Freya & Frankie, three women and a man on a canal boat. What could go wrong? Well quite a lot as it happened, but all with a positive spirit and plenty of laughter along the way.
All aboard Lilliput!
We set off for our six day cruise on ‘Lilliput’ beginning at Lapworth on the South Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, loaded to the bow with all the food and paraphernalia required for the week. Even on a 70ft boat, space was fairly limited to house four adults, let alone the addition of Freya and Frankie. However, we soon got the hang of storing away their beds, etc, during the day and our Kärcher portable dog wash* remained where it was as we enjoyed fabulous weather!
Naturally, we planned our route and mooring spots in advance and, importantly, where the best pubs were to stop at for refreshments along the way!
Dog behaviour training on a canal trip
There are several stages of training for dogs unfamiliar with canal trips. Freya had been lucky enough to canal cruise a couple of times before Covid and so she was well grounded on how to behave on a boat. Not so Frankie, who has trouble sitting still at the best of times.
The biggest danger is not just falling into the water if your dog isn’t a good swimmer – the average canal depth is around four to six feet – it’s falling into or near a lock (this goes for adults and children too of course). If the lock is in the process of being drained, the power of the water flow can draw your dog toward the floor or the bottom gate paddles, which means they could drown or be crushed pinned between the boat and the lock wall. There are built-in ladders for humans, but nothing to help an animal to climb out; they would rely on someone pulling them free.
Safety first for dogs on a canal trip
While we didn’t buy Freya and Frankie swim vests in case they fell in, we did keep them in K9 harnesses at all times. These have a grab handle on the back to pull them out it should they fall in to the main body of the canal. Unless a dog has been used to regular canal trips from being very young, most don’t like to be inside the boat while it’s manoeuvred through a lock. In fact Freya and Frankie are terrified and so we trained them to sit patiently on the canal side and watch from afar. The first day they were tethered to whatever was available, then trained to sit and wait while we all kept an eye on them (treats were administered to help them along) and by the end of day two, they’d got the message and just relaxed, watching us do all the hard work.
Settling your dog on board your canal boat
As there were four adults with only one couple on board, both double bunks and the sitting room were taken up at night. This meant Frankie’s bed was in the corridor and Freya’s in the sink area of one of the double bunks. Luckily they don’t wander a great deal when ensconced in the kitchen diner while sleeping at home. This was useful as there was no room to swing a cat, let alone two dogs, but they were with us so settled easily. The bow (front) of the boat was their favourite place to sit and watch the world go by. They’re not water babies so at no point did they try and jump in the water, but if your dog likes swimming it may not be so easily managed.
Enjoying the ride
One thing you’re never short of on a canal trip is a readily available tow path to go for a morning or evening stroll. Freya and Frankie love meeting other people and their dogs and these type of holidays attract some lovely friendly folk always ready to stop and chat and make a fuss of them. You need to have reached your planned mooring place around 5/6 o’clock, especially before dusk if it’s not during summertime.
But be prepared for things to go wrong on a canal trip
After a trouble-free three days in sunshine we reached the lock at Preston Bagot, Henley In Arden, we found we weren’t able to open the mitre gate. Thanks to the help of a very kind man from a local marina, we managed to get through the lock and continue our journey for another day.
However, as we needed to turn the boat around for the return journey, when we reached the same lock we were confronted with fencing and a sign advising it was closed with the Canal River Trust stating it would take at least two days to repair. This meant the only solution was for a couple of us to walk back to Lapworth and bring the SUV to the boat so we could disembark. If you’ve ever been on a canal trip, you’ll know that you don’t many travel many miles a day, especially when you have loads of locks you encounter as we did. This meant the walk back was only five miles which Freya and Frankie thoroughly enjoyed.
Would we go again?
Absolutely! Despite the abrupt ending and losing the last day of our holiday, it was a great experience both for us and Freya and Frankie. Anyone traveling on the canal waterways would need to appreciate that :
“There are more than 1,580 working locks across the canal network, and altogether they’re opened around 4 million times a year. Each moving part needs maintaining to keep canals refilling with water.“
Canal and River Trust
and this is just one area where regular maintenance is needed; there are many more. We’re regular users of the canal paths to walk Freya and Frankie so support this charity with a small regular monthly payment, but there are loads of ways to help. If we don’t, then sadly more canals will close and we won’t be able to enjoy life on the water as we do today.
* Important to note this is not a paid promotion, just a very useful tool we use for muddy paws in wet weather.