Travel tips: How to travel on a canal boat through Britain

Cruising Britain's inland waterways is all about slowing the pace right down. "As Rat is heard to utter in Wind in the Willows, it's about 'messing about on boats' ", says inland cruising specialist Martyn Paterson. He rates the Brecon Canal in South Wales as a highlight. See outdoortravel.com.au

STEP ONE

Built to carry goods along the narrow canals during the Industrial Revolution, today's narrowboats are fully fitted out with well-equipped kitchens for self-catering (in between pub lunches and dinners). They include lifejackets, which are important if you're taking kids, who must wear them whenever they're above deck. No licence or previous experience is necessary and tuition is provided.

STEP TWO

If your mind is working on deadlines, canal boating isn't going to work. Locks take time to pass and there is much to see that is unexpected along the towpath. This is a holiday that slows the pace right down. So slow, you can jump off for a stroll, and let the boat catch up to you. Ideal for families with children, wildlife abounds along the canals and hedgerows, and many of the Victorian-era homes and factories have been turned into museums, pubs, cafes and restaurants.

STEP THREE

Narrowboats are hired usually for a week and there are circuits or 'rings' to follow back to the same base. Boat hire starts from £700 for a couple on a week's cruise in the spring and autumn shoulder seasons, rising to £1400 in peak season. This covers your accommodation, transport and entertainment, so it's pretty good value. If you're pushed budget wise, £1399 will get a boat that sleeps up to 12 for family or friends, by pulling down the dining table and using all the foldaways.

STEP FOUR

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal is the Eiffel Tower of Wales, which you can cruise across, and other popular destinations include the Roman city of Bath, on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, where you book yourself in for a Shakespeare play or visit Warwick Castle. From Gailey, take the Four Counties Ring to see The Potteries and the famous Wedgewood factory or cruise to industrial Birmingham which, it seems, has more canals than in Venice.

STEP FIVE

Narrowboats are ideal for families with children. Wildlife abounds along the canals and hedgerows and there is much living history to discover with restored Victorian era buildings and machinery. And many of the canalside homes and factories have been turned into museums, pubs, cafes and restaurants, so there is plenty to do near your overnight moorings. Be sure to pack your raincoat, this is Britain after all, but there is one onboard for the boat driver, who is in the elements the entire time, as narrowboats have no wheelhouse.