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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles, Holiday deals & special days

 narrow-boat-christmas-gifts

If you have someone in your life who loves canal boats and narrowboating, let us take the stress out of this year’s Christmas shopping by offering you five unique and unusual stocking fillers for your boating friends and family. Grab one of these for the canal boater in your life today, and save yourself some time during this busy holiday season.

1) Imray Waterways Guides

The Imray guides are popular paperbacks for river users planning trips along the Rivers Nene, Ouse, Cam and the Middle Levels. These spiral bound books offer commentary and essential notes with detailed mapping of each section of river. If you dream of narrowboat holidays it’s fun to peruse the routes and imagine which one you might take next summer. They are available on Amazon or in our chandlery at our marina in March, Cambridgeshire.

2) Charlie Fox: Building a Legacy

For history enthusiasts and owners of Fox narrowboats, this unique 60 page soft book tells the life story of Charlie Fox and was compiled by his granddaughter Emily. Fox narrowboats are known for their distinctive bow shape and each of Charlie’s boats had their number welded into the steel of the front. The book tells the story of Charlie from young child, to that of the man who built narrowboats and went on to create the Fox Narrowboats Marina at March. Read more.

3) DVD Guides

For those wanting to enjoy the beauty of our Fenland waterways from the comfort of their own home this collection of DVD guides is ideal. 500 years ago Fenland Britain was a series of vast freshwater lakes, or “fens” with a few sporadic islands sticking up above the water. Today the drained fens are the richest farmland in Britain, and the drainage channels can be navigated and link the River Nene at Peterborough to the River Great Ouse at Denver. The Middle Level DVD explores not just the recommended route across, but the many backwaters as well. It is available separately but could also be bought as part of a set of three that includes the rivers Nene, Great Ouse and River Cam. Read more.

4) Waterproof Camera/Phone Bag

What a great idea for someone who loves spending time on or near the water! Get your gadgets protected with this collection of covers for cameras, mobile phones and tablets from Overboard.

5) Day Hire Vouchers

If you’d like to treat the whole family to an unexpected outing, the day hire vouchers for a trip on March Adventurer are for up to 10 people. Tuition, lifejackets and fuel are all included. Our marina in Cambridgeshire is surrounded by some beautiful waterways. With lots of room at the front and rear of the boat everyone can be outside while cruising the rivers and taking in the picturesque scenery and wildlife. Our day hire narrowboat has a galley complete with hob, fridge and sink, a dinette equipped with crockery and cutlery, a toilet and a seating area. Read more.

We hope these ideas solve some of your gift buying dilemmas, and we wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year from everyone at Fox Narrowboats.

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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles

boat holiday late season
The canals and waterways can be so beautiful at this time of year; with bright leafy colours and crisp blue November skies. We’ve already started our winter maintenance on the holiday narrowboats as bookings begin to come in for the 2017 holiday season. Whatever time of year you book your narrowboat holiday, the British canals are something to be enjoyed hand in hand with the great British weather.

If you’re considering saving money by choosing a UK ‘stay-cation’ next year, then you may find that canal boats are a surprisingly comfortable way to experience the English countryside. We can’t predict the weather, but we can predict that you’ll have a good holiday; even if it rains.

Firstly you must remember that constantly cruising is not compulsory, so if you do experience showers you have the freedom to moor up and head to the galley for a coffee and a cake. Our holiday boats are equipped with all mod-cons and creature comforts, such as central heating, Wi-Fi and TV.

Try curling up on board with a good book, while you wait for a shower to pass. At the moment I’m reading Water Gypsies by Annie Murray, but I also recommend Narrowboat Dreams by Steve Haywood, Narrowdog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington or Ramlin Rose by Sheila Stewart. Remember, cruising is only part of the experience of staying on a narrowboat. In our busy lives we rarely get the time to stop and play cards or board games, let alone on board a warm and cosy canal boat. However, to prevent cabin fever there will be plenty of opportunities to visit canal side pubs, shops and tourist attractions too.

