985 Riverside Gala
"The photo below was taken at the 1985 Riverside Gala in Harlow Park, on the River Stort. It shows Jaibee 11, owned by myself and Robbie Barrett, in the centre of 3 boats. The shot is unique as a temporary bailey bridge was erected for this function." Sue Barrett
Stripping off to save Sandpiper
"I knew little of the canals up until 1974 when, towards the end of my first year at Sheffield University, I saw an advert from one of the university societies seeking crew to fill berths on a fortnight's canal holiday in September.
The boat, Sandpiper, was an old motor narrowboat known also as a camping boat. I seem to recall that there was a porta-loo in the bow but suspect that the domestic arrangements were very basic. Based at Willow Wren Marina, Rugby, we chugged our way up the Northern Stratford, down into Coventry and back, then via Fazeley to Birmingham. We passed through Netherton tunnel and into the Black Country. It was suggested that I should steer, which I had no problem with having been sailing since I was eight. However, I had no idea how slowly a 70ft narrowboat responded - the bow hit the coping stones on a tight bend and we stopped dead! That was the end of my steering career for that trip.
Somewhere near Brierley Hill, in an industrial wasteland, things got more serious. The stern wouldn't come through a bridgehole, no matter what we did. One of my friends insisted on summoning the press (I couldn't see the point of this at the time), and once the local rag got there, he stripped off and lowered himself over the bank. Presumably this was to ensure good press coverage!
I don't recall exactly what he pulled out of the water, or how he did it, but we got going again. I was very sorry to leave my crew in Worcester as they made their way back to Rugby. It was a great holiday and introduction to the British canals." Andy Berncastle
Limehouse Basin, May 1987 - before the regeneration took place, photographed by Sue Barrett
Limehouse Basin, September 2007 - taken in the same spot as the above photo, photographed by Sue Barrett
Saved by a submariner
"More than 40 years ago I recall being at Maryhill lock when a midget submarine berthed outside the old White House pub. I also remember that one person fell in and was saved by one of the submariners! I was very young but the memory is still vivid." Tom McGreevy
Summer trips on the Gypsy Queen
"The recent picture in the Evening Times of the canal basin at Maryhill brought back many memories to my mother. She was born in 1919 in Maryhill and lived on Bantaskin Street (nicknamed the "butny") until she married in 1940. She remembers as a girl going up to the basin with a plate and sixpence to buy herring from the fishing boats who passed along the canal. The street where she lived backed on to the canal and children used to play along the canal bank. One of her brothers nearly drowned when he fell in the canal and was pulled out eventually by local men. My mother also remembers her mother being taken for a boat trip in the Gypsy Queen to Craigmarloch for a summer treat. We now live in the Kilsyth area and the canal is still not too far away." Rosemary Connor
Photo taken by Jamie O'Hagan & Alan Stein during their cycling trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh
'The Real Edinburger Castle' taken by Jamie O'Hagan
Invaded by cows
"In 1968 Jane and I hired a boat from Shropshire Canal Cruises on the Llangollen canal. It was a small wooden boat with an outboard engine, which you steered like a small car and had to pump the bilge each day. It had two single berths and to stand up you needed to slide the roof back. Behind one berth was the loo and opposite at the end of the other berth was the gas cooker. The Dolphin 16 forward-drives were the only boats where you could sit on the toilet, keep an eye on your breakfast cooking and hold a conversation with someone on the towpath at the same time.
On the Tuesday we were determined to reach Llangollen for the evening but coming over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct quite late we missed the turn, and ventured into the Ruabon Arm. Having bounced over something under the first bridge we turned and found the correct course and proceeded on towards our destination. We had not gone far before Jane said: “we’ll need to pump out tonight, my sandals are floating”.
We realised we had a problem and put the boat aground in shallow water on the offside. I left Jane and went off to find a telephone box and rang the boatyard. On returning I found Jane surrounded by a herd of cows. It was a muddy field and we had beached the boat on the cow’s drinking hole. By now it was dark and with Jane in the only dry sleeping bag we awaited our rescuers.
The manager of Shropshire Canal Cruises and his foreman came out and the boat was lifted out with a wharf crane, and trailed back to Norbury for repair. I’m glad to say that no-one’s holiday was spoilt." Jim Jewell
Nerve-wracking walks and Superlambananas
"This was great day with breathtaking views and a nerve testing walk."
"This is a photo of Harri and Connor with the Superlambananas that were installed througout Liverpool for the 2008 Capital of Culture. This particular lambanana is placed at the Albert Dock." Ruth Ollis
The photo below was taken in the 1960s and shows Dave Taylor, M&E Engineer for Wales & Border Counties, sat on the roof of a narrowboat aged 7. Sat at the back is his twin brother.
Dunboatin
"I was 16 in 1960 when my parents Don and Gladys Kenn bought their first canal boat, a converted pontoon named Kentiki. We enjoyed 20 years of happy boating holidays with her, and another wooden-hulled boat, until the locks eventually became too much for Mum and Dad and they swapped her for a caravan. They were allowed to keep the caravan at their final mooring place at Hoo Mill Lock, and gave it the name, Dunboatin. Their interest in canals rubbed off on us lads - now my brother Roy and I both have our own narrowboats and enjoy some wonderful holidays cruising the system together." Barry Kenn
Silver Heron and the Bridgewater breach
“As a toddler in the 1950s I used to be taken for walks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Netherton. Later we moved to Worsley, where the Bridgewater Canal could not be avoided, be it in school projects or on local walks. I remember going to the canal’s bicentenary celebrations in 1961, around the same time my dad read in the ‘Manchester Guardian’ that Marple Aqueduct was under threat of demolition so we went to see it in a derelict state.
My parents bought Silver Heron, a 25 foot marine-ply Holt Abbott built vessel in the summer of 1969, and we joined Worsley Cruising Club. I still have Silver Heron and have cruised much of the system over the last forty years. Our first summer cruise took us from Worsley to Warwick - I did not then expect that I would later work on the reconstruction of Bridge 51 at Saltisford. I particularly remember that bridge at the time because we were being towed following a breakdown and the arch was quite low. Neither did I imagine I’d be working as BW's reservoir engineer with an office overlooking Hatton Locks.
Cruising in the 1960s was different from today. Mechanical breakdowns were to be expected and you could never plan to get to a particular place at a particular time. Some canals were very weedy and to pass something coming the other way both boats had to stop so that the craft could squeeze into the reed-banks and be manoeuvred by hand. If there was an empty pound or other problem on the canal, there was no ‘Freephone Canals’ but boaters were more resilient in those days.
One of the more memorable moments was the Bridgewater breach at Dunham in 1971. We were just starting a summer cruise, planning to go to Oxford, and had tied up about ¼ mile away from the site. On the Sunday afternoon there had been several boats moored at the actual site of the breach but they went back home that day. On the Monday morning, we awoke to find the water rushing past and the towpath half way up the cabin windows. After a quick foray to investigate, we turned round intent to get the right side of the stop planks, which we knew would be fitted. At first we made little progress against the flow but eventually passed the planks at Broadheath and breathed a sigh of relief.” David Brown, British Waterways reservoir engineer
Footy down by Titford Pools
"As a young scally-wag growing up in the Black Country (I no longer live there but I’m still a scally-wag), I used to go down to Titford Pools under the M5 near Oldbury, and fish for stickle-backs and minnows using plastic bags to catch them. We also played footy on the fields and if the ball went into the water there was no chance of retrieval, as passing boats were as rare as hens' teeth. I never thought I’d be working there as canal manager for British Waterways 30 years later!" Nick Worthington, British Waterways customer operations manager
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