Trent And Mersey Canal

My friends and I were able to rent a narrow boat and spend a week traveling through the canals in the East Midlands. We started from the marina at Long Eaton, near Nottingham. From there we traveled west in our boat. We visited Alrewas, Burton on Trent, Fradley Junction, and numerous places in between.

The boat was great. It was seven feet wide and about 44 feet long. It came equiped with a kitchen, a bathroom (with a shower) and sleeping accomodations for four people.

We would set out early in the morning, usually eating breakfast, showering, etc. while underway. When we saw something that looked interesting to us we could slow down to watch, or if we chose to, we could pull the boat over, tie it up, and get out to investigate.

One of the interesting things to do was to negotiate the locks on the canal. When we came to a lock two of us would get off the boat and open the lock while the other one pulled the boat in. Then we had to close the lock and raise or lower the water level inside the lock to bring the boat to the desired level.

I’ve been to quite a few places, but this was definitely one of the best experiences ever.