If you pack some decent wet weather gear you may be surprised that you enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a crew working the locks, whatever the weather. When I’m boating in the rain I wear a great big rain poncho, and still enjoy the peaceful rural views. It makes it all the more worthwhile when you come back indoors and get into some warm dry clothes and have a hot drink, feeling a kind of smug sense of satisfaction and achievement at having moored up at the day’s destination. Perhaps you have to really love narrowboating to enjoy it in all weathers: but luckily I do!

The real fun of being on a narrowboat though, is the realisation that you can move your holiday home whenever you want: So while today you may awaken somewhere rural and peaceful, tomorrow you may be exploring the ancient streets or Peterborough, Ely or Cambridge. Take in idyllic riverside villages, historic buildings and ancient monuments and experience England at a slower pace.

So, would you be on deck with me, windlass in hand, curled up on board with a book, or exploring the towns and villages “on the bank”?

Take a look at where you could go exploring by seeing our suggested Fox Boats routes.

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by Paula SyredPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles, Guest & customer articles, Navigation articles
John Revell reverses Olive Emily into and through the Salters Lode sluice gate to join the Old Bedford river.

John Revell reverses Olive Emily into and through the Salters Lode sluice gate to join the Old Bedford river.

Following on from John Revell’s previous blog about the efforts to restore the Old Bedford river to navigation.  John follows up with his latest thoughts.  Photography by Mike Daines.

In November 2016 I took my narrowboat Olive Emily, based at Fox’s Marina in March, into the Old Bedford River via the tidal river Great Ouse at Salter’s Lode. This is not as simple as it sounds. It has to be done “on the level” and the Old Bedford and the narrow tidal channel which leads to it are in poor condition. As a result few boats have been willing or able to do this in recent years.
I attempted the same journey in November 2015 and managed about a mile before being forced to turn round through lack of water and a massive amount of cott weed which completely clogged up the propeller.
This year I emailed the Environment Agency (EA) well in advance on the 7th October advising them that I proposed to navigate the Old Bedford during the period 3 November to 5 November. I further explained that I would aim to cruise all the way to Welches Dam lock and I asked for confirmation that the Welney Guillotine Gate, through which we would have to pass, would be left in the raised (navigable) position. I never received a reply from EA.
I successfully entered the Old Bedford at 7.45 am on Saturday November 5. This was not straightforward (see photos) but the Middle Level Lock keeper and an EA staff member were very helpful and together with a volunteer crew of David Venn, Chairman of IWA Peterborough branch, Chris Howes, Ivan Cane and Mike Daines, I headed off towards Welches Dam.

A view rarely seen over the last ten year!. Looking over the prow of a narrowboat navigating the Old Bedford river towards Welney and Welches Dam lock.

A view rarely seen over the last ten year!. Looking over the prow of a narrowboat navigating the Old Bedford river towards Welney and Welches Dam lock.

We made quite good progress at first and soon we managed to pass our one mile progress marker from the previous year. After another mile or so there was evidence of dredging on the west bank with the spoil piled up along the bank and the digger visible in the far distance. It was this dredging that had quite obviously enabled our progress up to and beyond our one mile limit of the previous year.
Further ahead were the overhead electrical power lines that cross the river around three miles in from Salters Lode. A previous attempt in July 2008 to reach Welches Dam in my narrowboat, accompanied by Lois and Roy Parker in their cruiser Marie 2, had failed because this section hadn’t been dredged for years.
As we approached the power lines the river took on a glazed and milky look and we became engulfed in a mass of cott weed with the water level dropping to a silted muddy depth of just one foot.

Heading towards Welney on the Old Bedford river in November 2016. NB Olive Emily is about to run into a mass of cott weed and an undredged length of the river that runs beneath the power cables three miles from Salters Lode. This is evident from the uncovered section of bank underneath the pylons and the continuation of dredging further along towards Welney and Welched Dam lock.

