U.K. River/Canal Cruises

[datafacs]

Has anyone done any sort of a U.K. river/canal barge or narrowboat cruise? We are really interested in doing one, but I'm not sure which is a good one.

[Kayelache]

Quite a few years ago, my husband and I rented a cabin cruiser for a week on the Thames. We got the boat in Henley on Thames, about 30 miles upriver from London, from a company called Hobbs and Sons. It was a lot of fun. We learned to negotiate the locks (think we went through about 20 of them) and went upriver as far as Lechlade, and then downriver to Maidenhead. The cruiser was very nice, had a bedroom with a double bed, a galley with a stove (that they call a "cooker") a fridge, and sink. The bathroom had a shower and hot water. The main cabin had benches that could convert to two single beds. The roof opened so that during nice weather you could sit outside, but could close when it rained, which was often. We stopped at pubs along the way for meals, but cooked most of them ourselves. At night, we docked along the banks, sometimes in a town.

We saw a few of the narrow boats on the Thames, but they are mostly on the canals and smaller waterways. The Thames has lockkeepers, which made it a lot easier. On the canals, you have to man the locks yourself.

It's a great experience, either way!