| tly, myself and two of my brothers decided on a | | | | or there was easy access from the canal to little |
| weekends holiday on the Grand Union Canal. We | | | | Buckinghamshire unspoilt villages. To be able to travel |
| thought of it as “three men in a boat” | | | | a few miles, sit outside an old English pub in the |
| our wives decided on “Brothers behaving | | | | sunshine, with a pint of real ale and |
| badly” and they weren't entirely wrong (as | | | | ploughman’s lunch, in good company, is my |
| usual). We took my brother’s narrow boat | | | | idea of heaven. And then we would get back on the |
| which is called The Narrow Escape and headed from | | | | boat and leisurely chug down the canal until it was |
| Aylesbury through the lovely Buckinghamshire | | | | time for another beer or something to eat. In the |
| countryside to Hemel Hempstead and then back to | | | | evening we would moor at one of the many mooring |
| Aylesbury to where we had parked the cars. In all | | | | points along the bank, most with watering facilities |
| we were away for three nights. | | | | and then head off into a sleepy Buckinghamshire |
| This was one of the most enjoyable holidays I have | | | | village to explore the available pubs and restaurants. |
| had; the ability to travel slowly along quiet | | | | In one of them, we found a range of six real ales |
| waterways, full of fish and wildlife, with herons sitting | | | | pumps from a brewery none of us had ever heard |
| like sentinels every few hundred yards and even | | | | of. In the end we sampled a pint of each before |
| Kingfishers were to be seen as they hunted the fish | | | | deciding the first was the best and having another. |
| in the canal. The only traffic was other narrow boats, | | | | Back to the boat and we slept very soundly. At the |
| which without exception proved to be friendly and | | | | end of the weekend my sides were aching, we had |
| hospitable. It helps that the three of us share a love | | | | laughed that much and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves |
| of nature, good beer and that have a common sense | | | | The boat was equipped with everything you could |
| of humour. Navigating the canal locks was always a | | | | wish for and the idea that a narrow boat is |
| lot of fun and my brother Norman, who owns the | | | | necessarily a rough and ready form of |
| boat and should have a least some experience, | | | | accommodation is way off the mark. OK my |
| seemed to be able to travel back and forwards | | | | brothers boat is a bit of a wreck but there were |
| across the canal instead of in a straight line and was | | | | narrow boats on the canal that were like a floating 5 |
| soon nicknamed by us, “Captain | | | | star hotel, with double bedrooms and on-board |
| Zigzag” (and that was before we had a drink). | | | | Jacuzzis, satellite TV and broadband. If you want |
| Every few miles all along the route there were pubs | | | | something a little different and the freedom to travel |
| and restaurants that catered for the passing traffic, | | | | where you want, at a pace that suits you, go for a |
| many serving ales that I had never heard of before | | | | narrow boat holiday. You wont regret it. |