Heading towards Welney on the Old Bedford river in November 2016. NB Olive Emily is about to run into a mass of cott weed and an undredged length of the river that runs beneath the power cables three miles from Salters Lode. This is evident from the uncovered section of bank underneath the pylons and the continuation of dredging further along towards Welney and Welched Dam lock.

It immediately became obvious that we couldn’t proceed any further and once again we would reluctantly have to abandon our goal and turn around. With much prodigious poling by the crew Olive Emily was slowly extracted from the glue and turned back into deeper water to make her return to Salters Lode.
We had again been defeated by the same problems as last year, insufficient depth of water, lack of dredging and masses of cott weed.
We had failed in our objective to reach Welches Dam lock which was stanked off by the EA in 2006. This lock has remained closed and impassable for 10 years despite the efforts of the IWA locally and nationally, the East Anglian Waterways Association, Fox Boats and the Project Hereward team. The “temporary” piling which was installed by the EA in 2006 covers most of the entrance to the lock so it is very effective at stopping boats but rather less effective at stopping leaks which was claimed to be the reason for the piling in the first place.
Two developments occurred between my email to the EA on 7 October and my passage on 5 November. Firstly, I found out late on 3 November that the Welney guillotine gate was in the down (unnavigable) position. This came as a surprise as I had been assured that it would remain up (navigable) position unless there was a change in river conditions.
I live in East Anglia and I knew that the weather in East Anglia had been dry for some time so the closure of the Welney gate was puzzling.

Olive Emily's volunteer crew man the poles to extract her from the silt.

Olive Emily’s volunteer crew man the poles to extract her from the silt.

More importantly, the water level in the Old Bedford had been dropped by a foot in the week after I had notified EA of the dates of my proposed passage. This is even more puzzling and I have been unable to find out why this was done and by whom.
EA is a multi-functional organisation so any part of it might have authorised this action. It might have been done by flood control, it might have been fishing, it might have been engineering, it might have been navigation, it might have been environment. Who knows?”
Whatever the reason, this had made the tidal passage into the Old Bedford at Salters Lode unnecessarily difficult and muddy. It meant that that the depth of water in the Old Bedford was shallow throughout. It also meant that an attempt to enter the Old Bedford the previous day (November 4) had been unsuccessful and had had to be abandoned.
The general lack of depth became an insuperable problem when I had reached the stretch of very shallow un-dredged water, deep mud and glutinous cott weed close to the overhead electrical lines. Everyone knows that special precautions must be taken when working near them but this situation arises routinely on other rivers and canals and is easily overcome. Indeed the same overhead lines cross the nearby navigable New Bedford river, Well Creek at Nordelph and the Great Ouse at Littleport.

The Salters Lode sluice pictured from the Old Bedford. The water mark on the guillotine door is clearly marked and was a good two feet lower.

The Salters Lode sluice pictured from the Old Bedford. The water mark on the guillotine door is clearly marked and was a good two feet lower.

The Old Bedford is not a dead end waterway leading nowhere but is part of a long established route that needs to be restored to full navigation. It would make an interesting cruising ring. It has been navigable since 1637, well before the main canal era started. It is a statutory navigation and it needs to be maintained.
Although the Old Bedford remains officially open it will remain off limits for all but the most determined boater until it is deep enough, and dredged properly.
The Canal and River Trust (CRT) has built on the long experience of British Waterways in managing rivers so that they remain navigable most of the time but are closed when flood conditions require. Just think of the Rivers Soar, Trent, Severn, Avon, Weaver or the river sections of the Trent and Mersey or the Caldon or the Calder and Hebble to name just a few.
Would the current lamentable state of affairs in this part of the Fens be tolerated elsewhere on the system? Would this have been allowed to go on for so long if CRT managed it? Would it not be better if responsibility for navigation matters on waterways that are currently managed by EA be transferred to CRT?

