DENVER TO LONDON. AND THE CANAL MUSEUM

TO LONDON:

 

 

We left our Denver hotel with plenty of time to park the car, take shuttle to terminal, check our bags, and get to the club room. 

There was a glitch in our Parking Spot reservation but it was quickly sorted with some excellent customer service. 

Breezed through check in and security and then to the UAL Club Room. 



Our flight to London Heathrow was very nice being in Polaris Class. I had one of the best airplane food meals ever. It was a Bison Meatloaf with a spicy tomato glaze. This is a special entree prepared by the Denver UAL kitchen. 



We both got some sleep during the flight and soon we arrived at Heathrow. We went quickly through passport control and our bags were out in a timely manner. 

Off to the Underground we went. Taking the Piccadilly Line to Kings Cross/St Pancras station. 

Our lodging for the night here in London is the Crestfield Hotel. The rate was very good and the location is 1/2 a block from the train station. 

 

The room is small and typical for a small European hotel. Basic and very adequate for one night. We figure the small room will prepare us for the tight quarters of the narrow boat. I will l also mention there is no lift, no worries it’s all good.

  
We stashed our bags in the room and headed out to the London Canal Museum. The London Canal Museum has an area where you can see inside a narrowboat cabin and get a feel for the size. One can learn about the history of London's canals, the cargoes carried, the people who lived and worked on the waterways, and the horses that pulled their boats. There is a huge Victorian ice well once used to store ice imported from Norway and brought by ship and canal boat to be stored. This unique waterways museum is housed in a former ice warehouse built in about 1862-3 for Carlo Gatti, the famous ice cream maker, and features the history of the ice trade and ice cream as well as the canals. There exhibits on canal locks and the men who built the canals. 

 

 

There are also excellent displays of canal boat art work. Traditional canal boat art is called Roses and Castles. It features bright, hand-painted clusters of roses and other flowers alongside romantic, fairy-tale castle landscapes. Boaters painted the artwork on the their narrowboats themselves, specifically the cabin panels, doors, and functional items like water cans and buckets.The style started in the 19th century as a source of pride and identity for the working boat families.

 

 

The Museum does offer canal boat cruises based on different themes and the season.

 

 

The local pub named Millers was recommended as they serve good food. We did make a stop and had their fish and chips for £9. The portion was large and we could not finish it all. The quality was very nice and would definitely recommend and we will probably return. 

Next was making our way to St Pancras station to pick up our train tickets. The ticket collection machine directed us to the ticket office and we soon had our outbound and return tickets in hand. 



I should mention we will be traveling by rail to Falkirk on October 1 and then return by rail after our canal boat sailing. For us, rail is a fun way to travel about the UK as the service is usually quite good and the fares very reasonable. 

We are tired from our travels and will soon probably crash and have an alarm set for the morning.  

TIME TO EXPERIENCE A NARROW BOAT IN SCOTLAND:

TIME TO EXPERIENCE A NARROW BOAT IN SCOTLAND: 

                                            photo from Black Prince Holidays Website 


It all started on a Hurtigruten Sailing to Svalbard from Bergen about year ago. A mutual friend introduced us to a couple who were on this Hurtigruten sailing with us. We arranged to share a dining table with them. Great folks and we had a very nice time together. Over our many great dinner conversations they mentioned they had hired a narrow boat and sailed some of the canals in the UK. We were very intrigued and did some research when we got home, the result is this up coming trip. I have not mentioned their names on purpose so as to protect the innocent. I do believe they are headed on another narrow boat trip in the future. 

 With the help of our newly made friends and research we decided hiring a narrow boat from Black Prince Holidays (https://www.black-prince.com/). Black Prince Holidays is award winning and the reviews are stellar. 

They have several bases from which one can hire a narrowboat to sail the canals of the UK. We chose Falkirk Base in Scotland for our narrowboat hire. One reason was to experience the Falkirk Wheel, another reason was the canals out of the Falkirk Base (Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal) have few locks and the ones that are there are manned for you. This is also a suggested as a good place for those new to narrow boating. 



We have hired a Princess 2 Signature boat for our first sailing. The length is 47’ which I feel will be advantageous to become familiar with handling. 



 

 



Edward of Woodstock became known as the ‘Black Prince’ as he lived a legendary life. 

Following is from the Black Prince Holidays website:



“Born in Oxfordshire in 1330, Edward grew up as the quintessential medieval prince. The son of Kind Edward III, he was schooled in the duties of both a soldier and a knight from early childhood. He was instructed in the codes of chivalry and was an avid jouster and at just sixteen years old he won ‘his spurs’ (his knighthood) after leading his first successful battle at Crécy in northeast France in 1346.

He is most famous for his victories against the French in the Hundred Years War, winning back towns and cities including a famous battle at Poitiers where he took the French King prisoner. Further honour was bestowed upon him when he was awarded the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest European order of chivalry, and the third most prestigious honour after the George and Victoria Cross in England.

Edward died aged just 45 in 1376, just one year before his father so never ascended to the throne. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, where his surcoat, helmet, shield, and gauntlets are still preserved.

The nickname of the Black Prince is thought to derive from his coat of arms, consisting of three ostrich feathers on a black background which would have been visible at his jousting matches and on the battlefield. It’s thought that he also had a black shield and possibly black armour (although some think that it is more likely that the bronze armour of his effigy in Canterbury Cathedral turned black over time!).

The legend of the Black Prince is documented through history, mentioned in the works of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and also showcased in films such as ‘A Knight’s Tale’.” 



Now I want to return to Canterbury. 


In the 1920’s the canals were a main lifeline for the transport of cargo and coal across the UK. Then the narrow boats were pulled along by horses and were essential and popular until the rail system made them impractical. Many of the canals fell into a state of disrepair until roughly the 1960’s. Since then the canals have been restored and there is a thriving business of holiday goers hiring narrow boats for a disconnected holiday. 




What is a narrow boat you may ask? She comes fully equipped with a galley, bedroom and a full bath with shower. There is a black water holding tank and grey water is discharged into the canals. Best to think of a RV on the water. 

She is controlled by a tiller on the aft deck and propelled by a diesel engine. The speed limit on the canals is 4 MPH. 

Along the canals there are visitor moorings where one can moor for usually 48 hours. There is a set of mooring pins (stakes) that can be used to moor  along the canal. 

We had originally hired the boat for 10 days and then decided two weeks would be better so as not to be rushed. 

Our plan (subject to change) is to start in Falkirk and travel East to Edinburgh on the Union Canal. Then back track to Falkirk and take the Forth & Clyde Canal to Glasgow and return to Falkirk. 

Yes our plan has changed due to low water in the Forth & Clyde we will not make it to Glasgow. 

The locks along this route are manned by volunteers from the Scottish Canal. This will make the few locks we need to navigate easy. 

I have handled many different small craft and am aware this will be different but hope to pick it up quickly and not fall victim to the gonggoozlers.  A  gongoozler is a person who watches narrow boaters to see the struggle.  

We will be doing a good bit of our own meal preparation and will make a pub stop or two or three for evening meals.

Our plan is to just go with the flow. We are expecting the weather to be cold and wet. We will be stopping at some interesting sites along the way, so stay tuned.