The New Newport News News 148:  Beeston Canal edition

The following day was to be the highlight of the trip, though the travelers could hardly believe it could get better.  Ron had arranged 6+ hours on the Beeston Canal in Nottingham for just the Buckitt⁴ family!  The Nottingham Narrow Boat Project has restored 2 canal boats and takes out school groups [and the like] out on the canal to learn what freight transportation used to be like.

The narrow boats are 70 feet long and about 7 feet wide, designed so that all canal companies would have a standard gauge [like railroads⁵].  They weigh about 70 tonnes.  If you really need to know the difference between “tonnes” and “tons” there’s a Wiki for that.  Two boats can fit side by side in each lock.

A lock is essentially a staircase for boats going upstream.  The canal is dammed, so that each section is more filled with water as you go uphill.  The lock is a box with gates on each end that close to allow the box to fill with water.  When the next level is reached, the gate opens to allow the boat onto the next canal section.

In America, canals had a short life, as the distances are so great that railroads made more sense.  But I grew up singing about the “Erie Canal”; there are still functional canals along the Great Lakes.  If you live near Richmond VA, there is a park along the James with a non-functioning lock you can visit, to get a better idea.  It is near the bridge where a suspension footbridge crosses [under the car bridge] where you can walk across to Belle Isle.  The canal in Richmond took goods from the navigable part of the James and around the rapids.

Great Britain’s canal system, privately owned originally, stayed in service until the 1960s or so.  Since Britain has ample rivers, it was a very practical system.  There are still functional locks on the Thames going up from London, mostly used by pleasure boaters.  Naturally, each lock has a pub or two.  Some people still live in narrow boats on all the canals in Britain. 

The speed limit on the canals is 4 mph, which is horse-speed.  Typically, one horse could haul a canal boat of many times the weight he could carry or even pull in a wagon.

After getting a shoreside safety lesson about nautical safety and microbes in the water, the 2 skippers, Roger and Andy, ushered us onboard.  The day belonged to the Buckitts⁴!  [A skipper is a certified captain having been tested on all things nautical and safety.]

The young Bucks each took a turn or more steering.  Theresa and Zoe went ashore to work the locks.  Theresa said she felt like a zoo animal as so many tourists were taking her picture. 

The second lock took us onto the wider, flowing river Trent.  We still maintained 4 mph. and for hours, the boaters took turns steering, sitting on the bow and inside at a table. 

There were many berths along each side of the interior, where historically the freight would have been.  Andrew had purchased “rando sandos” for us and the skippers, along with ales and soft drinks.  So, they all ate and drank when they wanted; journaled or snoozed; and learned a little jargon.

· “The crack of sparrow fart” means before dawn

· “Dark clouds over Bill’s mum’s” means rain

· “To plank and leg it” is how the canal boats used to go through tunnels where the horses could not pull.  The horses crossed over to the other side, while the boat crew laid down planks and ‘walked’ the boat through by lying on their sides and pushing with their legs on the side of the tunnel.

· Allegedly, crocodiles have been spotted in the canal.  Skipper Andy showed them a newsletter clearly showing the beast lurking ahead of the boat.  This is a convenience when school groups are acting up; Andy tells them that he spotted the crocodile ‘just over there’ and the whole group runs to look.  Other than tilting the boat, this is very effective in stopping rowdy youths.

After about 3 hours, the stalwart sailors put ashore at the canal museum, café and CTC shop³.  This stop also allowed them to see the dam, which allowed water to flow over baffles, creating beautiful white water; Ron and Carol had seen such a dam on the Thames as well.

Returning to the boat, they made their 4 mph way back to the dockage at Canal House, where they took the skippers for a pint and an offer of supper [declined, having wives to go home to.]  The Buckitts⁴ however, had a delicious supper.

To a person, the 5 declared that this was the highlight of the trip.  It is very rare to get unanimous opinion from these 5 bulldozer-type people! 

And yet, the adventures weren’t over!

¹ Cousin Vinny’s: a stop on a bus tour that involves a store, often with a demo of what they make there and a long opportunity to purchase.  Always includes restrooms. 
² Trough: an all–you-can-eat buffet.  Always looks more delicious than it is.
³ CTC is Cheap Tourist Crap.  It is not necessarily inexpensive.  Often to be found in Cousin Vinny stores.
⁴ Buckitts [4 Buckles, 1 Prewitt]
⁵ Former is a term usually used in connection with trains, and means one who loves locomotives and knows all about them personally, by name and number, and are foaming mad for trains in general. [ Ron and Carol like trains very much and love to ride them, but we are not foamers.]