Skipper John Revell negotiates NB Olive Emily back out through the tidal doors "on the level" from the Old Bedford river.
Propellor clogging cott weed.
Olive Emily approaching the Old Bedford sluice, March, 2010. Note the depth of water!
Olive Emily returns along the narrow tidal channel to the tidal River Great Ouse prior to locking back into the calm waters of the Middle Level at the end of the trip.
A sight rarely seen these days! NB Olive Emily pictured on the Old Bedford river in aid of a campaign to maintain the river as a navigable asset to the East Anglian waterways system.
John Revell with Olive Emily pictured at the Welney Gate in March 2010

John Revell and Mike Daines
14 November 2016

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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles

women-world-war-at-work-commons-licence

Copyright Creative Commons Licence – wiki link

As Remembrance Day approaches you may be surprised to learn that narrowboats had anything to do with the war effort, and even more surprised that ordinary house-dwelling women volunteered to steer the cargo-carrying boats when many boatmen were called up to fight.

In her memoir The Amateur Boatwomen, Eily Gayford used her war time journals to write about her time training all-woman canal boat crews during the Second World War. Known to the working boaters as ‘Kit’, her story shares tales of getting to know the mysterious boat people, and learning the hardship of their way of life, and their work. There was a lot of skill and strength required to steer and handle, load and unload a pair of cargo carrying boats. These ordinary women, who were more used to living on land, worked pairs of boats usually with all-women crews, and at first were regarded with some suspicion by the born and bred boat families. The book describes surviving on war-time rationed food and shopping locally at farms.

“Cocoa was always our quick hot drink… for in fact, we never even saw any (instant coffee) until the first of the American soldiers came over.”

Kit describes getting ‘iced in’ and how there was a boat children’s school at Bull’s Bridge, in Southall, west London. Then there were times when a boat would get ‘bugs’ which would have to be eliminated by sealing them in to a smoky boat and sweeping the bugs up afterwards. While life-long boaters had very little education, worked for the same company all their lives and coped with war time difficulties too, the women Kit trained were lucky enough to have holidays at home once in a while.

I loved the intimate descriptions of how they organised their daily life, how they did their shopping, kept their cabins clean, and worked the boats. They were very ordinary details at the time, but it is now fascinating to look back on how boating and boaters have changed. When I first read The Amateur Boatwomen I realised that people often asked me: What is it like, living on a boat? What is it like having kids on a boat? Is it cold in the winter? I then realised that people might actually be interested in my own daily life on the canals, and that things that seem ordinary to me, may one day seem fascinating to others. Those questions inspired me to write my own Narrowboat Wife blog about living and parenting on a boat.

The book is a testimony to the spirited and hard working women who threw themselves into such a lifestyle for the sake of the war effort. So, on this Remembrance Sunday when we think of those who gave their lives, think also of the working boaters, and the women who helped them to keep our canals carrying essential cargo throughout the Second World War.

Kit’s trainees called themselves the Amateur Boatwomen. What we can learn from this Remembrance Day story is that you can become a competent narrowboater even if you consider yourself an amateur. When you take a Fox Boats holiday you will be fully trained in steering and lock operating by one of our RYA qualified instructors. If you’ve ever been fascinated with the idea of daily life on board, then a narrowboat holiday could be perfect for you!

  1. Our marina assistant Pam was born on Remembrance Day!
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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles

fenland canal ghost stories
Once upon a time, long before there were narrowboat holidays, I can imagine that working boatmen may have gathered their families around the cabin stove on All Hallow’s Eve, and told ghostly stories by lamp-light. Here are seven creepy towpath tales to share beside the fire this Halloween.

  1. Spectral Soldiers

When I lived on a narrowboat I’d sometimes hear tales of supernatural sightings on the canals. I was moored in the hamlet of Bulbourne in Hertfordshire, when I was told ghostly Roman soldiers have been seen crossing the old canal bridge…

  1. Manifestation in Marsworth

Interested to find out more, I read a book called ‘Ghosts of Tring’ that reported that a child was once walking along the towpath in Marsworth with her grandmother “off the barges”.

“The child was tugging her hand; the grandmother turned to look. At the little girl’s other hand was a character half-man, half-goat.”

