{"id":5676,"date":"2017-09-25T08:56:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T08:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/?p=5676"},"modified":"2017-12-08T17:12:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T17:12:00","slug":"heathers-first-boating-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Heather&#8217;s first boating holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fcbkbttn_like \"><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\" layout=\"button_count\"  size=\"small\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"fb-share-button  \" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"small\"><\/div><\/div><p>As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to take my family on our first ever narrowboat holiday to celebrate my mother\u2019s 70<sup>th<\/sup> Birthday.<\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Day One<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>We were collecting \u201cMarilyn\u201d from Uplands Marina at Northwich on the August bank holiday and were looking forward to a new experience and an exciting trip ahead.\u00a0 We arrived at the marina which is close to the Anderton Boat Lift and found Marilyn moored up at the bottom of a flight of steps.\u00a0 Tom and Alan were there to meet us. They showed us to the boat where we could offload our luggage before parking our cars in a more secure location.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5684\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5684\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/marilyn\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5684\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5684\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"Narrowboat 'Marilyn' moored at the marina\" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5684\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Narrowboat &#8216;Marilyn&#8217; moored at the marina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Marilyn was a new boat for 2017 and has a reverse layout. This makes it a bit more sociable because the saloon and kitchen are at the rear of the narrowboat.\u00a0 This also works well for the helmsperson if they require drinks and refreshments handed to them during the day. The narrowboat is decorated to a high standard with a light, airy feel and follows the theme of Marilyn Monroe.\u00a0 My niece was highly excited and was keen to get underway as soon as we got onboard. I explained that we would need to have a boat \u2018handover\u2019 first and then receive instruction on the handling of the boat, so off she went to pick her bed and unpack her belongings.<\/p>\n<p>Tom spent around an hour going through the facilities of the boat. Explaining how to steer with the tiller and how to operate the engine. Once we had all agreed that we understood how the water, heating, gas, bathroom facilities and engine all worked Tom handed us over to Alan who very kindly offered to manoeuvre the boat out of the marina for us.\u00a0 We were grateful for this as there were quite a few boats and a low bridge to negotiate, so it was a little daunting for complete novices.<\/p>\n<p>My partner Steven was next to Alan as we headed out and was listening intently to his instructions and advice.\u00a0 After around 10-15 minutes Alan asked who would like to have a go at steering and Steven nominated himself.\u00a0 Learning that the narrowboat can take a while to react to the movement of the tiller, he started to get the hang of things and Alan felt confident to hop off and let us get underway on our own.\u00a0 By this time it was around 3pm but the sun was still splitting the sky that and it made our first afternoon cruising along very relaxing indeed.\u00a0 After 4 hours we came to our first lock of the day, Middlewich Big Lock.\u00a0 It was getting close to 7pm but we were keen to experience a lock before mooring up for the evening.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5686\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5686\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/marilyn-outside-big-lock\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5686\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5686\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-outside-big-lock-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"Marilyn outside the Big Lock, Middlewich\" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-outside-big-lock-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-outside-big-lock-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-outside-big-lock.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5686\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marilyn outside the Big Lock, Middlewich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another family, also new to boating, were just going up in the lock as we were approaching so I went to see if I could help.\u00a0 The family waited and assisted us through the lock safely. The community spirit on the waterways is very impressive.\u00a0 I was also happy to receive assistance because the lock was right next a pub. There were lots of people sitting outside on the sunny bank holiday evening, relaxing and watching the world go by.<\/p>\n<p>Once through the lock we decided to find a nice mooring spot.\u00a0 Conveniently, we found somewhere at the back of the Newton Brewery Inn with a footpath that led into the beer garden of the pub.\u00a0 However, we decided to eat on board that evening as we had taken plenty of supplies with us. The kitchen facilities were all brand new and it was lovely to relax in the tranquillity of our floating home.<\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Day Two<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>We woke bright and early on our 2<sup>nd<\/sup> day to start my mother\u2019s birthday celebrations. With a target in mind of getting to Nantwich, we anticipated around 6-7 hours cruising ahead of us.\u00a0 The waterways were reasonably busy and there were lots of boats heading through the locks in both directions.\u00a0Some very helpful Canal and River Trust volunteers operated the rest of the locks at Middlewich to try and keep the boats moving through them efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>My niece had decided to assist with the lock gates that morning and was proving to be a great help.\u00a0 Shortly after the Middlewich locks we turned right onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal leaving the Trent and Mersey Canal behind.\u00a0 Another lock was quickly upon us and we merrily got into the swing of things.