Canal Cruise on Takara Narrow Boat in England: Part 2 of 2 - April 6th to 9th, 2025

We signed up for an eight day, seven night canal cruise on the Takara Hotel narrow boat in England. Our cruise started in Banbury and ended in Hinckley. It started out on the Oxford Canal, turning onto the Coventry Canal, and finishing on the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. This post covers the last four days of our cruise from Rugby to Hinckley. We covered the first half of our cruise in the previous post.

Ann mixed it up again for breakfast on Sunday. This time she had a fried egg, bacon, a cooked tomato, and orange juice.

The bathroom procedures on Takara were a little different, but being used to motorhomes, we knew the reasons why. There were three buttons for the toilet. Button 1 was used after doing your business for a short flush. For a long flush, you pushed button 3 to put water into the bowl before doing your business. Then afterwards, you pushed button 2 briefly, then pushed and held button 2. It would add more water into the bowl, then flush it out. This was all done because water is not kept in the toilet bowl, a water pump is used to pump the water in, and another pump to pump it out.

Donna and Vince ask the guests not to put toilet paper into the toilet, but put it into the small trash bin provided. There was a sign above the toilet that read “Warning! Don’t throw anything into this toilet unless you’ve eaten it first”. Toilet paper can clog up the pipes and encourage sludge to accumulate at the bottom of the waste tank. Not putting toilet paper into the waste tank also leaves more room in the tank so you can go longer between pumping out the tank. Donna emptied the trash bin as she cleaned the bathrooms every morning while Vince was serving breakfast to the guests.

Moisture builds up inside the boat just like it does inside a camper van or motorhome. There was a hatch window in our bathroom which we left open most of the time along with opening windows in our bedroom to allow some of the moisture to escape. Donna had a little hand vacuum with a squeegee on the end that quickly sucked the moister off the windows. Maybe we’ll have to look into one of those for our motorhome.

Every morning before breakfast, Ann would had wash her clothes from the day before. She would hang her shirt and underwear from hangers and leave them hanging in the bathroom. Her hiking socks would be hanging from a bar above the heater in the bedroom. The shirt would be dry by evening and the socks would be dry by the following morning.

However, we had good weather during our week on Takara. Had it been raining most of the time, we’re not sure our clothes would have dried. Perhaps we would have needed to stop at one of the marinas and use a laundry there, at least for drying.

Lunch on Sunday was brie and cranberry toasties (grilled sandwiches), crisps (potato chips), and a jam tart. While we were eating lunch, we noticed quite a few people with small packs walking briskly or jogging along the tow path. We learned that they were doing the Coventry Way Challenge, a 40 mile route for which they had 16 hours to complete it, all in one day. That’s a lot of miles!

After lunch, the temperatures had warmed up enough that we went for a walk. We chatted with one man who was doing the challenge. He had covered about 26 miles already. It was his second attempt at the challenge. The first time he only made it about 26 miles before quitting. He looked like he at least had a few more miles in him this time. We wished him the best of luck.

Along our walk, we could hear that we were passing a motocross course, but we couldn’t see it. Then we passed through a golf course. Finally, Ann was able to get a picture of a pheasant out in a field, not only once, but twice. She had been trying to get a picture of one ever since we spotted one near Stonehenge (Salisbury & Stonehenge, England - March 24th to 27th, 2025). They may not be the best pictures in the world of a pheasant, but the pheasants were recognizable.

We left the boat for our walk before they started the engine. After about an hour and a half, we hadn’t seen the boat catch up to us yet. We started thinking, what if they couldn’t get the engine started for some reason? Then we remembered that we both had Air Tags in our luggage on board. They only work if there is an Apple device nearby, but both Donna and Vince had iPhones. So Keith pulled out his phone and sure enough, he could see exactly where the boat was, not far behind us.

It was getting close to afternoon tea time, so we waited at the next bridge to get picked up. Takara could not easily let people board or disembark everywhere. It needed a bank with a concrete or metal wall instead of the soft banks. Under a bridge was usually a sure bet as a boarding point.

We boarded just in time for afternoon tea. It was toasted hot cross buns this time. They reminded Ann of cinnamon raisin bread.

Our only lock for the day was at Hawkesbury Junction, where the Oxford Canal flows into the Coventry Canal. The lock is only one inch deep which seems like such a waste. However, it was used in the past as a stop lock so they could collect a toll as you switched canals.

