Narrowboat Dreams: A Journey North by England's Waterways

by Steve Haywood

A voyage of discovery and escape along England's inland waterways Traveling by traditional narrowboat, author Steve Haywood heads north along two newly opened Pennine canals, a trip that takes him from Banbury in deepest Oxfordshire, through the vibrant modernity of Manchester, to the trendy affluence of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire’s answer to London’s ciabatta belt. With irrepressible humor he recounts the history of the waterways and stories of his encounters with characters along the way, and attempts to define the magic that makes England’s waterways so appealing.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, British Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Steve Haywood is an award-winning TV producer and has worked on programmes such as Newsnight, Panorama and Rough Justice. Based in London, he writes a lively, provocative column for Canal Boat magazine.

Reviews

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting reflection on changing times in industrial England, and a part of the network I don't know at all. Made me want to revisit the slow pace of canal travelling. Also happy memories of canal trip with Yorkie lass Yvonne, rest her soul.

[Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable book about a trip the writer took around the Pennines in a canal narrowboat. He made the trip, which appears to have lasted several months (with interruptions caused by the declining health of his mother), in order to traverse the then recently opened Huddersfield Narrow Canal. I've only seen this from the train when entering the railway's Standedge Tunnel. That used by the canal sounds much creepier! Nice writings with vignettes about the countryside he travels through and the characters he meets along the way. I've often wanted to cruise on a canal narrowboat. However, I doubt I ever shall as I don't think I could manage the physical effort needed, particularly with negotiating the many locks. However, it was good to dream while reading another's experiences.

[Hilary Tesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Midlander myself who spent eight years living in West Yorkshire where I was regarded as a “bloody Southerner,” I liked the concept of this book. The author, living in London but hailing from Leicestershire, sets off in his canal boat, Justice, to discover “the North.” Somewhere along the way, the book gets mixed up between the places and scenery he passed, the people he encountered, the difficulties he surmounted, the history and restoration of the canals themselves and his desire for a dog! And then at the end of the book, he tells you it’s all changed since then anyway, so it was suddenly all vaguely unsatisfying.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read - would probably have been more so if I knew the area at all. I enjoyed the historical aspect. I think I'd enjoy a narrowboat holiday ramble but not on my own, it sounds like damned hard work opening & closing all those locks.

[Mervyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well although I have only been on a couple of narrow boat cruises I am keen to explore more and this book seemed to be an ideal read for a newbie.

It is very interesting and in many ways a very practical eyeopener to anyone who may have a rosy picture of cruising down a pristine, idyllic canal. It brings home the reality of difficult locks, low water levels, bad management and bad people.

However I did feel it went a little too far to discourage potential new liveaboards. Partly because, as the author admits, he is a 'cantankerous old git' and he brings that attitude to the book and the people he meets. Also because he obviously has been boating for many years and has a deep nostalgia for the industrial heyday of the canal system and past.

Don't get me wrong, I to am interested in the historical past, but that is the point in a way, it is the past. Dark satanic mills, coughing smoke or being driven by water wheels while dirty, rag covered urchins are frayed alive on the mill wheel, is a past that we don't need to always be reminded of.

My ambition is to see this beautiful and diverse country from a totally different perspective to the M40 or A1, and my albeit limited experience of canal travel does just that, at a pace of live which relaxes and reinvigorates those living hectic lives in the real world.

So yes a good book and certainly it should be read by anyone interested in boating to get a feel for the realism. But I just wish that it was a bit more positive as well.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the book Narrowboat Dreams by Steve Haywood which is an excellent book which I bought from a car boot sale. This book is part autobiography and part travel guide and is about the author travelling around some of the most northerly canals in Britain. He comes from Leicester in the East Midlands which he rather amusingly says isn't regarded as the true Midlands to West Midlanders. They think you should come from somewhere like Dudley or Birmingham, famous for engineering. They also regard the East Midlands as being almost part of the Home Counties. I'm a West Midlander & I agree with him. There is some information on locks which for the uninitiated are what take a boat up or down to a different water level. They are found on rivers and canals and you have a lock key that winds a crank that either lets water in or out and that takes you to a different level. You have heavy gates that enclose the lock and prevent a waterfall forming. The stretch of water within a lock is called a pound on a canal and a reach on a river. The higher level a lock can take you to is called a summit. You also have British Waterways you are responsible for maintaining the rivers and canals in Britain. I enjoyed this book and it's only around 340 pages so is quite a quick read.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half the time when I was reading this book, I had to remind myself that it was NOT by one of the Top Gear guys - Haywood has the same sort of writing style and humour as they do. He's probably most like Jeremy, which is a good thing.

Anyway,the book was remarkably interesting - upon starting it, I had NO knowledge at all of narrowboats and canals in England and had picked the book up on a whim. Now, I am all set to hit the canals! Haywood shows that it's not all roses - some of the locks and tunnels are enough to give nightmares, apparently - but the benefits of slowly ambling along the waterways outweigh the inconveniences. The people (and dogs!) he meets and the scenes he encounters - both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Great little read.

[Stephen Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Journey In the North..." would be a better title, as the focus of this book is a double crossing of the Pennines by narrowboat, using the recently restored Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Rochdale Canal, rather than a journey northwards or to the north.

And even then, it is really mostly about the trip in the first direction, as the second one is done at breakneck speed, largely because of understandable delays caused by family priorities.

As such it is rather unbalanced - reflective of the realities of life, I suppose, but still leaving the reader somewhat dissatisfied that our dream cruise didn't quite work out how we'd intended.

But still it is entertaining, informative and mildly amusing, and well worth reading.

[Freya Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it while on holiday or on a boat as it seems like a holiday read rather than an everyday one. The narration can be quite rambling in parts and I found myself sometimes skipping a sentence or two out of impatience. I have been on quite a few canal trips, my parents had a narrowboat that was moored around York so I felt I could sympathise with him on some accounts and it helped me to figure out parts where he started to talk about technical things. Overall it was a nice simple book, I think I thought that it would have been more detailed or adventurous but it was still a good read.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rambling, not wonderfully written canal book - only my interest in canals kept me going

[Pat Stearman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgotten now but think I enjoyed it. Years since I spent any time on the canals so it did whet my appetite for another trip.

[Abcdarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vaguely interesting, vaguely humourous, unfortunately not either one enough to keep going plus I wanted something more usefully informative.

[Debbie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, interesting for someone with hardly any knowledge of canals. Are narrow boaters similar to caravaners?

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a marvellous book not just about narrowboats but about the characters the author meets on the way..v funny too

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite funny (bit Top Gear funny in places). Made me think about the realities of living on a narrow boat - which I have indeed dreamt about.