\u00a0 Locks are perhaps the most exciting part of boating for children and my niece described going through them as \u201cmagical\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5692\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5692\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/marilyn-going-through-lock-at-church-minshull\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5692\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5692\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-going-through-lock-at-church-minshull-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"'Marilyn' going through lock at Church Minshull\" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-going-through-lock-at-church-minshull-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-going-through-lock-at-church-minshull-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marilyn-going-through-lock-at-church-minshull.jpg 824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8216;Marilyn&#8217; going through lock at Church Minshull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Our journey became more tranquil as we cruised along through peaceful and rural countryside. Steven was quite comfortable at the helm as the rest of the family were enjoying taking in the ambience and celebrating Mum\u2019s birthday. We passed through Church Minshull. You can moor up between bridge 14 and 15 and take a walk into the quaint little village.\u00a0 However we decided to continue cruising and have lunch on board the narrowboat. We passed Venetian Marina which has a water point, a caf\u00e9, a shop and even shower facilities. (The shower facilities are only available for people actually staying in the marina).<\/p>\n<p>By late afternoon we were approaching Barbridge Junction which connects to the main Shropshire Union Canal.\u00a0 This certainly sharpened the skills of the helmsman as he slowly navigated through moored narrowboats on both sides of the canal.\u00a0 We realised that there weren\u2019t many mooring spots left here so we continued to the other side of the bridge where we found some nice quiet 48 hour moorings (you do need to be careful here as there are some private business moorings that should be avoided).\u00a0 As it was approaching early evening we decided to start the birthday celebrations before dinner. It was a short walk over bridge No.100 to the Olde Barbridge Inn where we had dinner that evening.<\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Day Three<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>After a relaxed morning we decided to turn around and retrace our steps. We felt it might be a bit of a rush to get to Nantwich then back.\u00a0 En route, we decided to stop off at the Aqueduct Marina to fill Marilyn up with water. \u00a0By this time our helmsman had earned a well-deserved lunch break as he manoeuvred Marilyn around to moor up alongside other boats in the marina. \u00a0They have a lovely little caf\u00e9 there and we decided to sit outside and relax, soaking up the sun.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5688\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5688\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/stanthorne-lock\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5688\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5688\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/stanthorne-lock-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"Preparing Stanthorne Lock\" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stanthorne-lock-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stanthorne-lock-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stanthorne-lock.jpg 824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5688\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Preparing Stanthorne Lock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We then continued on our way along the canal until there was a rain shower. We decided to moor up and have a tea break. Just after Stanthorne Lock we moored up for the evening along the towpath, where there was just one other narrowboat. \u00a0Other than dog walkers and joggers it was a very secluded, peaceful spot. We decided to chill out with some movies and board games, ready to do the Middlewich Locks the next morning.<\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Day Four<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>We started our final day of cruising feeling more like experienced boaters rather than novices.\u00a0 We were just beginning to get into the swing of things when it was time to return the boat. The lock volunteers recognised us on our return leg and were interested to see if we had enjoyed ourselves. We passed through central Middlewich. We moored up before Middlewich Big Lock to pick up a few supplies and have some lunch.\u00a0 On departing Middlewich we had a nice relaxing 4 hour cruise back towards our Marina.\u00a0 That evening we bypassed Uplands Marina and headed up towards the Anderton Boat Lift instead. Turning at the winding hole there and mooring up just a few minutes\u2019 walk from the lift itself (also a short distance from Uplands Marina).<\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Day Five<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5690\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5690\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/anderton-boat-lift-heather\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5690\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5690\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/anderton-boat-lift-heather-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"The Anderton Boat Lift \" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/anderton-boat-lift-heather-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/anderton-boat-lift-heather-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/anderton-boat-lift-heather.jpg 1008w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5690\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Anderton Boat Lift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I called around 8.30am on our final day to see if we could get assistance\u00a0 getting Marilyn back into the marina. Alan kindly came to meet us around 15 minutes later, steering the boat for us.\u00a0 After disembarking we thanked Alan for all of his help. Then we packed our belongings into the car and headed to the Anderton Boat Lift for a better look around.<\/p>\n<p>This Victorian piece of engineering connects the River Weaver and Trent and Mersey Canal by lowering \/ lifting boats on a mechanised lift rather than using a series of locks. It was of great interest to me, having been on the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland which is the only \u2018rotating\u2019 boat lift in the UK.\u00a0 There is a fantastic visitor centre and caf\u00e9 at Anderton, so the first stop was a very reasonably-priced breakfast. We then spent some time looking at information boards and watched a day trip boat going up the boat lift. This is certainly worth a visit and is especially good for families.<\/p>\n<p>Our first family narrowboat experience was something we all thoroughly enjoyed and I know it certainly won\u2019t be my last.