Steve Haywood (1)

Haywood is a well know character in the narrow boat and canal scene, and i picked this up as I am trying to read the entire Summersdale travel book collection.

This was written over a summer when he decides that he want to spend a summer visiting all the canal and boat festivals going on and catching up with old friends and making new ones. He spends several months on his boat, and this time has company in the form of a black and white cat, as well as regular visits from his long suffering show more partner Em. He manages to make it to most festivals, though he does try to do it the hardest way possible, by damaging his ankle; not helpful when hobbling around by locks.

I liked the writing style, it made me chuckle a few times, and whilst he has things that he get annoyed about, it doesn't detract from the book. His passion for all things canal, and the English countryside are evident, and he is right when he says there is still a lot to do to preserve the nice manor houses and the not quite so nice industrial heritage for our future. show less

Plus a bit of a star. I didn't warm to the author on starting but by the end I realised I didn't have to. Nor do you need to be passionate about canals to enjoy it. It's a good blend of canal journey and history, and the personal histories of Tom Roke and Robert Aickman who turned around the fortunes of canals.

This was a surprisingly entertaining and interesting book. The author leaves London for a long stay on the canals, and makes his travels (and his staying put) a very good read. In between you learn a lot about Tom Rolt, Robert Aickman, Elisabeth Jane Howard, and the IWA

Entertaining series of anecdotes about one man's journey around the English canal network.