A passengers' view

IN ALL it's nearly 16 years, though narrowboatworld has given endless stories of boaters it has never given that of a passenger on a combined bus and trip boat, so here we rectify the omission.

We left Nottingham by bus and travelled to Whaley Bridge via Chesterfield, taking the road via Chapel-en-le-Frith, writes Alan Hughes.

Spectacular

The hills, as we approached our destination, were snow covered which added to the usual spectacular scenery of Derbyshire. Although the ambient temperature was a mere 6 degrees Fahrenheit above freezing and residual snow was lying up to the water's edge in places, there was no disruption to our scheduled trip on the canal.

The Judith Mary 2, the 72 feet long narrowboat booked to take 40 of us on a pre booked 2.5 hour trip on the Peak Forest Canal, was indeed an experience for the first time travellers on such a unique mode of transport. The three course meal, served during the sojourn up the waterway was the icing on the cake.

Sad sight

Seeing ancient woodlands and getting a rather splendid view of Kinder Scout in the distance, compensated for the sad sight of rows of what appeared to be neglected, dilapidated boats along the route until we passed Furness Vale Marina where some spectacularly named boats in colourful livery were moored. We were given an insight into the significant historical details of the surrounding areas and the history of the canal itself, plus the history of the Judith Mary. All this was conveyed over the loud speakers on board. All agreed that the ‘boating' experience was one to be repeated.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a day for camera enthusiasts as condensation on the Judith Mary windows made photography difficult. The boarding area was waterlogged and very muddy and, together with the lying snow and water, limited the areas available for taking pictures. We take into account that this trip was in early March.

Hundreds of bikers

Our return journey gave us a stopover for an hour in Bakewell, but the low temperature made most trippers head back early to the warmth of the coach. The return to Nottingham was planned to take us through Matlock. However, due to hundreds of motorcyclists holding a demonstration against parking charge increases in Matlock, the roads were gridlocked . Our driver decided to avoid the planned route and cut across country to pick up the M1 back to Nottingham. A wise decision.