Taking it slow in a narrowboat

For as long as I can remember I have been intrigued by Britain’s extensive canal system, largely intact and navigable by passenger narrowboats. These brightly painted boats often flashed by my train windows as I journeyed around Britain. Last March, Rich Taylor, a friend, joined my wife, Laurel, and me to plan a narrowboat cruise for July.

When Rich opened his briefcase, out tumbled dozens of brochures from boat rental operators. Choosing one seemed impossible, but we soon established criteria.

Rich and I wanted a trip with historical and engineering aspects: some locks, perhaps a tunnel or aqueduct. Laurel didn’t want too many locks, which can eat up time and become tedious to navigate. She favored a rural setting over an urban one. And she figured four nights aboard would be plenty.

Weighing all those preferences, we hit on what turned out to be an ideal choice: a rental from Beacon Park Boats on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, or the “Mon & Brec,” as it is known to its devotees.

The waterway in southeastern Wales was built 200 years ago. It languished in the early years of the 20th century. In 1970 it was reopened to navigation for its entire length by British Waterways, a nonprofit agency funded by the government, which maintains canals, towpaths and related infrastructure. It traverses or abuts Brecon Beacons National Park, a bucolic setting for most of the canal’s 33 miles.

Aboard our hired narrowboat, the Kite, we journeyed through miles of gentle, peaceful countryside, interlaced with scenery and history. We awakened to the bleating of sheep or the squabbling of ducks. In the misty stillness of morning, we sipped coffee and contemplated the myriad pleasures and modest challenges of the day ahead: locks to negotiate, certainly bridges to slide beneath, threading the boat between towpath and arch.

A tranquil world afloat

When we arrived on a Monday afternoon at Llanfoist Wharf for the handover of the narrowboat we had booked through e-mail, we were immersed immediately in the serene world of the Mon & Brec. As our taxi from the Abergavenny rail station crested Tod’s Bridge over the canal, I saw a beautiful boathouse of gray stone and a cluster of cream and green narrowboats in the basin. One of them was the Kite, our floating home for the next four days.

Sarah Kirkpatrick, who owns Beacon Park Boats with her husband, Alasdair, introduced us to the Kite, which is 40 feet long and, at 6 feet 10 inches, of traditional narrowboat width. At the forward end was a cockpit large enough for two folding chairs and behind it a spacious saloon with broad windows, an L-shaped banquette (which converted to a double bed) and a dining table. At the back end was an open kitchen with refrigerator; sink; stove, oven and broiler; and cupboards holding the necessary cooking and dining utensils. Behind that was the head. Far aft was a fixed double bed. The afterdeck, slightly raised for visibility, was where the helmsman would stand, hand on shiny brass tiller.

Sarah explained the boat’s safety features. “The canal’s only a few feet deep in most places,” she said as she pointed to an orange life ring. “But if you fall in, close your mouth. All kinds of slippery things live in there.”

Alasdair took over to explain the throttle, ignition and other mechanics of boat operation and handling. Under his watchful eye we cast off and began to putter north toward Brecon, the end of the canal, 22 miles away, which we would reach on our third day. Once we assured Alasdair we felt comfortable with the Kite -- and once he assured himself we could steer straight -- he hopped off. We were on our own.

Immediately we were embraced by the lush greenery along the canal. The Mon & Brec is fed by the River Usk, and for most of its length, it hangs high to the west of the river valley. Because it follows the ridge rather than scales it, the canal has, at 23 miles, one of the longest lock-free sections of any of Britain’s canals.

In the early years of the 19th century, the Mon & Brec’s heyday, the canal toted produce from farm to market. It carried coal, iron ore and limestone -- for fluxing ore in iron furnaces and for burning in canalside kilns to make agricultural lime. With the other canals and rivers in Britain’s vast waterway network -- 4,000 miles long at its peak -- it provided the transportation that made the Industrial Revolution possible.

After World War II, highways began to replace the canals for hauling freight, and many canals lay abandoned until volunteers and the government stepped in to restore them for recreation. The current national system of canals, more than 2,000 miles, is operated by British Waterways. Although the Mon & Brec belongs to the network, it is disconnected from it, which means moderate traffic, particularly midweek.

At Govilon, an hour or so into our trip, we met our first boat.

“Have you been through the Zed Bridge yet?” called a man standing in the forward cockpit. “That’s an interesting one.”

An excellent guide to the canal by John Norris, a local expert, also warned us about the bridge. It was built in the 1960s to carry Heads of Valley Road. To accommodate the road, the “canal was realigned in an awkward Z-bend under the bridge, and it is impossible to see beyond the bridge when entering,” Norris wrote. “It is not easy to take a long boat through without touching, and slow speed is recommended.”

We slowed to “tick-over” speed, moving just fast enough to steer, then grabbed the sturdy poles racked atop the cabin. A little poling was nothing to be ashamed of in a tight spot like this, I thought, as we slid through the zigzag of the bridge and continued north to Llangattock Wharf, where we spent our first night.

Llangattock Wharf had much to recommend it. Nearby were lime kilns, recently restored by British Waterways, and a stone wharf cottage, palpable reminders of the canal’s industrial history. We could see signs of long-ago quarrying on the Llangattock escarpment, and traced the route of the tramway that carried limestone down to the kilns.

The wharf had practical pluses as well: a “water point” so we could top off our supply in the morning; and a shower and toilet for those who preferred not to pump the head or shower after use. But best of all, our mooring was only a 15-minute walk from Crickhowell, as charming a village as you’re likely to find in Wales.

