Up the Cut

Last Saturday was the Big Birthday Boat Trip which my friends had very kindly organised for me from Aspley Wharf Marina in Huddersfield.

For a number of years I wore a badge that said "Up the Cut" - which, of course means "along the canal" but also sounds pleasingly rude. We used have a half share in a narrowboat and we loved it dearly but sadly had to sell it for various reasons about fourteen years ago.

I used to enjoy being on the boat so much that after we had to sell it I blotted it out completely and just didn't think about it. So before this boat trip I was wondering whether I would enjoy it as much as I remembered and whether the inside of a lock would be as much fun and full of promise as it was before.

Oh yes, it was indeed. From the moment I took the tiller to take the Lady Aspley out of the marina, it felt like coming home. The trip, I was told, was called

PIRATES OF THE CANAL - THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PUDDING

We were quite keen on the idea of painting the boat black once we were round the bend away from the marina, and just keeping on going - - - for ever - - -

What is it about canals? Travelling all afternoon to cover the same distance that you can do in twenty minutes in a car - what is the appeal?

A lot of it is the slow pace, I think. I remember once travelling by narrowboat under Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham in a light drizzle, watching all the cars speeding by above us. I realised as I looked at them whizzing along that I was totally happy and there was nowhere else I would rather be.

There's always something interesting round the next bend, too - fields, woodland, mills - and, on Saturday, a big international football tournament being played by ten-year-olds all looking very smart in their uniforms. They were all very interested to watch us progressing through a lock, particularly when, on our way back, the lock gates jammed on a tyre caught underneath and Martin had to work very hard to free them with a pole. I've never seen anything like that happen before.

I love the sudden changes from rural to industrial landscape and back again. The industrial landscape is often a Victorian one, too, giving an insight into how towns and cities looked then and I find it all fascinating. And all those old locks that still work just as well as when they were made. The mysterious, long, twisting tunnels, all dark except for your boat's light - steer by keeping the square of the front of your boat central in the arch of the tunnel and you'll be all right until finally you see a tiny circle of daylight appear and you know you're nearly through.

There's lots of wildlife to see - always ducks, sometimes herons, and on Saturday lots of giant dragonflies swooping about to give that authentic summer feel.

Of course, on Saturday I was with a lovely group of people and here are some of them on the boat:

During lunch we had a Quiz which had a number of tricky questions about pirates and some slightly less tricky ones too: On which geological feature was the treasure to be found in "Treasure Island"? Astonishingly, given the entirely random mix of easy and difficult questions, the result was a dead heat, so there was no fighting and nobody was thrown overboard.

Carry said I had a smile on my face all day: well, that's because nobody has ever enjoyed a birthday party more than I did this one, so a huge THANK YOU to all involved. Here's to looking ahead to more views like this one.