  1. Apparition Near Aylesbury

The book also reveals that on the Aylesbury canal arm one night a niece and her uncle were travelling in their carriage over the Dixon’s gap bridge. The horses shied and the niece saw four men carrying a coffin over the bridge. The uncle however saw nothing…

  1. Phantom Candles

A perhaps more famous ghost story on the canals is that of the Blisworth Tunnel. This tunnel, on the Grand Union at Stoke Bruerne, is a mile and three quarters long. During its construction the tunnel caved in and fourteen men died. Boaters claim to have seen the shadowy ghosts of these poor navvies and even some say, that when travelling through by boat you may see an alternative tunnel (the one that collapsed) leading off at a tangent; invitingly lit by candlelight.

  1. Princess Presence

Apparently The Montgomery Canal in Wales is haunted by a Welsh Princess who was buried alive as punishment for running away with her lover.

  1. Spooky Stain

At Rugeley on the Trent and Mersey Canal a blood stain is said to sometimes reappear from a murder in 1839.

  1. Fenland Frights

A narrowboat is the stealthiest way to travel if you are planning a paranormal investigation in historic Cambridgeshire. Check out our Halloween article, How to go Ghostbusting with a Narrowboat to find out what spooks can be found around March, Cambridge and the Fens. Nearby Ely is said to be one of England’s spookiest cities. If you travel by Fox narrowboat, the cruise from March to Ely takes in ancient inns and the murdered ghosts of Southery, plus legends of violence and death surround the Fenland isle of Littleport: Read more in The Spooky Truth About Cruising to Ely.

If you fancy haunting the canals yourself next year, be brave and check availability here to plan your next narrowboat holiday!

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by Paula SyredPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles, Guest & customer articles, Navigation articles
sunset on the Middle Level Navigation
sunset on the Middle Level Navigation

sunset on the Middle Level Navigation

Before reading this article further it is worth thinking back to 1984 when John Revell first visited the Middle Level Navigations.  In those days entry by boat to the system was restricted to boats of 49 feet in length because of the short locks at Stanground, Ashline and Marmont Priory. Fortunately during the 1990’s thanks to campaigning the locks were lengthened to take full length narrowboats. Before that in the 1970’s our first holiday hire narrowboats transited the Old Bedford river to access the Great Ouse river system at Denver, the reason being Well Creek was not navigable.  Thanks to the East Anglian Waterways Association, the Inland Waterways Association (Peterborough Branch) and the Well Creek Trust along with their campaigning members the waterways have been opened up for navigation, recreation and fishing to all. Their campaigning would have been fruitless without the willingness of the Middle Level Commissioners, the fourth largest and perhaps least well know navigation authority in the country.

Although I try and visit the main canal system in spring I usually leave my boat on the Middle Level for the summer and winter months. Not everyone is a fan of the Fens but I am.

On my first visit to the Middle Level in June 1984 I moored near a bridge and saw a narrow road leading towards what looked like a pub. I was right as I had arrived at the Three Horseshoes pub in Turves which was heaving with people on a Saturday night. My long journey had started at Bunbury near Chester and I was heading for the Fish and Duck near Ely. Both the pub locals and we were amazed that my journey had led me to Turves.

Sunrise on the Middle Level Navigation

Sunrise on the Middle Level Navigation

We returned to the Middle Level in August that year and visited some of the remoter parts. As we struggled along one somewhat weedy stretch a farmer came out to say hallo. He said he only ever saw weed boats there and added that he wished there were a few more boats passing as he was looking for a wife.

Away from the “Link Route” the Middle Level is little used, even in the height of summer. On a day’s journey from Holme to Floods Ferry this summer I met one moving narrow boat, passed 2 friendly fishermen when I went up to Ramsey basin for lunch and saw 5 kingfishers. If you want a good sunset or sunrise , lots of wildlife and peace and quiet this is the place to be.

