Beacon Park Boats exceeded my expectations. I had never before driven a narrowboat such as those used on the canals in the UK. In fact, I had no experience operating powered boats at all. I was looking for a unique and new travel experience that my older sister would appreciate. At 70 years of age, she is a veteran traveler to the UK but I fear her days of independent international travel are at an end. I wanted to give her the experience of a lifetime, for both of us. Neither of us had never been on the canals so it would be a true adventure. After some initial research on the ins-and-outs of hiring a narrowboat for self-driving, I found the hire-boat industry in the UK provided many options. Since I wanted this to be a positive lodging experience for both of us, I limited my search to “five star” operations. Further, I did not think my sister would be able to help operate the boat or the locks, so I sought out canals that did not require passing locks. I fully realize that’s half the fun for most (I’ll be back), but I had my doubts about making it through locks as a solo operation. Finally, I was looking for an operation that had a narrowboat with at least two separate berths and, if possible, two separate bathrooms. If my sister and I were going to be spending a full week on the canal, I wanted to make sure we had our own “space.” The combination of these requirements (“no-locks,” “five star,” and “dual berth/bath”) soon led me to Beacon Park Boats on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal in South Wales. The 20 miles on the “Mon & Brec” canal south of the of their boathouse in Llangattock to the end of the canal can be navigated without a single lock! All of their boats are easily characterized as luxurious. At least one of them had separate bed and baths. Trifecta! At the beginning of August, I submitted an inquiry to Beacon Park Boats, outlining my specific requirements, and asking about availability in late September. Louise from Beacon Park Boats responded promptly and outlined several options. I had originally proposed what they call a “weekender” which involves two or three nights on the canal. However, Louise explained that the combination of my desired dates, my two-bed/bath requirement, and the availability of a boat in their fleet limited the choices to a week-long outing, from Saturday to Saturday. Once that was sorted, Louise proposed a week on the Merlin, one of their 60-footers with two pre-made berths and two full baths. I locked in the engagement and started working out our own travel plans. My sister and I live in different parts of the US, so we planned to join up in Boston and then fly together to Heathrow with plans to stay a night in London before taking a train out to Wales on Saturday morning. All of those plans worked great going over and coming back, but were made easier by the ample amount of extra padded time in our schedule before and after our reservation at Beacon Park Boats. After all, it seemed counterproductive to plan for a week of “the slow life” on the canal preceded by a mad dash getting there, or a mad dash getting home. From the moment our taxi dropped us off from a 20-minute ride from Abergavenny rail station on Saturday afternoon, until the same picked us up the following Saturday morning, all staff members at Beacon Park Boats made me feel most welcome and confident. I was astounded to see Beacon Park Boats’ founder and boat designer Alasdair Kirkpatrick waiting dockside to get us started. Alasdair was also there when we returned his boat a week later. I was impressed that Beacon Park Boats would allow a novice like me to take one of their biggest babies out on the canal for a week and no supervision, but the advance work that Beacon Park Boats does with their boats and their clients is clearly what gives them the confidence their boat shall return in working order. So the personal touch and respect is something that stuck with me for the trip... and to this day. I opted to have Waitrose deliver in advance a couple hundred pounds worth of “provisions” for our expedition. That was delivered to Beacon Park Boats just after noon so that, by the time we arrived by taxi, the staff had tucked it all neatly away in the drawers, cabinets, and refrigerator in the galley. I had no real idea how long these stores would last us (turns out we had a little left over at the end of the trip), but the map provided by Beacon Park Boats made it clear there were villages and shops within walking distance along the canal where we could stop, moor for a while or even overnight, and shop for any additional food or sundry items as needs be. In total, the holiday far exceeded any expectations that my sister and I had built up. I asked her today what was most memorable for her. Her face beamed with excitement recalling small details from the once-in-a-lifetime trip she got to take with her brother. She blurted out, “I was just overwhelmed by how good you were operating the boat! I never could have done that.” Truth be told, it was Beacon Park Boats that made the operation easy. The condition of the boat was impeccable and the electric bow thrusters were a godsend! I just immersed myself in their program and there was nothing left but fun and relaxation once we got on the canal.
1/3
Book Merlin
