Canal (Narrowboat) Cruising

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows.

Approaching College Cruisers base in Oxford

Our ambition (especially Roger's) to experience narrowboating during this holiday arose from our first visit to the UK just over twenty-five years ago. 

This small part of our 200 day round the world adventure has been very eagerly anticipated and many hours were spent researching / selecting the most suitable canal and the ideal narrowboat company.

Ironically we spent more planning than we actually spent onboard.

Oxfordshire Narrowboats boatyard and station at Lower Heyford

So first a little about the canal itself.

The Oxford Canal was completed shortly after Cook encountered and mapped the eastern coastline of Australia. For the next 15 years it became one of the most important and profitable transport links in Britain. Most commercial traffic between London and the Midlands used this route - especially coal from Warwickshire. 

Click here to view Oxford Canal in a larger map

As with most of Britain's narrow canal system, there was a rapid decline in freight traffic after WW2 and by the mid-1950s very few narrowboats operated in the southern section. The Big Freeze of 1963 (the severe winter of 1962-1963), finally killed off the remaining narrowboat traffic as frozen canals kept goods icebound on the canals for three months. 

Oxford Canal in Banbury - frozen solid last winter

Fortunately, pleasure boating in narrowboats began to grow in popularity and now during summer the Oxford Canal is now one of the most crowded canals on the network.

The term "narrow boat" described the original working boats first built in the 18th century and has been extended to modern "narrowboats" used for recreation (and occasionally as homes). They have a maximum width of just 7 feet and maximum length of about 70 feet (the dimensions of most locks). There are now approximately 25,000 licensed narrowboats on canals and rivers managed by British Waterways.

Trinity moored alongside the tow path

Our cruise commenced at College Cruisers' base and boatyard in the the centre of Oxford and we turned around just above Nell Bridge Lock (near the village of Kings Sutton). (The boatyard featured in The Dead of Jericho - the first episode of the Inspector Morse TV series)

Trinity under the command of a proud Aussie

This is a total distance of 43 miles, 1¾ furlongs (each way) with a total of 28 locks, 22 moveable bridges (12 are left open), 2 small aqueducts and 11 winding holes. Sadly, there are no tunnels in this section of the South Oxford Canal.

After our briefing we set off aboard the 50 foot Trinity with Roger (Commander and Deckhand) on the helm and Helen (lovely Lock Lass, Purser and Cook) ready to scamper ashore at very short notice to operate the numerous locks and lift the bridges.

Leaving Somerton Deep Lock

For the uninitiated, canal locks are a really simple but clever pieces of engineering, creating steps in the channel which raise (or lower) the water level to match the surrounding countryside.

Approaching Dashwood's Bridge and Lock

The lock lass's duties involve opening and closing the two massive timber gates by leaning on the enormous timber counterweight arms plus opening and closing the four sluice gates (paddles).

Lock lass opening an upstream gate

Sequence descending through a lock 

(click on each images to enlarge) 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

We've tried to highlight through our photos in this post that cruising through the Oxfordshire countryside during autumn has an exceptional appeal nothing else can approximate. 

Setting off in the still early morning before the mist clears, passing under low stone and masonry bridges.

Gliding beneath overhanging trees, past tiny villages and through green meadows. 

Aynho Weir - Oxford Canal crosses the River Cherwell

Greeting fellow bargees as our boats pass just a few feet apart or the wave from villagers taking their dog for a stroll along the tow path. 

Admiring the autumn colours reflected in the mirrored stillness of the waterway. 

Pulling alongside for a fabulous hot breakfast. Walking the short distance to the nearby traditional English pub for dinner.

As Robert Aickman once penned :

"The waterways are charged with magic, but nothing about them is more magical than the difference made by the few feet of water which separate the boat from the land. Those few feet instantly set the boatman in a world of his own, and his vision of the outer world though which he glides, becomes magically calmer and clearer. Again, this may sound whimsical and improbable: the degree to which it is true can be confirmed only by experience."

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We hope you enjoyed this narrowboat cruise post as much as we enjoyed the experience. As promised, our next strory will cover London (which included a day at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford). In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.

If you're unsure which stories you've missed - look for the Blog Archive near the bottom of the page - it's the best way to select the post you haven't read yet (or want to re-read).

Mediterranean / Black Sea Cruise

MSC Opera

Describing our time aboard MSC Opera as a Mediterranean / Black Sea Cruise is a tiny bit misleading – the itinerary took us through a plethora of seas and waterways across two continents including
Venice Lagoon, Adriatic Sea, Strait of Otranto, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Steno Elafonisou, Aegean Sea, Dardanelles Strait, Sea of Marmara, Bosporous Strait and Black Sea




View MSC Opera in a larger map

A few of the highlights during our 12 day cruise (from a nautical perspective) were :-

• gliding silently past the many world famous Venice landmarks in the Venice Lagoon, 
• negotiating the Dardanelles Strait including the approach to the Gallipoli peninsular just before dawn and
• sharing the extremely busy Bosporus shipway whilst squeezing between the European and Asian shores of Istanbul before entering the Black Sea.