Fox Narrowboats at March, Bill Fen Marina at Ramsey and Peterborough Boating Centre (just the other side of Stanground lock) provide most boating services. Whittlesey, Ramsey and March have a good range of shops and pubs, Upwell and Outwell provide a smaller choice of shops but convenient short term moorings plus 2 butchers, 2 fish and chip shops , the Globe PH, the Crown PH and the Crown Lodge Hotel and an amazing display of daffodils each year.

Sunset on the Middle Level Navigation

Sunset on the Middle Level Navigation

Away from the bright lights there are several pubs that have managed to survive, the Golden Lion at Stonea, the George at Ramsey Forty Foot, the Five Alls at Benwick, the Lion at Ramsey St Marys, the Admiral Wells at Holme and the Three Horseshoes at Turves. The shop at Three Holes next to the public landing stage (paid for by the Peterborough Branch of the Inland Waterways Association and built by the Middle Level Commissioners) has recently been renovated with a café and the Village shop at Ramsey St Marys is just before the Lion PH.

Now, if only we can restore Horseways Channel, Welches Dam lock and the Old Bedford to full navigation.

This is a guest blog by John Revell waterways campaigner and mooring customer here at Fox Narrowboats.

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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles

fossils galore activity centre march

If you’re planning a narrowboat hire boat holiday in 2017 these upcoming local Halloween events will give you some unusual ideas of places to visit, so that you can create haunting holiday memories to die for!

1) Fossils Galore Halloween Fun Day

Fossils Galore Educational Activity Centre in March is holding a Halloween Fun Day on Saturday 29th October this year. But when it isn’t Halloween you can still enjoy fossil hunting in a prehistoric sand pit, an arts and crafts shop, tea shop, geode breaking and lots more. It’s just one of the many family-friendly activities you can incorporate into your narrowboat holiday next year.

2) Ely Ghost Walks

On the weekends beginning 21st and 28th October 2016 you can discover the dark side of Ely on a Ghost Tour that takes you along the narrow passageways and dimly lit streets to hear about the local tales of scandal and death. Ely is home to some of the most haunted buildings in the country and in fact Ghost Tour visitors are guaranteed to see real “live” ghosts is in this character, themed event. (For bookings and more information visit www.olivercromwellshouse.co.uk)

There are events on all year round at Oliver Cromwell’s House in Ely, which can be easily included in your Fenland narrowboat holiday. Oliver Cromwell’s (haunted) former home is now a museum and tourist information centre; great to visit at any time of year.

Travelling by Fox narrowboat your cruise from March to Ely will take in ancient inns and maybe the murdered ghosts of Southery. (Read more local legends of violence and death in The Spooky Truth About Cruising to Ely!)

3) Cambridge Pumpkin Festival

This October Cambridge Sustainable Foods are promoting a number of local events, as part of the 2016 Pumpkin Festival: Such as pumpkin carving in Market Square, pumpkin cuisine made from rescued food, a pumpkin feast at The Free Press Pub and St James’s Pumpkin Picnic. If you want to include narrowboating to Cambridge as part of your 2017 holiday check out the other seasonal, local events on their website.
Visit Cambridge at any time as part of your Fox boating holiday and discover more about this beautiful English city of students, bikes, colleges and stunning architecture.

Narrow Escape

Cambridgeshire and the Fenland Waterways offer history, heritage and culture at all times of the year; if you like the idea of exploring the Fenland waterways by boat check availability for next year now.
For more haunting ideas to add to next year’s holiday plans, sign up for digital updates from this blog. (We never share or sell email addresses – your details are safe with us.) Just look for ‘Follow Blog’ in the sidebar on the right.

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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles, Get healthy

narrowboat-recipies

 

Don’t assume that the confines of a narrowboat kitchen will prevent you from cooking almost whatever you want to. Our holiday boats are equipped with a fridge with a small freezer compartment, and a gas cooker, which has a four ring hob, oven and a grill. (However, cooking times can vary compared with the more usual natural gas at home.)

Here are six of the best suggestions, tried and tested by real boaters.

1) Bubble and Squeak

Bubble and squeak is an easy, no-nonsense recipe that can use up any left overs on board. This recipe from the BBCs Saturday Kitchen suggests serving bubble and squeak with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce, and could be a welcome family favourite on a lazy holiday morning.