As the late afternoon sun popped out, bathing the canal in a warm light, we sat on the afterdeck for what became our ritual at day’s end, a tumbler or two of gin on the rocks. After a toast to ourselves for mastering the initial challenges of narrowboating, we walked to Crickhowell for dinner at the Bridge End Inn, billed as a 16th century hotel.

Though the Kite had a fully equipped galley, we ate most of our meals in restaurants and pubs.

After we settled happily into a cheerfully lighted room with stone walls and a low ceiling, I asked the waitress, “What part of the inn is 16th century?”

“All of it,” she said, then took our order: lamb joint with mint and Stilton sauce and Welsh lamb chops with garlic and rosemary, accompanied by pints of Hancock’s HB, typical of the hearty hand-pumped ales we encountered.

Walking back to our boat, we paused on the centuries-old multi-arch stone bridge over the Usk. Downstream, a fly fisherman, whom I had seen hook a brown trout earlier, was just a silhouette against the blue-silver river. Below us, a dozen ducks had settled in for the night, heads tucked under wings.

Locks, bridges and a tunnel

On Day 2 we came up against the locks -- five of them in proximity, all manually operated by us.

Approaching the first lock, Rich and Laurel hopped ashore, armed with windlasses, or lock keys. After I eased the boat into the chamber, they threw their weight against heavy beams, and the gates slowly closed. They then cranked open the upper paddles with the windlasses, allowing the rich, rank canal water to rush into the lock, hoisting the boat surprisingly fast.

Along with several drawbridges (most of which we found open), the canal had two other features that appealed to the engineering historian in me: the handsome, four-arch Brynich Aqueduct over the Usk River and the slightly hellish, 1,125-foot-long Ashford Tunnel. It was a claustrophobic challenge, with a kink and a ceiling dip in the middle, and we were relieved when we burst into the light at the end.

Most of our time was spent churning along at about 2 1/2 mph; if we went any faster we created a “breaking wash,” which could erode the banks.

“If walkers on the towpath aren’t catching up with you,” Alasdair had told us, “you’re going too fast.”

The canal had many personalities. At places it was lined with concrete and wide; elsewhere it was so overgrown -- a dark tunnel of green with overarching trees, dusky and mysterious -- that it felt like a meandering creek. Banks were lined with giant Queen Anne’s lace, foxglove, honeysuckle, blackberries, wild roses, ferns, holly, irises and forget-me-nots. But the vegetation often broke to expansive views of checkerboard fields, with villages in their folds.

It was splendid to sightsee or drowse in the forward cockpit and equally fine to be the helmsman. Navigating was relaxing, though even a few seconds of inattention could land us in the bushes.

“The truck driver gave you a thumbs-up,” Rich had told me when he reboarded after raising and lowering the electric drawbridge at Talybont-on-Usk. I smiled in spite of myself at the recognition of my ability to slip through the bridge without touching the sides.

Later, we passed a fellow seated and reading aboard the Bethany, owned by the competition, Cambrian Cruisers. “It’s a tough life,” he said about narrowboating. “But a little too quick for me.”

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Life along a Welsh canal

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United and American fly to London’s Heathrow Airport. Continental flies direct (with one stop) to Gatwick. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $538.

The train ride from London to Abergavenny takes 2 1/2 hours. Abergavenny, just a mile or two from Llanfoist Wharf, is on a secondary main line that ties into the BritRail network, www.nationalrail.co.uk. We traveled on BritRail Flexipasses, which I purchased from Rail Europe; (877) 257-2887, www.raileurope.com.

TELEPHONES:

To call numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international code), 44 (country code for Britain) and the number.

NARROWBOAT RENTALS:

Most boat rental companies rent by the week but also offer “short breaks” -- three-day weekends or four weekdays. The season runs mid-March-Oct. 30.

Beacon Park Boats, The Boathouse, Llanfoist, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire; 1873-858-277, www.beaconparkboats.com. We couldn’t have been happier with the Kite and this company, owned by the Kirkpatricks since 2001. All-inclusive rates vary by vessel size, accommodations, time of year and length of rental. In 2004, “short breaks” will cost $615-$1,370, weekly rentals $900-$2,171.

Cambrian Cruisers, Ty Newydd, Pencelli, Brecon, Powys; 1874-665-315, www.cambriancruisers.co.uk, is among several companies offering boat rentals on the Mon & Brec. All-inclusive, in-season short breaks, $664-$1,025; weekly, $950-$1,680.

WHERE TO EAT:

The Bridge End Inn, Bridge Street, Crickhowell; 1873-810-338. Entrees about $15.

Travellers Rest Inn, Talybont-on-Usk; 1874-676-401. Though it has an attractive formal restaurant, we dined in the candlelit lounge area of the bar -- a charming, peaceful place. Chicken pie with apples and breaded cod with cheese sauce were exceptional, each about $14.

Coach and Horses, Cwm Crawnon Road, Llangynidr; 1874-730-245. The pork and apples in Mornay sauce were especially tasty, but the wait was long and the staff oddly haughty. Entrees about $15.

Tipple ‘n’ Tiffin, Canal Wharf, Brecon; 1874-611-866, www.theatrbrycheiniog.co.uk, click on “restaurant.” We had a superb lunch at a table overlooking the turning basin. A “tiffin” ($10-$12 per person) is a tasty, light meal, and the plates -- we ordered crispy shards to dip in molten Welsh cheese, game sausage on root mash, and goat cheese and caramelized onion tart -- are designed to be shared.

TO LEARN MORE:

British Waterways, Willow Grange, Church Road, Watford WD17 4QA, England; 1923-201-120, www.britishwaterways.co.uk, has information about canals.

Visit Britain, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, NY 10176; (800) GO-2-BRITAIN (462-2748), www.visitbritain.com.

-- Karl Zimmermann