Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/250756
(opposite) Navigating the high and spidery Pontcysyllte aqueduct across the River Dee in North Wales. (clockwise this page) The Redwing enjoys a quiet berth on the Llangollen Canal; canal boat feast, for the eyes and appetite; a horse-drawn tourist boat at Llangollen. Close your eyes and imagine the British landscape of the 18th century, just before the full roar of the Industrial Revolution – fields and hedges, little stone bridges, farmhouses, villages, churches and castles. It's April in England and we are glad to leave behind the crowds and motorways and begin our unhurried journey into Britain's pre-industrial past. In the Cheshire village of Wrenbury, we hire a boat – seven feet wide, 68 feet long – and set off to spend a week cruising the Llangollen Canal into Wales. Aboard the good ship Redwing: my niece Jane, her husband Simon and Alfie, their labradoodle, from Sussex; my best friend, Jenny, and me from Canada. Almost as soon as we set off, we enter time-travel mode. The roads and power lines disappear as we steer through a tapestry of fields dotted with sheep and cows. From the trees overhanging the canal, we can hear the sad coo-roo of doves. For a full week, we are to motor quietly through a spring-green countryside that belongs to a different age, our tranquil mood interrupted only occasionally when we have to avoid other boaters or operate swing bridges and locks. We will cook and sleep on board, mooring at night wherever fancy leads us (often beside a friendly pub). It is the perfect way to travel. I soon come to realize I have the best of it. Being a newbie at boating, I leave the driving to the others. liz bryan, (canal boat feast) visitwales, (horse) istock p28-31_Gliding Wales.indd 29 Steering such a long boat from the stern through a narrow and winding canal, through locks and tunnels and over high and skinny aqueducts, is not something I want to risk. The locks are as tight as coffins. Most of the time I sit in the bow, enjoying the passing scenery. I do help, however, with winding down a few lift bridges and opening and closing lock gates. And I volunteer to stroll the towpath with Alfie, keeping a watch around tight corners. No matter how slowly we walk, we leave the boat behind. The pace is leisurely. The return trip back to Wrenbury is less than 161 kilometres – and it will take us seven days. Work it out. The U.K. is laced with a maze of canals – waterways S p r i n g 2 0 14 | w e s t w o r l d 29 14-01-23 9:42 AM