Bubble and Squeak

2) Barbecue with Salad

This is not so much a recipe but just a nod to the obvious holiday idea: a barbeque next to the boat. Choose your own meat or vegetarian options and prepare green salad and potato salad to accompany the grilled food. Corn on the cobs also go down well.

3) Hot Bananas and Chocolate Buttons

Another one for the barbeque – not a complicated recipe! Slice a banana down the middle and fill the slot with chocolate buttons. Wrap the banana in foil and warm through on the barbeque until the chocolate melts. It can also be done in the oven on a day when you don’t have perfect barbeque weather.

4) Grilled Cinnamon Peaches with Pecans and Ice Cream

This 40 second video was shared in the Narrowboat Recipes Facebook group and looks easy to do and delicious to eat. You will need pecans, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, peaches and ice-cream. It can be cooked on the grill or on a barbeque.

5) Healthy Spaghetti Bolognaise

This healthy and frugal recipe can be found on the Living on a Narrowboat forum and only costs £1 to make! Because it is made with soya mince the ingredients won’t perish and won’t take up space in your fridge: A good back-up option if you spontaneously decide to moor up in a beautiful rural location, far from any shops. The author says, “Please don’t dismiss the soya mince. I am not a vegetarian but this soya mince looks and tastes just like real mince in a dish like this, in fact I have tested it on many people, none of whom could tell they were not eating real beef mince.”

Spaghetti Bolognaise for Two

6) Camembert and Spinach Tortilla

And finally, the Boatshed blog runs a regular feature called ‘From the Galley’ and this is one of my favourites that they’ve shared. It’s quite easy to serve on board as you don’t need many ingredients, and it’s absolutely delicious (I’ve tried it!)

Camembert and Spinach Tortilla

Grocery Shopping

You can either bring supplies of food with you on holiday, or shop locally in March before you set off on your cruise. Remember also that you won’t be cooking every day, as there are so many opportunities to stop at restaurants and pubs on your journey. There are waterside pubs marked on the maps and cruising guides. You may also like: Our Top 3 Pubs for Your Fenland Narrowboat Holiday.

  1. To get more brilliant ideas of how to really enjoy your narrowboat holiday subscribe to our blog in the right sidebar – look for Follow Blog. (We don’t send spam or salesy type stuff – just interesting articles about boats and waterways!)
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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Canal Blog, Featured articles

staycation brexit

 

The Guardian recently reported that more and more Brits are staying at home, instead of holidaying abroad, and overseas tourists are now tempted to choose a UK holiday because of the favourable exchange rate post-Brexit. Figures from TravelSupermarket found that the drop in the value of the pound against the euro means that a holiday in Europe will cost a UK family more now than it would have done before Britain voted to leave the EU.

A survey by online deals site vouchercodes.co.uk found the increased cost of holidaying abroad is likely to lead to more and more British people deciding to holiday in the UK this year. The tourism board says the recession is encouraging holiday-makers to stay local and look for value.

Staycation; a combination of the words ‘stay’ and ‘vacation’ is a relatively new word describing the trend of holidaying at home and locally due to the tough economic climate. The advantages include less time spent travelling, and more cultural familiarity. Staycations are also good news for our economy!

Here are Three Great Reasons to Take a Narrowboat Staycation

1) Travel expenses are minimal. Your holiday budget can be mostly spent on dining and local attractions because there will be no need for car journeys to these places, as you will be travelling by boat!

2) There will be no long waits at airports, which can be stressful with children. Bundle everything into the car and enjoy familiar road signs and traffic rules. Then abandon motor traffic altogether in favour of a slower pace of transport. There is plenty of car parking at our base, which is free to our customers for the duration of their holiday.

3) Self-catering has a certain novelty when you are cooking on a narrowboat; standing at the kitchen sink or hob can be a pleasure when your view is lush green foliage or the local water fowl. On sunny summer days try cooking outside; the towpath or riverside is abundant with picturesque barbeque locations.

