The perfect canal boat getaway

I blame the wholesome TV show, Great Canal Journeys, and more recently, Wallace and Gromit’s animation Vengeance Most Fowl, which features a slow-motion canal boat chase with Gromit teetering on board a narrowboat dangling over an aqueduct, for luring us in.

To discover more, we embark on a short voyage aboard Blore, a 67ft narrowboat hired from Drifters Canal Boat Hire run by Anglo Welsh. When we arrive at Trevor Basin near Wrexham Max, who has spent his career at sea before switching to the canals, gives us our instructions. There is a lot to take in, and more that can go wrong.

Unfortunately we could not persuade Max to accompany us on our voyage along just a small part of the Llangollen Canal. But thankfully he does help us steer over the impressive Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, designed by Scottish engineering legend Thomas Telford. The narrow cast iron channel is suspended 38m above the river. My advice is don't look down if you don’t have a head for heights. Safely on the other side Max cheerfully waves us off, and Graham, my partner, nervously takes the tiller. We are on our own. Thank goodness there are three of us aboard, as I feel divorce would beckon.

As we make our way at a snail’s pace to the picturesque village of Chirk, walkers on the towpath overtake us. On the way, we navigate several bridges, another aqueduct and two tunnels. Watching the bucolic countryside rolling by is mesmerising. We soon discover boaters are made up of two kinds of folk: those who wave cheerfully to each other and those who remain stony-faced and never crack a smile.

There’s lots to see, cows cooling down with their heads over the water. On the tow path, a cyclist with an owl nonchalantly perched on his handlebar whizzes past, and a Jack Russell stands guard at the prow of a narrow boat, while on another vessel a chunky Corgi wears his life jacket with pride. As we cautiously approach the entrance to the Whitehouse tunnel, we toot our horn to warn others that we are about to enter. The boat’s headlight illuminates the interior, which is narrow and scary.

We are all in good spirits, despite moments of high drama, such as almost hitting other boats and running aground in shallow water. Our six-berther may be spacious, but it means the boat is enormously long and tricky to manoeuvre. Graham describes it like, “Driving an extra-long pencil through a slalom course.”

When we reach Chirk we moor up safely. Even if we wanted we can’t go any further as a narrow boat has slipped its mooring and is blocking the way. We met the Australian family earlier who are like us, canal newbies. The boat is safely recaptured with no damage done.

At the end of our adrenaline-fuelled first day, we head to the nearby Bridge Inn, on the Wales and English border, for a well-earned drink. Previously the boundary sat in the middle of the historic inn, which meant the enterprising landlord could capitalise on different countries' licensing laws. We fill up with tasty pub grub and retire to our snug cabins for the night.

The next morning, after breakfast, we decide to scale back our epic voyage, forgoing a full day of boating. Instead, we make for the nearby National Trust-run Chirk Castle. We enjoy strolling through the award-winning gardens with their perfectly manicured lawns, immaculately clipped yews, and extensive herbaceous borders.

We return to our boat, reinvigorated to face our biggest fear – navigating locks safely. As we approach the first set, there’s not a single person in sight. As panic starts to set in, our lock saviour, in the form of Les, a Canal and River Trust maintenance worker, appears out of nowhere. He carefully and patiently explains how to open and close the lock gates, and how to lower or raise the water level using a lock handle or windlass.

It is quite physically demanding, pushing, or pulling at the sluice gates, and three terrified individuals have started to pull together and have become a tight crew. Buoyed by this success, we head off to face the next set of locks, completely solo. But once again, fortune is on our side, as this time we recruit a full-time boat resident and some passersby to ensure we don’t bungle the whole operation.

That evening, when we catch up with our new Australian canal pals, we entertain them with our comedic tales of the misadventures. We make a pact with them to travel back to our starting point in convoy, so we are never alone.

As we enjoy a well-earned cold beer at The Narrowboat Inn, the sun sets over the canal, bathing everything in a majestic rosy glow. We all admit that although not the most relaxing holiday ever, we have all thoroughly enjoyed messing about on the canal.

Drifters Waterway Holidays offers over 500 canal boats for hire from 40 bases across England, Scotland and Wales. There are over 3,000 miles of waterways for you to discover, all at your own pace and you don’t need to be an expert. Tuition is included as part of Drifters’ holiday packages.

2025 hire prices start at £715 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, £970 for a week. Narrowboats range from 32ft to 70ft and can accommodate from two up to 12 people. For more information visit https://www.drifters.co.uk/ or call 0344 984 0322 For more information about visiting the canal network www.canalrivertrust.org.uk