I spent Sunday with my friend of 46 years Barbara. We met in Junior College, and I have been friends with her, and another Andy (Corner) for that time. We see each other occasionally but the friendship lasts well I am pleased to say.
About 12 years ago I went with the kids for a day out on a canal "Narrow Boat" with my Mom and other family members and Barbara came along. She decided it was a good family tradition to start (at what point does it become a tradition?) and this was their 5th year.
It rained overnight and did not show any signs of abating so we had a wet and windy start. Not atypical of a British vacation day and we were well equipped with tea and bacon and sausage rolls that we made on the boat. Overall we probably traveled 4-5 miles but went through 12 locks. It brightened up later in the day and a good time was had by all.
We enjoyed a pub lunch and there ate lots of pubs located on the canals.
Not so sure about Doug and Mark!
There is an extensive canal system in the UK that was dug (mostly by hand) and was the primary transport system for bulk materials early in the Industrial Revolution. It was eventually surpassed by the railways. The majority of the canals were built in the mid 1800s and there are about 2000 miles of canal still today.
To account for changes in grades the water is sectioned off and contained by locks and these can be a single lock that may cause the water level to change by about 10 ft (3.1m) and there are flights of locks (like Foxton Locks in Leicestershire) where there are a series of 10 locks that change the water level by approx 90ft (23m).
There were various other innovative solutions to get boats up and down the hills like inclined planes.
More information at the following website
How locks work and more canal info
All of these were hand operated and each set of locks had a Lock Keeper and his cottage can be seen at most locks although they have been sold off and the jobs were outsourced!
Over the past few years there has been a resurgence in interest in canals and narrow boats for recreation: People live on them and you can rent them for a day or a week and cruise the waterways and see a very different side of the UK. As I mentioned there are lots of pubs alongside the canals and loads of people out walking the dog on the towpaths. They seem willing to help with opening lock gates and enjoying the fun. Originally the barges were moved by horses pulling the barge along hence the name Towpath.
The narrow boats seem to be in two widths with most being 7 ft wide (2.15m) and up to 70ft long (21.5m). The width allowed either one or two boats to pass or occupy the lock at the same time. The other is a "double wide" at 14 ft (4.2m) and navigates the locks solo.
Barbara's children, their partners and grandchildren (3 of them) navigated, cooked., and operated the locks.
We had great fun and as the weather improved more of us were seen outside the cabin and enjoying the scenery.
