Narrowboats chug back to glory days

It has been anchored for many years at the unglamorous end of the travel market, but the narrowboat is experiencing a belated boom in popularity. Increasing numbers of narrowboat owners are navigating Britain's inland waterways, which are enjoying a return to the glory of their Victorian heyday after 20 years of public investment.

Such has been the rise in boat ownership that the country is running out of moorings. Price rises for marinas are twice the rate of inflation.

British Waterways announced a £150m programme this weekto build 250 marinas on the national canal network in the next 10 years. The organisation, funded by the Government, wants private companies to help build up to 11,000 new berths.

Officials at British Waterways believe boating will become more popular because of three trends - a general rise in leisure spending, the revival of the waterways and population changes. British Waterways believes the canals will benefit from the growing importance of the "grey pound" because 80 per cent of boaters are aged over 50. And boating has been helped by £2bn of investment in canal-side regeneration over the past 20 years.

Two of the multimillion-pound projects being started now are the Liverpool Canal Link connecting the city's docks with the Liverpool-Leeds Canal and work on the Cotswolds canals linking the Thames with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

But nothing will happen quickly. The number of buyers has increased by 2.4 per cent a year since 2000 and there are now about 25,000 private canal boats in Britain. Joining the ranks of narrowboat captains costs between £10,000 for a second-hand vessel and more than £100,000 for a deluxe cruiser.

"It's a lovely way to spend your time," said David Pearce, a retired civil servant who acquired his boat, Gnashers 2, from a dentist 20 years ago.

"You go chug, chug, chug and the countryside goes past slowly and you see all those things that you never see if you are flashing along the motorway."

Despite the greater use of the canals, fewer occasional holidaymakers are taking to the water. Boating firms have struggled to attract custom, and the number of holiday pleasure-cruisers has fallen from 1,300 to 1,000 in 10 years. But business is stabilising. "We get a lot of repeat bookings," said Geoff Ashton, chairman of the British Hire Cruiser Federation. "People like the peace and quiet, getting close to the wildlife. It's a relaxing way of getting around. You get away from motorways and car rage."