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Cruising Britain’s Waterways.

© Stuart Buchanan MacWatt

I have long envied those who have been able to eschew the hustle and bustle of today's frenetic rush to live on a canal longboat or converted Thames barge. Cramped such a lifestyle may be, damp sometimes. But there is a timeless peace on the waterways of England. The London reaches of the Thames now boast a growing number of residents who live afloat, their often gaily painted, flat bottomed and on occasions surprisingly spacious boats and barges permanently moored at the Chelsea Marina or at Docklands, further downstream.

A taste of life upon the quiet flowing upper reaches of the Thames can be gained from a 6 night cruise aboard the luxuriously converted Thames barge Actief. This 100ft long barge with its crew of 4 has luxurious cabins with en-suite bathrooms for 11 passengers, a sundeck, saloon bar and dining room. With an award winning Chef on board dinner becomes a gourmet's delight each evening.

The Actief plies that beautiful stretch of the Thames between Oxford and Windsor during the months of April through November. A late season cruise departs on 22 October with a Thames Valley itinerary designed specifically for antique lovers. The cruise commences at Oxford and ends in Windsor, taking in the annual Oxford Antiques Fair, the Henley antiques emporium and antiquarian bookshop, the Wallingford antique-shop complex, some stately homes in the Thames Valley, and some picturesque old Thameside pubs en route.

Thames Valley cruise patrons are driven to the embarkation point on the Actief from the Goring Hotel in London which is situated just around the corner from Buckingham Palace. The Goring is much frequented by European royalty and dignitaries who are visiting the palace and has an old world charm lost in the modern style of hotel management. I can heartily recommend the hotel restaurant which is renowned for its excellent English cooking of the 'Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding' tradition. The Goring is one of my favoured London hotels, and makes a convenient base for for a short stay in Town combined with a cruise.

If you are more actively inclined you can actually walk the Thames footpath from the river's source at Cirencester to the Essex marshes at its mouth. Walking the Thames footpath through London itself is a spectacular and inspiring experience. It is from the Thames that the stately grandeur of London is properly seen as its great architects meant us to see the city.

Another 6-night cruise run by the same firm travels the length of Scotland's Great Glen from Inverness via Lock Ness to Fort William. Excursions during the day include a visit to Cawdor Castle, (immortalised by Shakespeare in MacBeth) and the historic battlefield of

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