I should never have had that second cup of coffee! We're inching along about 15 metres above the A3400 highway and I'm trying to keep my hands steady on the tiller so as not to bump either side of the aqueduct. I figure I have a couple of centimetres to spare on either side and why aren't there railings on both sides?
We're just leaving Wootton Wawen after exploring its 1,100-year-old Saxon sanctuary and this crossing, built in 1813, is by far the most adrenalin pumping of the three aqueducts we encounter on the waterway.
Reaching the other end without a bump, I beam proudly as the crew from a waiting canal boat applauds.
It's day five of our pilgrimage to Shakespeare's Stratford-Upon-Avon, only 30 kilometres away by road from our starting point in the Midlands at Stockton Top Marina but a six-day trip for us. Distances are deceiving in a narrow boat: Five kilometres can take five hours if there are copious locks between you and your destination - and a queue of other boats ahead of you.
There are no boat queues this rainy, early May morning, but copious locks have, indeed, lurked in wait - the famous "staircase" of Hatton Locks on day two, for example.
Completed in 1799, its 21 locks climb 50 metres over three kilometres and are then punctuated with the 396-metre long Shrewley Tunnel, which delighted
in anointing all four of us with icy rivulets when least expected.
We chose this route for the fun and challenge of its locks, all 152 of them (return), its aqueducts, and its sleepy, scenic countryside, all part of our adventure as we head to the Bard's hometown.
Our boat is the 17-metre Florence Edith, an impressive
size until you realize that a narrow boat is called that for good reason. It's only two metres wide. These canals and locks were originally designed for narrow boats carrying coal, sugar, tea and spices, so modern craft still need to emulate their ancestors in order to squeeze into those lean locks.
The Florence Edith, hired
from Kate Boats, has a stateroom, 1.5 bathrooms and an eating area, galley and lounge, and both the eating area and the lounge convert into beds, perfect for two couples, because this is one vacation that should be shared, splitting the work and doubling the laughs.
Cruising to Stratford entailed leaving the wider
and busier Grand Union Canal and navigating a frighteningly abrupt elbow turn under a low bridge into the South Stratford Canal. The hair-raising narrowness of the locks had a positive side, however: there was only one gate to open at each end instead of two, and although more challenging for the skipper, it made the crew's jobs much easier.
An already scenic trip soon trumped itself as we chugged dreamily past black and white footbridges, grazing sheep, undulating green-hedged fields, and rainbow-coloured canal boats spilling with rooftop flowers and folk art, on our hunt for the perfect happy hour tie-up. Last night we couldn't resist a spot near the country pub and ancient church, but tonight's choice is a pastoral one, far from traffic and nudged by wheat sheaves and sheep.
Wine on deck chairs on the towpath is the daily routine, followed by dinner al fresco on our floating restaurant.
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