This cruise itinerary included return visits to Athens and Istanbul. This was the third and final time we would see both these historic cities during our 200 day adventure. The remaining ports we took in were Bari (Italy), Yalta and Odessa (Ukraine), Katakolon (Greece) and Dubrovnik (Croatia). Here's just a taste. 

The southern Italian city of Bari features both the Basilica of Saint Nicholas and the Cathedral of San Sabino and a Norman-Hohenstaufen Castle known as Castello Svevo. All three have been around since the 11th or 12th century. A little known (previously secret) fact - Bari became the only European city to experience chemical warfare during WW2 when German bombs were dropped on US mustard gas stores in the port. Up to 2000 allied servicemen and Italian civilians perished.

Castello Svevo

The Crimea has been a part of the world we knew nothing about until recently. The resort town of Yalta became world famous following the 1945 conference (at the conclusion of WW2) where the Soviet Union, United States and United Kingdom decided the future of Europe. During the 19th and 20th centuries Yalta was a popular holiday destination for the Russian aristocracy then the Soviet elite. Lenin also decreed that the proletariat should use Yalta for recreation and medical treatment. It was very obvious to us that that Yalta is now struggling economically (since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991) as the nouveau-riche are holidaying at other European resorts.

Section of Yalta's Esplanade

The city of Odessa is a major Ukraine port (and former Soviet naval base) on the northern shore of the Black Sea . Odessa is a warm water port, but militarily it was of limited value to the Soviet Union. Turkey's control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus has enabled NATO to control water traffic between Odessa and the Mediterranean Sea.

 

During the short time in Odessa we enjoyed a stroll up the Primorsky Stairs into the old town centre to admire the exterior of the Opera House as well as relics of the former Russian Empire. 

The Primorsky Stairs, constructed by an English engineer in 1840, is a giant stairway incorporating several optical illusions and considered a formal entrance into the city from the port.

Primorsky Stairs

The luxurious rococo style Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre has unique acoustics allows a whisper from the stage to be delivered to any part of the hall. 

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre

Unfortunately we could not convince the door keeper to let us take a peek at the spectacular interior and check out the acoustics.

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre interior

Sadly the much of the city's beautiful pre-soviet architecture is showing its age. Beyond the facades on the main streets, the courtyards are dilapidated and dark with unkempt play equipment and rubbish as though no one cares or has time to care.

Katakolon is the nearest port for cruise ship visitors to experience ancient Olympia. We chose instead to spend the few hours ashore visiting the Municipal Museum of Ancient Greek Technology which holds 150 operating reconstructions of mechanisms and inventions of the ancient Greeks covering the period from 2000 BC to 100 AD.

Explanatory Sign Outside Museum

Exploration of Dubrovnik's historical splendour included strolling through the narrow streets and around the ramparts of this UNESCO world heritage city.

Dubrovnik at night

Narrow cobblestone streets

Walled Dubrovnik from St. Lawrence Fortress

Despite being an ancient city our focus was on more recent events. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, Dubrovnik was attacked by JNA (loyal to the Serbian government led by Slobodan Miloševic) with a siege of Dubrovnik that lasted for seven months. 114 civilians were killed though the foreign media was criticised for exaggerating the damage sustained by the old town, instead of responding to human casualties. Nonetheless, the historic walled city sustained 650 hits by artillery rounds.

Map of Dubrovnik showing damage from artillery strikes and fires 

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We hope you enjoyed this tiny taste of our cruise. After two days in Venice we head to London and then go narrowboat cruising on the Oxford Canal. In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.

If you're unsure which stories you've missed - look for the Blog Archive near the bottom of the page - it's the best way to select the post you haven't read yet (or want to re-read).

Venice

To build a city where it is impossible to build a city is madness in itself, but to build there one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius. ~ Alexander Herzen

Venice landscape

This was our second visit to the Queen of the Adriatic. As Fran Lebowitz once explained, "If you read a lot, nothing is as great as you've imagined. Venice is -- Venice is better."

Grand Canal at sunset

As we began the short stroll from our hotel into Piazza San Marco we were both struck with the surreal sensation of disbelief that we had actually arrived in Europe's most romantic city!

Gondolas in the Grand Canal

Our previous brief encounter in this amazing floating city back in 1986 was far too short for us to wander the narrow streets or to linger on the bridges to gaze at the variety of water craft from gondolas to garbage barges or to simply cruise along the Grand Canal in one of the numerous water buses (vaporetti).

Precious cargo being delivered

You can imagine our delight at finding that our breakfast table was in a front row position overlooking the lagoon and the Giudecca Canal.

MS Splendour of the Seas entering the Giudecca Canal

Huge passenger ships passed us in a majestic procession on their way toward the Cruise Ship Terminals.

Venice Cruise Ship Terminals

Despite being quite late in the season, the Cruise Terminal was very busy with at least 20,000 passengers passing through the city every day.

A tour of the gothic Doge's Palace was perhaps the highlight of our time in Venice.

Doge's Palace adjacent to St Mark's Campanile

Constructed in the 14th century, the palace was both the home of the doge and the headquarters of the Venetian Republic until 1797 when the city fell to Napoleon.

