Ancient England – From the Water!

Want to see a different side of the UK? Book an affordable boat cruise on the River Thames like Sam Basch did, and experience rural waterways and old towns.

Not many tourists are aware that ancient waterways still wind through the southern parts of the UK, dating from an era before proper roads were built.

My wife Anna and I recently visited our son Alwyn, who lives in England. We wanted to do a fun but affordable activity with him and his British girlfriend Lisa, so we booked a four-day boat cruise on the Thames and its canals. You pilot the boat yourself and you also sleep on board. You make slow progress – like cycling or walking – which allows you to experience so much more of the countryside.

DAY 1 Learning the ropes

At the town of Benson, about 77 km east of London, we stepped aboard our boat after a short training session. We were taught how to moor the boat, how to “turn on a sixpence”, how to handle traffic on the water and how to control the engines, the electrical system and the water supply. It sounds much more complicated than it is.

Our plan was to travel from Benson to the university town of Oxford and back – about 35 km on the water.

At the first bend in the river, we steered towards the bank to practise mooring the boat. We did this many times during the course of our journey and in time even learnt to parallel park next to other boats.

We took it slow, travelling at around five miles per hour, and gained confidence as we progressed upstream. We reached the first lock just before the keeper went off duty and he let us through. (A lock is a point in the river where the levels are controlled – you enter the lock and you’re either raised or lowered before exiting the other side.)

Upstream of the lock we found a good overnight mooring spot next to a WWII bunker, below a hill-fort dating from the Iron Age.

DAY 2 Lovely Caprice