My wife and I, along with her sister and brother-in-law recently completed a long-anticipated week aboard a hired narrowboat on the Caldon and Trent & Mersey and we had a fantastic time.
The one thing that made the biggest impression on us was the friendliness and helpfulness of the people we met along the way. I don't know if anyone reading this is among those we met, but if you were, thank you for your hospitality shown to us. We weren't sure what to expect being totally inexperienced at boating, but everything went very smoothly. The people we met along the way kept mentioning that there might be a few unfriendly people on the canals, but we sure never came across them if there were.
Thanks also to those on this board who offered advice and assistance to my earlier posts. Tips you offered were key to our preparations for the trip.
If any Americans are reading this and considering traveling to the UK for a narrowboat vacation, you absolutely won't regret it.
And, if anyone would like to read the details of our trip and see some pictures, here is a link to a blog post I've made about it:
http://cottonpatch.wordpress.com/2009/10/0...ish-narrowboat/
Mark Cotton