Doge's Palace adjacent to Piazza San Marco

The Doge's Palace is incredibly ornate with a stunning Gothic style exterior, with an open portico and second-floor balcony, grand staircases, gilded ceilings, and frescoed walls.

The most celebrated staircase is Scala d'Oro - the "Golden Staircase", decorated with a gilded, stucco ceiling and built to provide a grand entrance for dignitaries visiting the state rooms on the upper floors.

The Golden Staircase

Sala del Maggior Consiglio is probably the most splendid hall in the Palace. It is the Hall of the Great Council and has monumental proportions. A huge painting called "Paradise" on the eastern wall measures 7m x 25m.

Sala Del Maggior Consiglio - Hall of the Great Council

The Sala del Collegio (Cabinet Room) features the Doge's throne, an elaborate ceiling and walls decorated with famous paintings.

Portrait of Doge Sebastiano Venier in the Sala Del Collegio

The Sala dello Scrutinio is the second-largest room on the second floor was a vote-counting room as well as a meeting hall. Like the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, it contains over-the-top decorations, including a carved and painted ceiling, and enormous paintings of Venetian martime battles on the walls.

The Victory of Lepanto in Sala Dello Scrutinio

The walls of the Sala Dello Scudo (Shield Room) were covered in maps that illustrated the extent of Europe's explorers travels and their knowledge of the world at the time.

Map of Southern Europe in the Sala Dello Scudo

Globes in the Sala Dello Scudo

As we sailed out of the Venice Lagoon at the beginning of our Black / Mediterranean Sea Cruise we passed by the very exclusive address - the passenger ship The World. This luxury ship is a residential community owned by its residents who live on board as the ship slowly circumnavigates the globe - staying in most ports from 2 to 5 days.

The World in Venice Lagoon

One other fascinating and significant discovery we made whilst in Venice was the new MOSE System - which is currently under construction. The MOSE Project (see video) is designed to protect Venice from floods.

The system consists of rows of barriers able to isolate the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea when the tide exceeds 1.1m. The 78 barriers are designed to protect the three entrances to the Venetian Lagoon. They will stay on the seabed until high tides and storms are forecast. They will then be inflated, blocking the sea from the lagoon and effectively reducing high water levels. There are two sets of barriers either side of an artificial island at the Lido-San Nicolò inlet (which we saw as we departed and returned from our next cruise).

Artificial island at the Lido-San Nicolò inlet

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We hope you enjoyed this tiny taste of Venice. This concludes our Italian odyssey. Next up is the Black / Mediterranean Sea Cruise. In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.

Also if you're unsure which stories you've missed look for the Blog Archive - it's the best way to select the post you haven't read yet (or want to re-read).

Tuscany / Chianti

Imagine rolling hills, gentle breezes, olive groves and vinyards . . . .  have you created this picture in your imagination?

Next throw in some hallmarks of Tuscany's beauty - medieval castles, high walls, narrow paths and connecting tunnels of the fortified villages. Thick stone walls with small windows and arches covered with ivy and other flowing plants. Trees taking on their autumn colours, horse chestnuts covering the ground.

Most of the medieval villages we visited are perched on the top of the highest ridge or hilltop in the area and being are quite close to one another are easily visible from most parts in the surrounding area.

With the increase in tourism, many of the buildings have harmoniously evolved into cafes, restaurants and bars.

These villages that exist today have withstood centuries of conflict including the Barbarians who brought down the Roman Empire in the late 400s, endless contests between Tuscan fiefdoms and incessant wars during the Middles Ages and the Renaissance. During these wars the owners of theses castles rebuilt walls and towers and astonishingly, for all that patching and reconstruction during these harrowing centuries, a love of beauty endured.

Peace finally came to Chianti in the 1500s and castles were rebuilt as villas and the wealthy commissioned country villas on large acreages.

A traditional economic system of sharecropping followed - the aristocracy owned the land and the peasants produced (amongst other things) olives, cheese and wine. This system came to an end after WW2.

Eventually many abandoned farmhouses were converted into vacation retreats.

One of the lovely aspects of the region is the way the farm buildings disappear into the landscape of silvery olive groves, light green grape vines and dark green forests of cyprus, oak and umbrella trees.

Did we mention the steep and narrow winding roads?

The hilltop villages disappear and reappear after a few kilometres. Our first hire car (R broke it) was an Audi A1 which handled very nicely through the picturesque hills and valleys. 

We stayed in the nearest thing to heaven during our time in Tuscany. The villa is called Podere La Rota.

Podere La Rota is situated near the village of Moncioni in the hills just to the west of the original Chianti district now referred to as the Chianti Classico region near the city of Montevarchi. 

As you can see from the sunset photo below the weather was perfect - exceptionally and un-seasonally warm.

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Watch out for our final Italian post from Venice coming out very soon followed by our Mediterranean / Black Sea Cruise on MSC Opera. In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.

Just click on the word "comments" below. You can just select "Comment as: Anonymous" if that's easiest but sign off with your name (so we know that you posted the comment).

Also if you're unsure which stories you have read and which ones you've missed you might find the Blog Archive (at the bottom of the page) an easy way to choose the post/s that you haven't caught up with yet.