Our week on the Caldon

[Mark Cotton]

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

[Mac of Cygnet]

Glad you had a good time! The Caldon is one of my favourite canals, with as you found, the Hollybush and the Black Lion the jewels in its crown. Your blog gives a fascinating insight into the UK As A Foreign Country, with every detail appearing strange and curious.

 

Cheers

 

Mac

[Mark Cotton]

Glad you had a good time! The Caldon is one of my favourite canals, with as you found, the Hollybush and the Black Lion the jewels in its crown. Your blog gives a fascinating insight into the UK As A Foreign Country, with every detail appearing strange and curious.

 

Cheers

 

Mac

 

Thank you, Mac. And I didn't even go into detail about the new words we learned on our trip. Even though we share a common language, some of the signs we saw along the way had us scratching our heads.

[Guest]

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.

 

<SNIP>

 

A great read and very interesting to understand how you on the other side of the pond see us over here......

 

eg - remaking on the £1 needed for the shopping trolley - it's just so normal to us we don't think twice but I don't think I've ever seen that in the US when I think about it.

[Mark Cotton]

A great read and very interesting to understand how you on the other side of the pond see us over here......

 

eg - remaking on the £1 needed for the shopping trolley - it's just so normal to us we don't think twice but I don't think I've ever seen that in the US when I think about it.

 

There's another one of those word differences. We call them "shopping carts" instead of trollies. I was trying to remember the sign above where the trollies were stored and almost called them "shopping lorries" by mistake in my post, because lorry is another word we don't commonly use over here that we saw over there. (we call them "trucks")

[Idunhoe]

Mark, very pleased that you enjoyed the Caldon, maybe I am more than a tad biased, as I moor my own boat on the Caldon as well as chairing the charity that operates a boat for disabled children (the Beatrice) out of Cheddleton, but I do think that it is one of the jewels of the system.

Just make sure that you come back again, soon

[Mark Cotton]

Mark, very pleased that you enjoyed the Caldon, maybe I am more than a tad biased, as I moor my own boat on the Caldon as well as chairing the charity that operates a boat for disabled children (the Beatrice) out of Cheddleton, but I do think that it is one of the jewels of the system.

Just make sure that you come back again, soon

 

We passed the Beatrice twice, once moored and once going in the opposite direction with a boatload of happy kids. It's a great thing you do, giving them a chance to get out on the water.

[seaandland]

Hi Mark

 

I live in Cheddleton, http://www.cheddletonvillage.co.uk i must have seen and spoken to you on your trip.

Your blog is wonderful,, thanks.

Edited October 4, 2009 by seaandland

[Swallowman]

Mark,

So glad you enjoyed your trip on one of the prettiest canals on the network (once you get out of Stoke, that is). We have done the Caldon a couple of times, firstly in a hire boat then again, in our own boat.

Did you know by the way, that most of the UK canal network was built 200 years ago and quite a lot of the "hardware" is still in use? Part of our heritage which adds to my enjoyment of boating.

Best wishes,

Chris.