Our first exposure to boating as a family was on
Ice Maiden
courtesy of Derek Peacock. Pam has also been
on
Maiden - as one of
Derek's management training team. However,
Geoff and Pam decided that it
was a bit too late in the day to start shinning up and down masts and hanging
out over the sides and all that, so we opted for the rather more sedate canal
narrow boat for our holiday in 2000. We hired Solrun from
Viking Afloat
and explored the South Oxford Canal. Note the kayak lashed to the roof.
Geoff took the photo whilst Pam waited at the Royal Oak with Emma and Vickie for
friends to arrive. Liz, Keith and Mary are also canal enthusiasts.
Mary's page gives more information about their trips on the English canals
in Sceptre, a shared ownership boat with the
Ownerships scheme.
As a result of contact via
uk.rec.waterways we have been able to enjoy a lot of happy boating in Scotland courtesy of Iain and
Ann Street on their delightful little narrowboat,
Gamebird. The
Scrutons have been guests of the Streets for several notable events in the
reopening of the lowland canal system in Scotland
- most notably the M8 Bridge Opening,
Forth and Clyde opening, the
Falkirk Wheel.
As well as owning Gamebird, the Streets also have a share in
Copperkins II, another Ownerships
boat.
In 2002 we decided it was time to try a river cruiser so we hired Canterbury Bell from Waveline and had the best family holiday we have ever had. Having subscribed to the IWAI mailing list we met several cyberfriends in Ireland and enjoyed most generous hospitality. We have since joined the IWAI, Shannon Harbour branch though we don't expect to be able to get to many meetings!
By September 2002 we had acquired two brass plaques and an IWAI sticker - clearly we needed a boat to put them on! Time to concentrate on the fleet of boats that came to be known as the "Scruton Line"
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