Canal Boats Leisure Trips
We headed out in the glorious sunshine to Ashby Boat Company. As we arrived, we were welcomed aboard a lovely boat called Badger. After a quick lesson on how to steer the boat, we were soon chugging along the beautiful Ashby canal. As we gained confidence, we all took it in turns to steer the boat making fantastic captains.
Oli, our captain had things under control, and we passed some very colourful barges moored on the riverbanks. We passed through beautiful countryside and were animal watchers as we spotted cows, donkeys, loads of ducks and moorhens bobbing along the river. There was even a swan sitting on her nest while her mate was out searching for food.
We set off in search of all things chocolaty at the infamous Cadbury World. On arrival we were greeted by Freddo (the well-known frog), and we couldn’t resist a photo opportunity with him.
Our first stop on the tour was in the tropical rain forests of South America where we met some Incas and Spanish conquistadors where we learnt about the cocoa bean and its origins. It was really interesting to see how Cadbury became the famous brand that we all know today.
Next, each of us was given a piping bottle full of liquid chocolate and we all got creative pipping our names onto a marble slab which was great fun. 
The sun was shining once again, ready for our second day on the canal. We set off on Happy Valley along the smooth water through an urban area and lots of the houses had gardens that backed onto the river’s edge. They were immaculately kept with beautiful seating areas, and we all thought how lovely it would be to just sit and relax, watching the world go by. We saw lots of animals along the way including herons, cats, ducks and their ducklings.
Along our journey we had to stop at a drawbridge where David got off the boat to activate the raising bridge so that we could pass. As it was such a lovely day, we decided to explore the countryside on foot and enjoy the picturesque views around us. On our journey home we all decided to have a go and skipper the boat once again.
It was down to Alvechurch Marina for our last and final day on a narrow boat. On arrival we sat down and watched a short video on how to operate the boat and learn a little about the local area. We were straight down the jetty to board the boat before setting off along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Along the way we passed through 2 tunnels that were long and extremely dark, so dark that we had to put our head lights on!
We then moored up, ate our lunch and then stretched our legs along the path hoping to see a lock in action.
A fascinating morning was had at the Black Country Living Museum. This is an open-air museum that tells the story of one of the very first industrialised landscapes in Britain. With our helmets on we headed straight over to the coal mine for a guided tour underground in a drift mine. Here we learnt about the conditions that men and children worked in as a Black Country coal miner in 1850. We were told about ‘little Billy’ who started working down the mine at just 10 years old. Simply unimaginable. Deep in the mine we experienced the darkness a miner had to endure, how they were run and we saw the old timber props that supported the roof. At times we kept hitting our heads as they were so low. It was a good job we were all wearing our hard hats!
It was down to the bowling alley for a few friendly but competitive games. There were some high scores and a few strikes. By the end we had a clear winner with Liz being crowned champion with a grand total of 107, closely followed by Kevin on 84 and Luke on 83. The games continued on the pool table with some super pots.
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