We moored just after turning onto the Coventry Canal. Donna and Vince used stakes that they pounded into the ground to attach the ropes to this time. There are several different ways to secure the boat to the shore. In addition to stakes, there are sometimes things provided, such as wooden or metal posts or rings. If the bank is metal, Donna and Vince have hooks that hook onto the metal.

We walked six miles that day while Takara went through the one lock (number 1) and under 59 bridges (number 58 to 1), covering about 13 to 14 miles.

Hawkesbury Junction is a lovely little area. The Greyhound pub was attracting a crowd on the sunny Sunday evening. A couple of iron pedestrian bridges crossed over the canals. A historic engine house still stands. It was built in 1821 to house the engine that pumped water into the canal from the stream flowing underneath. It was no longer used after 1913, as the water supply failed due to diminishing ground water levels.

All four of us guests walked over to the Greyhound pub for a pint before dinner. Ann had a pint of Aspall Draught Cyder from Suffolk while Keith had the Old Original Ruby Ale by Everards of Leicestershire. We noticed there was also a beer called Ohio by Everards as well. As we both grew up in Ohio, we had to take a picture.

After we finished our dinks, Ann stood up to leave. She could feel the effects of the cider. The others decided to walk across the lock to get back. Ann decided she would be better off taking the foot bridge across the canal, as she didn’t want to end up falling in.

For dinner, Donna made chicken enchiladas and Spanish rice served with salsa, guacamole, sour cream with spring onions, and tortilla chips. Dessert was a meringue roulade with a mixed berry filling. We all skipped the wine with dinner this time, as we had our share of alcohol at the Greyhound pub. Of course, we all still managed to take a piece of chocolate mint afterwards, as Vince pulled out the box of chocolates like he did every night.

Monday morning, we took a walk between morning tea and lunch, then we walked again after lunch, for a total of eight miles. We returned to the boat just in time for afternoon tea. The tow path was a little soft in spots, but nothing too muddy. However, as usual, we removed our shoes before entering inside the boat, just to make sure we didn’t track mud or dirt inside.

Along our walks, we noticed several boats painted with roses and castles. Roses and Castles is a traditional painting style for narrow boats. The folk art is from the 19th century and can be found on the boat itself or on such items as drinking cans, doors, and lamps. There are still artists today that paint Roses and Castles.

Ann mixed it up at breakfast again, having yogurt, muesli, and a banana. Lunch was a lovely leek and potato soup with bread followed by fresh pineapple. At afternoon tea, we enjoyed Banbury cake, a spiced oval-shaped pastry filled with currants, from the town of Banbury, where we started our Takara cruise.

Dinner was sea bass served with potatoes, carrots, runner beans, and creamed spinach. Runner beans are similar to green beans, but they are generally sliced into strips before cooking. Dessert was a Bakewell tart. It is associated with the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England. A Bakewell tart is a pastry shell filled with layers of jam and frangipane. Ours was a cherry one with a cherry icing on top. Frangipane is a sweet, almond flavored custard.

There were no locks on Monday. We started out on the Coventry Canal, then made a sharp turn onto the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. Takara crossed under three bridges on the Coventry (numbers 13 to 15) and thirty bridges on the Ashby (numbers 1 to 30), for a total of 33 bridges. We moored for the night near the town of Dadlington.

Tuesday was another beautiful sunny day. It was our last cruising day. From Dadlington, we headed to just past bridge 42 near Market Bosworth where we turned around and headed back to the Trinity Marina in Hinckley.

There were dredgers cleaning out the canal. Having steady traffic on a canal helps keep the channel clear, but it still needs to be cleaned out every now and then. Diggers were scraping the silt off the bottom and putting into barges. Then another excavator would scoop the silt out of the barge to be spread across the pasture land.

In order to have warmer temperatures during our walks and not walk the same sections twice, we waited until after turning around at the winding hole before getting off to walk. Ann walked about one and a half miles before lunch, then Keith joined her for a four and a half mile walk after lunch. Of course, we hopped back on board in time for afternoon tea.

Along our walk, we stopped and chatted briefly with a man who was fishing on the bank. He was complaining about the dredging, as it destroys the canal banks, affecting the fishing. Even though the fishing wasn’t very good that afternoon, he did comment that was better than being at work.

