It is a good idea to use a different language.I’m on the towpath Kennet and Avon canalA bag of pungently oozing cheese and a freshly baked loaf of sourdough in one hand. As I turn the bend near Trowbridge (Wiltshire), I prepare to face whatever is ahead. I expect my husband and four of my gen Z (ages 18 to 24) children to be glued to their screens, or to bickering. To my surprise, all of them were reading books.
We have stopped going on family holidays to exotic or even Mediterranean destinations. Too hot. Too busy. Too busy. But when I announced this year’s jaunt – a week on the mid-section of the Reading-to-Bristol canal – eyes rolled in horror. As departure day loomed I began to panic. How could we possibly survive in a space so small? What if our lack of activity drove us to spend more time on the phone?
After a two-hour drive from London, having stopped to view the Avebury stone circles, and then the world-famous flight of locks at Caen Hill, we arrived at Devizes in Wiltshire – and our extremely narrow boat from Foxhangers. We rolled our eyes (again) when we realized that two of us were going to have to sleep in a galley-kitchen. Our long, thin boat had two bedrooms, each with a foldaway double bed, and a kitchen, where two single bunk beds could be folded into a primitive dining table. The two tiny bathrooms were a blessing.
I expected a quick exit to the train stations. After a “driving lesson” from the Foxhangers man, I arrived at the station three hours later. having grappled with locks, swing bridges and steering 21 metres (70ft) of boat, all six of us squeezed on deck with a bottle of local rosé. The sun dropped over the horizon in a blaze of pink and tangerine, the green-gold hills rolled into the distance, swans drifted past, tiny fish jumped, a heron landed on the roof of our boat – and the world fell away. We slept like dead people that night.
In the days that followed, the world grew further and farther away. We cruised along at a speed of three miles per hour and stopped to walk beside the River Avon. Or to see the Dundas or Avoncliff Aqueducts. As night fell, we walked the towpath. We crossed ancient bridges, climbed overgrown footpaths to the Bath valley or chatted with other moored boats. Residents of narrowboats have a reputation for being friendly. Many of our neighbours lived permanently on the Canal and spent their evenings cooking around a campfire or tending their rooftop garden. This was, we thought, more interesting than watching any TV program.
Our first mooring at Hilperton was where we discovered Wiltshire’s answer to London’s legendary Petersham Nurseries in Richmond at a much lower price. Avonfield KitchenIn a garden centre is a restaurant that serves extravagant and delicious brunches and desserts. They also make the best chilli-eggs we’ve ever had.
We explored the 11th-century Saxons at Bradford-on-Avon. Church of St Laurence The 15th-century beguiling building is one of the UK’s most important Saxon structures. Chapel of St Mary Tory The hermitage was once a refuge for pilgrims who were tired. Tithe barn The locality of (one the UK’s biggest medieval barns), and museumThe original interior of the Victorian pharmacy is on display. The entrance was free for all.
The bookstore also has a good selection of books. Ex Libris The Shambles is a collection of pedestrian streets that run through the heart of Bradford-on-Avon. They are home to boutiques, craft shops and second-hand book stores. The best part was that we found our favorite bakery. Pipit, where we returned repeatedly to buy almond croissants and the house sourdough loaf – which we paired with goodies from the tiny but perfect Cheese Shop.
Then we chugged on to Avoncliff where we saw kingfishers and a water wheel pumping stations. We also enjoyed a delicious meal at the No 10 Tea GardenWe left the bakery with a large number of boxes filled with various cakes. We had all tried our hand at steering by this time. It wasn’t easy at all: One daughter clipped another boat while I accidentally stranded a barge across the width of the canal. The barge wedged into the bank, and it had to be saved by a crew of Duke of Edinburgh rowers (average: 14). Fortunately, The Husband enjoyed steering and was very good at it.
Sydney Gardens, on the outskirts Bath was our final mooring. We rented bikes to cycle the disused railway line that connects Bath and Bristol. We visited the exhibitions in The Holburne Museum You can also read about the Victoria Art GalleryAte the juiciest sandwiches possible Green Street butchers Enjoyed cinnamon and cardamom-flavored buns Landrace bakery. We escaped the crowds in Bath by going uphill to the Saint James Wine Vaults, where we played a pub-quiz.
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My fears about excessive screen-time proved to be unfounded. My phone rarely worked on canals because of poor reception. A word of advice: if you’re after a digital detox, choose a signal-poor waterway (according to the Canal & River Trust, more rural and hilly areas are less likely to have good coverage, with the Llangollen, Trent and Mersey, and the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire union canal being markedly patchy). Our phones felt bright, too fast and demanding when they did receive a signal. Modern. Instead, we read, tried to steer, fed the ducks, watched the beady-eyed antics of our resident heron, chatted to passersby, and played games – all from our tiny deck.
A narrowboat trip usually involves returning to the same area of water. Normaly, this would have been met with groans from horror and boredom. It didn’t. We swapped books and made plans to return to our favorite spots. “You’re missing your phones?” I was baffled.
Bryony, my daughter who is usually glued to her phone, said “No.” Strangely, I feel like being on a narrowboat has given me the permission to turn off my phone in all ways. Imogen, my daughter, added: “Scrolling should only be done when you are alone.” But this boat is so tiny, we’re always together. My son Hugo, who had just finished reading an unprecedented Two-thirds of the population are able to vote. Novels), said: “Anyway you can’t even use your phone when there is no signal.”
What I thought was that the calm, monotonous nature of a canal made me lose all desire to share and post on social media. We were so relaxed by its calm tranquility that we did not want the digital glare or to have our blissfully languid day interrupted by bad headlines. A canal holiday is the most convenient and painless way to detoxify your digital devices. We compared our statistics at the end the week and found that on average, 70% of usage had been reduced. My usage was embarrassingly the highest.
Foxhangers There are a variety of boats that sleep 2-9 people, which can be rented for a short or weekly break. Prices range from £610 for a Four-night Break A boat that can accommodate 2-4 persons is ideal. to £2,458 for a week on a boat that sleeps 6-9 people in August
