Birth of a dream

摘要

It was while spending the day on a hire-boat to celebrate a family birthday that the idea of owning a boat first took hold. We had hired two day-boats from Blisworth in July 2010 for my mum's 70th and set off with the whole family, ages ranging from five to 98. There are not many activities that will appeal to such a wide age range but this was perfect. Of course, the sunny weather helped. There was only one lock to navigate but we got to do it twice, so we all felt quite experienced by the end, and after a day like that who wouldn't want more? In just a few years our teenage sons would be off to university or out into the world of work, so what better than a new hobby to keep us occupied? We had no idea of the price of a boat, where we would keep it, what type of boat we wanted, or anything. We just knew we wanted one. We had enjoyed a few hire-boat holidays on the canal system in the past, so we knew we would like it.