For lunch, we were served a Plowman’s Lunch, which is a traditional British cold meal of bread and cheese. Ours came with a bun, assorted cheeses, sliced apples, grapes, sweet piccalilli, Branston Pickle, and a salad. The assorted cheeses included blue cheese, Edam, and Wensleydale with pineapple. Piccalilli is a tangy, sweet, and spicy relish. Branston Pickle is a mixture of vegetables (such as carrot, rutabaga, onion, and cauliflower) in vinegar, tomato purée, and date paste. The salad was served, just like it had been all week, without any dressing. In England, if a salad is served with a meal or main dish, it is usually served “undressed”. This seemed a little strange to us Americans, as a salad would never be served in the States without either dressing on it, or dressing on the side. For dessert, we had ice cream with a choice of strawberry or chocolate sauce. The chocolate sauce reminded us of Hershey’s chocolate syrup that we grew up with.

Millionaire’s Slice was served with our afternoon tea. It was a shortbread biscuit topped with a layer of caramel and a layer of milk chocolate. It was one of the sweeter treats we’ve had during tea and was very tasty.

Takara covered about 7 miles from our mooring spot to the winding hole and 13 miles from the winding hole back to Trinity Marina, for a total of 20 miles for the day. We went under 26 bridges (numbers 31 to 42 twice, then numbers 30 to 17A for the second time).

After we docked at Trinity Marina, we walked over the Tin Hat pub, about 15 minutes away. It was a nice stroll through a residential area to a neighborhood pub. Keith had a pint of Courage Directors premium cask ale. It was originally produced by Alton brewery (under the name of Alton Red) back in the 1700’s. It is now owned by Marston’s Brewery. Ann had a half pint of Strongbow cider by H. P. Bulmer, a subsidiary of Heineken. It is the world’s leading cider. Even after a half pint, Ann could feel it a little bit when she stood up to leave, but it wore off quickly. She blames it on drinking on an empty stomach.

We walked about nine miles that day (at least Ann did), including our walk over to the pub. Our walks have been pretty flat, so it was easy to put in long walks without feeling very tired.

At dinner, the guests tried to fold the napkins in the manner that Vince had been folding them for our evening meal all week. We were warned a day or two before, so we could watch Vince carefully. Some guests were more successful than others. Keith gave up trying to make the teepee shape and made a wadded up rose instead. We all had a good time.

Dinner was roast beef, roasted potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, Brussel sprouts, and broccoli. We had Yorkshire pudding before in Chagford. It is similar to a popover and is a delicious way to mop up the gravy remaining on the plate. Dessert was a trifle. A trifle is a layered desert with layers of sponge cake soaked in wine, jelly, custard, and clotted cream.

Wednesday morning we had one last breakfast together before everyone left. While we were sitting on the boat before leaving, we heard ice cream truck music. Vince said they use it for ice cream trucks in the evening, but also use similar music for a sandwich truck during the day for lunch near businesses.

Jude and Ruth took a morning taxi to the train station, as they had a morning train to catch. Our train wasn’t until the afternoon, so we went next door to Brewers Fayre to hang out for a couple of hours. Brewers Fayre is an English restaurant chain and family pub. There was even a children’s playground inside. It was a large place. They had no problems with us buying two hot drinks with free refills of coffee or tea, with our luggage piled up next to our table.

While we were sitting there, Vince came in to return Ann’s SD card reader. Thankfully, we had told Vince where we were hanging out. Donna found the card reader under the bed while she was cleaning. It must have fallen down while Ann was offloading her footage the night before. Thanks, Donna and Vince!

At noon, we loaded our packs on our backs and hiked over to the Hinckley train station. It was about a mile and a half from the marina which took us about half an hour to walk. Once we arrived at the station, we still had about an hour before our train arrived. It was a small train station, so we just hung out on the platform, watching the freight trains whiz by.

It was hard to believe the cruise was over, the time seemed to go quickly. Were there any spectacular sights along the way? No. Was it relaxing? Absolutely. Was it fun to learn all about the canals and narrow boats? Yes. Did we enjoy getting to know the boat owners and the other guests? Most definitely. If you like to walk, or you are a bird watcher, or you just like to relax and watch the English countryside glide past, or you like to meet others and learn about their country, their lives, and their culture, or you enjoy eating delicious meals prepared for you, then we highly recommend taking a cruise on the Takara Hotel Boat. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. Thank you Vince, Donna, Ruth, and Jude for helping make our cruise special.

Check out our related video: Canal Cruise, England: Part 2 of 2

(Ann)