Children & Young People

Tideway Adventurers Narrowboat Project has been taking youngsters away on community boats since 1996 and believe that every journey should be an adventure. When first they step on board  this new experience begins. Many have never slept or lived on board a boat and soon they have to learn all about conserving power and water (Don’t leave the taps running when cleaning your teeth).

Going away on a narrowboat is not just about laying down listening to your I pod , although if that’s all you want to do then fine. But it’s a bit of a  waste. There are a lot of new skills out there for you to learn and places to explore. You can learn how to handle the boat, and don’t forget those all important knots and lines. Operating the locks is something everybody has to do. In some stretches of the canal there are a lot of locks together called ‘flights’. After a couple of days of doing these you will sleep and eat well. The skipper will show you how  a diesel engine works and what daily checks we have to do to keep it running. Who is doing your cooking in the galley. Not just the adults I hope. How about making some ‘ships biscuits’ and discovering what it’s like to cook in a very small Galley (Kitchen) when the boat is moving along.

When you come to the end of the day and moor up then you can start exploring the area. How about a nice camp fire to sit round when it becomes dark or a barbque just off of the towpath. For those of you who fish what better than a nice still place to cast your rod and who knows you may get that big one ! or just go for a wander along the towpath and  listen to your music. Keep an eye out for the Herons and Kingfishers.

Enjoy the trip!

Why Canals?

It is very easy as you sit on the canal bank on a warm summers evening, listening to your i-pod and watching the passing boats to forget what an incredible feat of engineering the canal system is; and if, lets say you are moored on the Basingstoke Canal in the South of England you could travel to the Lancaster Canal in the North on these man made canals. Yes man made, an army of navvies (navigators) went from construction to construction across the country equipped with very little other than spades and buckets; no JCB’s or Health and Safety policies then. So why did this happen? In the second half of the eighteenth century England was bursting with commerce. All across the country huge factories were being built where goods were being mass produced by an equally huge workforce, What do you think these goods were?? Transporting the raw materials to the factories and the finished products to the consumer however wasn’t as easy; more roads were being built and existing ones improved but they couldn’t easily handle bulk materials essential to the expanding industries. There were of course many rivers but they didn’t go to the right places anymore.

In 1759 Francis Egerton , the first Duke of Bridgewater decided to build a short canal to link his coal mines at Worsley to Manchester, by passing the River Irwell he therefore avoided the tolls on the river,  coal prices were halved and the Industrial revolution moved into top gear. Over the next 50 years two thousand miles of canals would be built.

There is a very good chance that during your trip you won’t see a ‘working boat’, or ‘pair’ and certainly not being pulled by a horse, just the pleasure boat which now dominates the inland waterways. Of course it is a good thing they do for by the middle of the ninetieth century and the development in rail and road the canals were in steep decline. In 1947 following years of neglect and damage caused by the Second World War the canals were nationalised. In the sixties the Inland Waterways Association was formed and the slow restoration of the countries canal network began. A pair of narrowboats could be worked by just two people, and before engines came along they would be pulled by horse, and sometimes a pair of donkeys. Each boat was about 70’ long and just under seven feet wide; originally made from wood, later iron and then steel. At the back (Stern) there was a small cabin, and in here all of the family lived, Mum – Dad and the kids and all were involved in the ‘family business’. Why don’t you find out how they lived compared with how you live today! Imagine what it must have been like in the winter when the canals were frozen over! Why not visit one of the many canal museums to see good examples of this way of life and the hardships they incurred. Of course the children couldn’t go to a regular school as they were always moving around, so lessons would be arranged at the various wharfs where they might spend some time loading and offloading.  There are still a few working boats about, mainly hauling coal and supplying diesel to boaters, keep a look out you may see one , take a picture on your mobile or camera! It’s a piece of history.

At 127 miles long the Leeds and Liverpool canal is the longest on the network, crossing the country from Liverpool on the western side of the country to the River Humber on the east. What towns do you think it passes through? Why not try to find the shortest canal on the network! and whilst you are there what about the longest tunnel ?  Have you been through a tunnel yet?  The long ones are very eerie and very dark! and that’s another complete subject of its own. 'Good exploring.' - Mike Simmons (Project Co-Ordinator).

Your experiences and achievements so far

Hello there,
Well how are you doing so far. If you have participated in the journey from Uxbridge to Cassiobury Park and also read the ‘Why Canals and ‘Other Canals of Europe learning sheets you have indeed achieved a lot of learning outcomes and also gained an AQA unit award. You may also be eligible to receive your  Tideway Adventurers Narrowboat Project ‘Basic Crew Award’ this is issued by us on the recommendation of your skipper. The person responsible for your group , possibly a teacher or youth worker may also use your learning outcomes to count towards a particular programme that you may be following in your organisation or maybe the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Later on you will learn how to gain your ‘Advanced Crew Award’ but you will of course have to take part in some more journeys afloat before then. Have you and your other crew members been keeping a log,  pictures , places visited, journey times etc ?   this could be very useful later on.

Learning Outcomes

Your first Cruise – Uxbridge to Cassiobury Park

Why Canals

Other Canals of Europe