London, United Kingdom

Today it was time for a visit to what’s regarded as a bit of a “London secret” – there’s still a network of canals that run from London all they way to at least Manchester. I think it was the primary way to move freight until the railways took over in the 1800’s. So we hopped on the tube to Warwick Avenue, to find Jason, our boat. The hot tip for “Jason’s Trip”: since we pre-booked, we were allowed on first, so we’re able to sit right up front.

The canal where Jason is moored is a lovely and radiant shade of … Green. Totally carpeted in Duckweed. It looks a bit strange to see boats glide by as if they’re scooting along on astroturf instead of water.

Jason the boat is 109 years old – instead of having an engine, he used to be horse drawn, which must have been a real bugger for the horse towing a wood and cast iron boat that was about 21 metres long. Apparently horses didn’t have good life expectancy back in the days, it’s hardly surprising. At a few points along the canal you can see where the rope from horse to boat has actually worn large grooves in iron bridge and tunnel supports. Being 21 metres long, if you need to turn the boat around you have to find a “winding hole” (as in blowing wind not winding up a clock) that you can turn around in, and there’s only one every few miles. It’s like a grander and more dramatic version of missing your exit on the freeway. It was a really interesting little cruise and a great way to see a part of London I knew very little of beforehand.

But you know what? It’s late and I’m tired, so Im going to continue this one tomorrow. Goodnight!