What better way to enjoy the villages and towns, culture and countryside of Britain, than from a floating holiday home that travels at four miles per hour? Colourful, traditional narrowboats are unique to England offering comfortable beds, bathroom and shower, TV, DVD, central heating and access to the Fens: The best-kept secret of the inland waterways. Away from the queues at the locks on the main canal network, or the challenges of finding a mooring in London, the Fenland waterways offer so much peace and tranquillity.

See what dates we have left for 2016 or book your 2017 holiday with us.

PS. To find out more about narrowboat staycations subscribe to our blog in the right sidebar – look for Follow Blog. (We don’t send spam or salesy type stuff – just interesting articles about boats and waterways!)

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by Tim MarrowPosted on Posted in Amazing things to see, Canal Blog, Featured articles
Kind permission: Jan Pickles
Kind permission: Jan Pickles

Kind permission: Jan Pickles

As summer draws to a close there are still plenty of fun local events, exhibitions and fairs planned for Autumn in the Fens. Here are eight great incentives to book a September narrowboat holiday.

1) It’s Quieter

If you already follow our blog you may know that the Fenland waterways are the quieter alternative to the Norfolk Broads. Some boaters prefer the East Anglian waterways to the main canal system because of the uncrowded peace and tranquillity they offer. In September the waterways are even quieter still, leaving more choices of perfect mooring spaces for the autumn boater.

2) March and District Museum.

Your Fox Narrowboat holiday will begin at our hire base in March, and on September 9th Geoffrey Lee will be giving a talk on the History of Fire Fighting at The March Museum. The building itself dates from 1851 and was originally a girls’ grammar school. Set up as a local folk museum, the displays show the life and times of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and ongoing to the present day. The museum is run by volunteers, and there are no paid staff.

3) Skylark Garden Centre

The Skylark Garden Centre in March offers a Giant Maize Maze, Pesky Pigeon, Tractor Ride, Pig Racing and more. The Skylark Maize Maze and Funyard runs throughout September, on the weekends.

4) Peckover House

A short cruise away from March is the picturesque village of Upwell. From this pretty mooring you can take the quick bus journey to the Georgian town of Wisbech to visit Peckover House. Here the current exhibition is A Georgian Town in the Fens: A miniature model of Wisbech in 1795, accompanied by an overview of how the town would have been to live in during the late Georgian age. The ‘model village’ includes everything, from the grandest houses to the smallest privies.

5) Wisbech Fair

Wisbech Statute Fair is a funfair held in September, occupying the whole of Chapel Road Car Park and part of Somers Road Car Park. The Fairground rides and stalls are sited in Chapel Road Car Park.

6) September Ball

Situated on a stretch of the historic Well Creek waterway, The Crown Lodge Hotel in Outwell offers moorings, and is hosting a September Ball. Entertainment will be provided by a live four-piece band, The Funtime Frankies. There will also be a cocktail and canape reception followed by a hog roast hosted by the Fruit Pig Company.

7) Whittlesey Festival

If your narrowboat holiday takes you onto the River Nene you may discover the ancient Fenland market town of Whittlesey. The Nene – Ouse Navigation link meanders alongside the Manor fields, south of the town.

Whittlesey Festival is held on the first Sunday of September and begins with a community parade through the town alongside an impressive classic car display. A climbing wall, swing boats and pony rides will be found on the church yard green and the market place hosts live singers, musicians, marching bands and dance displays throughout the day. The streets will be lined with speciality stalls, including arts and craft.

If you’re headed up the Nene you may also like our article The 3 Best Moorings When Narrowboating on the Nene.

8) It’s Cheaper!

When the hustle and bustle of the summer season is over we offer some very affordable bargain breaks. Check out the prices of our boats, depending on the size of your party – and note that booking online gives you a further discount! Choose a three night short break (Fri-Mon) or a seven night week (Mon-Mon or Fri-Fri). Our all-in price includes hire, damage waiver and fuel.

Check September prices here

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