By: Blonde One

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I have discovered; a new way of life that I would like to recommend to you. I would suggest that everyone tries it at least once in their lives; canal boat journeying. The last week on the Llangollen canal has been restful and peaceful. The boat did not go any faster than 4 mph. Eating was done when we were hungry. We stopped when we felt like it, not when we were told. We stopped where we felt like (within reason). It was a totally different way of living than I have been used to. There were no bells telling me to do something, no internet demanding my attention, no phone signal to keep me in touch with the outside world, no planning, preparing or marking of paperwork to be done, and no local, national or international news telling me the woes of the world. All we had to worry about on our barge ‘Berriew’, was which bottle of wine to open, and which direction to meander for the day. It was Bliss! To be so detached from everyday tribulations is to be recommended at least once a year and I certainly will be trying to do it again soon.

The poet U A Fanthorpe had it spot on when she said “the pleasurecraft purr their idle way” in her poem Canal: 1977.