British Bodies of Water

In all of our days of walks, of boat rides and excursions in Britain over a ten-day period this summer, I took a lot photos. Looking back, I can hardly narrow them down to just a handful of pictures meant to capture the complexity of the short visit, but I noticed that bodies of water featured prominently in a number of my favorite shots.  

Over 10,000 people live on barges or narrow boats in the London vicinity.  The boat pictured above is docked by Eel Pie Island.  The owner raised three girls on the boat and they all now have their own boats.

I watched this narrowboat on the Thames River cruise under the walking bridge over to Eel Pie Island and dock in a public space for the night.  This boat was beautifully maintained.  

Just up from where the boat docked is one of the remaining boat repair companies in the area.

Canals snake across London and extend into the hinterlands.  It is possible to take a canal boat , called a narrowboat (7 feet wide), from the center of London to Liverpool.  Take the northern canal, Paddington Arm, from this intersection of three canals at Maida Vail and you could reach Liverpool.  A website, acting as a canal trip advisor, recommends figuring speed at 3 miles and hour and add 10 minutes for each lock.

A number of boats along the Regent's Park Canal sported woven-rope fenders.  The calm water of the canals and the colorful boats made gorgeous reflections in the water.

During a weekend trip to Cornwall, my son-in-law and his grandparents took us to both the northern and south-facing coasts.  We saw fishing boats in St. Agnes, pleasure boats and rowboats in the harbor at Falmouth and surfers guarded by lifeguards in a tiny cove.  

St. Agnes

Falmouth

Walking the paths on the highlands past abandoned tin mines, one could delight in the beauty of the clifts and turbulent water, while at the same time sensing that having to work or travel along these stretchs could be a lonely endeavor.

Godrevy Heritage Coast

There was one body of dog's water in St. Agnes with a step-up at the Driftwood Spars Brewery that is worth counting in this post as a British body of water.  Or at least as a British body of humor.