On a beautiful Autumn Saturday in October a small group of young people and Adults from Braunstone gathered at Thurmaston marina to collect the Northeaster, a 13 metre narrowboat. After a safety briefing from our skipper for the day, Ann Murphy we all squeezed into lifejackets and got ready for our day trip, beginning with a cup of hot chocolate.
This year we headed South, through the quiet waterways on the city’s edge with the dog walkers, ducks and the occasional heron, through Birstall and then on past the old factories of Belgrave, giving us an insight into industrial eras past with their now unused inlets and chimneys. We eventually moored at Bede Island and ate our lunch in the park. After a short walk and quiz in castle gardens we turned the boat round and began our return trip to Thurmaston.
On a narrowboat, life slows down, you are limited to four miles per hour which gives you the space to drink in the atmosphere, notice your surroundings and really talk to people.
Everyone helped with the locks and most of us were able to have a go at steering the boat, and some became quite proficient! All the fresh air made it a fairly long and tiring day with everyone feeling comfortably weary at the day’s close.
The whole group standing next to the boat
Getting hot chocolate and biscuits
Ryan and Jade getting ready to close a lock gate
Getting ready for the rising boat
Rose with her hand on the tiller alongside Ann
Filling in activity books on the front deck in the Autumn sunshine