If you have a bad day or week stuck in the office with deadlines moved forward, new tasks piling up and just a general ‘mare’ you will want to make something of your weekend to blow that stress away. There are loads of things to do on a weekend in the UK but I had the chance to try something new.
And it was epic!
What is Wandering Duck?
I met Mark at one of the Travel Massive Manchester events I organise.
Alongside his wife Ruth, they built a business with the sole purpose of showing the great British countryside to the world.
Ruth and I love to travel. Seeing the world has been a real passion of ours. Whilst in New Zealand we managed a backpackers hostel and we loved it. It was great to meet all sorts of people from all over the world. When we came back to the UK we wanted to find a way to continue meeting travellers whilst also showing off what the UK has to offer. We’ve always preferred real life authentic experiences rather than doing the usual tourist stuff, so the canals appealed to us they show people a very different side to our country.” – Mark, Wandering Duck
So they got a barge and now are on their way exploring Britain one canal at a time, with everyone that is looking for an alternative weekend in or around the North of England.
Row, row, row the boat…
At one of the events I was telling Mark about this horrible week above mentioned.
Mia: Had a horrible week basically managing crisis after crisis, meetings, deadlines brought forward and simply need to do something good this weekend.
Mark: Why not come along to one of our tours?
Mia: Me? On a boat? Hmm
Mark: You’ll love it, promise.
Mia: Can I steer the boat?
Mark: Sure!
Mia: OK, I’m in.
Not sure he made the best decision letting me steer the boat, but he definitely kept up his end of the deal.
I loved it.
I wanted to try something different to do that will still allow me to travel but on a smaller budget in the UK when I have no holidays left.
And that’s what the canal boat tour did.
The Escape Weekender from Congleton to Marple
The experience takes only a weekend which means I didn’t need to book holidays off work. WIN!
From Friday night to Sunday afternoon you can enjoy the trip in all its glory. Food and refreshments are included in the price (£145) and you only really need to spend money if you want to have a cheeky pint or two…or ten depending on how bad your week was J
Trip started on Friday at 6pm from Congleton train station (the barge is a 5 min walk from there). Once you get to the boat, Mark and Ruth explain all the safety procedures, show you around the boat and then off you go whilst Ruth starts cooking dinner.
They’re both super knowledgeable about the canals, the routes and the British countryside. It’s a pleasure listening to their stories whilst cruising and having a nice pint of British ale.
“The canals are a way of life for many people. There are around 15,000 people who live full-time on the canals. We love the fact that this hidden away world is so unknown by most people” – Mark, Wandering Duck
Even though the weather was a bit crappy Friday night with thunderstorm and lightning, we got lucky on Saturday.
Sunny and warm, even got a bit of a tan going on now.
Saturday is when you do most of your cruising and work: 12 locks to open!
“There’s also the heritage link to it; the canals were an important cargo carrying network 200 years ago, and it’s amazing that we get to work the locks just like the original boatmen did. I think people don’t expect it to be such a hands on experience; I love the look on a guests face when I help them steer perfectly in to a lock that’s only 2 or 3 inches wider than our 70ft boat!” – Mark, Wandering Duck
Got to steer the boat in one of the locks, through tunnels and simply down the canal.
Can safely say I can change careers to experienced boat steerer at any point if this doesn’t work out 🙂
Travel Blogger Mia from @uktravelroom does a great job of steering in to a lock.. pic.twitter.com/wZrVKBFEyU
— Wandering Duck (@duckgossip) July 4, 2015
