Thames to the Solent by Canal and Sea

There is a particular kind of freedom in threading a small boat through the heart of England, and J.B. Dashwood captures it perfectly in this intimate account of a voyage from the tidal Thames to the open waters of the Solent. The route is neither straightforward nor swift: locks and bridges, quiet canal reaches, tidal rivers that must be read and respected. Dashwood writes with the easy authority of someone who knows his boat intimately and has learned the rhythms of English waterways - when to wait for tide, when to press on, when a pint at a waterside pub is more important than making distance. This is not a tale of high adventure or narrow escapes, but something quieter and perhaps more rewarding: the slow unfolding of a landscape from the water's perspective, the small satisfactions of passage made, the fellowship of other waterborne travelers. It will appeal to anyone who has ever watched a narrowboat slip through a lock gate and wondered where it was going.