[AlanHo]

Today we are off on a round trip to Llangattock in Wales to view a canal boat we are thinking of hiring next July on the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal. In a previous married life I have had 4 canal holidays and thoroughly enjoyed them - but my wife Libby has not yet had the pleasure and is not persuaded.

Libby is concerned that the boat will be cramped and crudely furnished, my mate and I will stagger through the holiday in an alcohol daze, fall into the canal and drown, crash the boat or have a heart attack working the locks. She is wrong on every count. The boat we are to view is 60 foot long x 7.5 foot wide (not a narrow boat) and has two en-suite cabins with full length 5 foot wide beds and a kitchen with full size appliances for the girls to slave in.  It has bow thrusters to assist steering on the very narrow and twisty canal.

The other couple have had half a dozen canal holidays and are looking forward to it.

Choose a Boat/Prices | Canal Boat Prices | Beacon Park Boats

[John B]

Love it, what a great way to go relaxing on the canal. I hope Libby will give it ago.    I wanted to cruise on the Norfolk Broads but did not get around to it before making Australia our home.

[AlanHo]

 Yesterday was a bit of a disaster.

We drove to the boatyard by prior arrangement with the couple who run it - a distance of just over 100 miles. A couple of miles before we got there an ambulance came the other way down the narrow lane with blue lights flashing and I had to reverse quite a distance into a farm entrance to let it past. It's a good job the car has a reversing camera because I am a mugwump with mirrors. When we got to the boatyard we found it locked and were unable to enter.

Libby rang the owner's mobile. She was in an ambulance on the way to hospital with her husband who had suffered an accident in the boatyard workshop 30 minutes before.  Libby said she sounded panic stricken so it must have been serious.

So we went to a local hotel for lunch before returning home "empty handed".

[mickd]

Hi Alan,
Bad day for you guys, worse day for them.
It sounds like you had good company and just had good drive for lunch.
May need to revise holiday plans though.

[Dazzler]

  Hope the Boat guy is ok.

[Doggie 1]

 

Have you heard anything since, Alan?

[asathorny]

That was damned inconsiderate of the chap, doing that when he knew you were cuming Alan 

[AlanHo]

We don't know any more and are reluctant to contact her for a day or two.

They are a young couple with about a dozen boats which he has built himself in a large workshop at the boatyard they own. All the boats are at the luxury end of the market with rentals priced accordingly. As it happens they don't have any Sunday sailings or returns so we will probably get in touch on Friday when the boatyard is busy. I don't know whether they have help running the business - but I imagine they do.

[Lakes]

Good luck Alan & hope all turns out ok for the boat owners, and you trip!