\u00a0 We are now looking forward to planning our next trip. With so many canals to choose from it may take some time to reach a decision!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5695\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5695\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/heather-pic-canalside-house\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5695\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5695\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/heather-pic-canalside-house-600x150.jpg\" alt=\"Canalside House near Middlewich\" width=\"495\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/heather-pic-canalside-house-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/heather-pic-canalside-house.jpg 702w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5695\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Canalside House near Middlewich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-canal-boat-holidays","comments-off"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Heather&#039;s first boating holiday on the Trent &amp; Mersey and Shroppie.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heather&#039;s first boating holiday on the Trent &amp; Mersey and Shroppie.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Waterways Holidays News - Boating Holidays on the UK Canals and Rivers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterwaysholidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Waterways Holidays\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@waterways_hols\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@waterways_hols\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Waterways Holidays\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Waterways Holidays\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/90952eb65a5242d6d936a94eb0931000\"},\"headline\":\"Heather&#8217;s first boating holiday\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\"},\"wordCount\":1600,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Canal Boat Holidays\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\",\"name\":\"Heather's first boating holiday on the Trent & Mersey and Shroppie.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heather&#8217;s first boating holiday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Waterways Holidays News\",\"description\":\"Norfolk Broads Boat Hire and UK Canal Boat Holidays\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Waterways Holidays Ltd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo2.jpg\",\"width\":350,\"height\":99,\"caption\":\"Waterways Holidays Ltd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterwaysholidays\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/waterways_hols\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/waterways_holidays\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/waterways-holidays-ltd\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/WaterwaysHols\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@waterwaysholidays\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/90952eb65a5242d6d936a94eb0931000\",\"name\":\"Waterways Holidays\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/72164e72e48d1fa92d51a1756d996a78e29fb27a920a9c0fef751fbb20289754?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/72164e72e48d1fa92d51a1756d996a78e29fb27a920a9c0fef751fbb20289754?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Waterways Holidays\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heather's first boating holiday on the Trent & Mersey and Shroppie.","description":"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heather's first boating holiday on the Trent & Mersey and Shroppie.","og_description":"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/","og_site_name":"Waterways Holidays News - Boating Holidays on the UK Canals and Rivers","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterwaysholidays","article_published_time":"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Waterways Holidays","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@waterways_hols","twitter_site":"@waterways_hols","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Waterways Holidays","Estimated reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/"},"author":{"name":"Waterways Holidays","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/90952eb65a5242d6d936a94eb0931000"},"headline":"Heather&#8217;s first boating holiday","datePublished":"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/"},"wordCount":1600,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg","articleSection":["Canal Boat Holidays"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/","url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/","name":"Heather's first boating holiday on the Trent & Mersey and Shroppie.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg","datePublished":"2017-09-25T08:56:35+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-08T17:12:00+00:00","description":"As the newest member of the Waterways Holidays team, my first 6 months with the company fast approaching, I decided to try my first ever narrowboat holiday.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/intrepidity\/uploads\/marilyn-600x150.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/heathers-first-boating-holiday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heather&#8217;s first boating holiday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/","name":"Waterways Holidays News","description":"Norfolk Broads Boat Hire and UK Canal Boat Holidays","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Waterways Holidays Ltd","url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo2.jpg","width":350,"height":99,"caption":"Waterways Holidays Ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/waterwaysholidays","https:\/\/x.com\/waterways_hols","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/waterways_holidays\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/waterways-holidays-ltd","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/WaterwaysHols","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@waterwaysholidays"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/90952eb65a5242d6d936a94eb0931000","name":"Waterways Holidays","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/72164e72e48d1fa92d51a1756d996a78e29fb27a920a9c0fef751fbb20289754?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/72164e72e48d1fa92d51a1756d996a78e29fb27a920a9c0fef751fbb20289754?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Waterways Holidays"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5676"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5698,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5676\/revisions\/5698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waterwaysholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}