Hail to the Hive!
We had a lot of locks between us and hometown but luckily we had a helping hand from an old friend, Elliot. Elliot came and met us at bridge 77 and we had 19 more locks and about 13 miles of canal to chug along.
Yravelingo by canal is slow. The boats are slow, it’s just how it is and it’s what we love about it. The locks we must negotiate make it even more time consuming yet in some weird way we love them. I knew having dine this stretch a few times before that it can take some time but it’s also fun so I asked my mate Elliot if he fancied giving us a helping hand. He jumped at the chance.
We met Elliot and set off and as luck would have it a boat chugged up behind us as we were getting ready to enter the first lock of the day.
Now with the locks on this stretch of canal being wide enough to take two boats at a time this was no problem and also meant that we had even more sets of hands to do all the chores of cranking the locks and opening and closing the gates. Things were looking up. Suddenly the workload was soooooo much less.
The couple in the other boat were great company and we quickly settled into a groove going through 5he locks and Elliot, @millycf1976 and myself felt completely at ease with the rhythm we had fallen into. It was easy, efficient, chilled out and much quicker.
Sharing the experience with a friend was fun as well as more efficient and with this stretch of canal being very familiar to us it was nice to point out some of the cool stuff we’d seen before like the big wide beam TONKA. We laughed saying how you could fit 4 badger the Narrowboats into Tonka easily.
The weather was a azing and with all the extra help we found ourselves skipping through the locks with ease and were soon knocking on the city’s door.
We soon found ourselves right in the city and the football stadium was right there.
Both of us being huge Leicester City Fans we just could resist the unique photo op.
@millycf1976 obliged taking the photo of us with Leicester tops and flag in front of the King Power Stadium. Had to be done.
And then to find a mooring spot in the centre of the city.
Castle Gardens, floating pontoon, job done.
This will be home for a few days. Waterfront City Centre Dwelling.
Superb!
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Never traveled like that but I bet is a great experience! Nice one!
It’s such a relaxing way to explore the country. And you’re always at home when away 😃
Your photos are so beautiful and Your sharing is so amazing
Almost there. Luckily the days have been prettier and that is always a plus.
Yes ,definitely. Was a superb day
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1531.
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I always enjoy your tales and photos of canal travel. Such pretty countryside! Nice to have extra hands to help with all that work, too.
Thanks @scribblingramma . Yes te extra hands made a big difference
I'm starting to like this style of travelling, after all I can say that you have a houseboat, yes and I think it's quite hard to travel this way but it's also a real adventure.
Its a lovely way to live. Slow, beautiful and friendly
Enjoyed reading this and looking at the photos. A nice take on the digital nomad life. Will share on Listnerds.com.
!CTP
!ALIVE
Thanks @hirohurl . Crypto Canal Cruising at it’s finest :)
Maybe I have missed you mentioning this but are there costs to travelling this way, besides fuel? For instance, to go through locks or for mooring spots. Can you just pull over and dock for the night anywhere?
You can pretty much moor up anywhere unless it specifically says you can’t or it’s physically too shallow but we can find moorings everywhere. Sometimes you have to hammer mooring pins into the ground to tie to or put chains around the armco or there could be mooring rings installed. No cost. There are a few paid mooring places with electricity hook ups but we have solar power so no need. You pay a yearly canal and river license fee to be able to use the canal network also
Thank you! The idea of these canal boats has intrigued me since I first learned of them.
What a fantastic experience. I would love to take a trip like that someday. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks @rcaine its a great and very chilled mode of transportation. You really get to enjoy your surroundings
Fantastic !