england : the narrowboat, part three

the continuation of our england trip...

part one here

part two here

part three here

wednesday morning found us waking just above the locks leading down to the city of bath.  we had a delicious cooked breakfast and began the descent into the city.  it is a very scenic route following the canal down to the river, through the outlying fields and then gardens of the city.  while passing through sydney gardens, you go through cleveland tunnel which is directly underneath cleveland house, the former headquarters of the kennet and avon canal company.  a trap door in the tunnel roof was used to pass the paperwork between the clerks above and the dirty barge workers below!

heading into bath

nearing the gardens

cleveland house

other side of cleveland house

one lock in particular is quite spectacular as it encompasses two locks in one.  due to the descent of the canal and the space available, they had to make locks eight and nine together.  deemed "deep lock", it drops eighteen feet as opposed to the usual eight or nine. 

lock keeper's cottage

my dad getting the lock ready

in "deep lock" ready to descend

~note the double number on the lock gate...8/9~

already lower than the cill

hubby was steering while my dad was working the gates

finally all the way down and heading out the gate

ginormous lock gates!

we made it to bath!

after mooring on the river avon, our plan was to meet up with my brother who had flown in from america to join us for the next week.  unfortunately, ian, who had started with a cold the day prior, came down with a fever and was really not feeling well.  we sent my parents and olivia off to meet matthew, while hubby and i stayed on the boat and held ian while he slept.  when he woke from his nap, he seemed much happier, so we decided to make the most of seeing the city while we could.  we bundled him up in the ergo and headed out to see the sights.  we strolled around and saw the pulteney weir, bath abbey (from the outside), the roman baths and had dinner at the huntsman before retiring for the evening.

pulteney weir

bath abbey

the abbey

hubby...with his stylish purple diaper bag ;)

the roman baths entrance (and my dad)

these union jack shops are everywhere now!

the main bath from the upper balcony

statue of julius caesar

model diagramming the flow of water

what is left of the main columns and entrance plus the computer generated images to show what it would have looked like

original steps

gilt bronze head of sulis minerva

tunnel exiting to the river

ian and i at the baths

the water flowing into the main bath

hubby and matthew enjoying an english pint with dinner

olivia and her "babyccino" (no coffee...all frothy milk with chocolate shavings!)

up next: the narrowboat, part four (finishing up in bath, heading back to devizes and dealing with a sick baby on vacation)

england : the narrowboat, part two

the continuation of our england trip...

part one here

part two here

after sleeping our first night on the boat, we woke refreshed and headed off to the caen hill flight.  it was still a little damp, so ian, my mum and i mainly stayed indoors on the way up.  my dad, hubby and olivia made great time and got us up all 16 locks in just over two hours!  on the way back down i was able to grab some photos of the locks and surrounding nature views.  

looking down the caen hill flight

english daisies

buttercups...i do miss seeing these happy little flowers everywhere :)

hubby taking the helm for a bit

nesting swan

back at the bottom of the flight

 once we were back at the bottom, we stopped for a family photo.  each year that we would vacation in devizes when we were kids, we would walk the tow path of the flight at least once during the week and have dinner at the pub at the top.  the gate from the farm pops out next to the lock seen in the photograph below.  my parents would sit us all on the lock, including our shetland sheepdog, and take a photo.  it's funny to look back and see us getting bigger each year!  we decided we couldn't pass without taking a family photo, which now has another generation with the addition of my little boy!

"our" lock

my family...very surreal to be there with my husband and baby boy

ian and i decided we needed a turn to drive the boat

heading under a bridge (towards the pub we ate at for dinner)

when you are only moving at 4 mph, one has a lot of time to play around with the camera ;)

he looks right at home :)

ian having a quick snack of farley's rusks...he loved it!

the next couple of days on the boat were used to travel down to the city of bath.  bath was really as far as we could go in order to still have time to get the boat back to devizes.  on the way down we saw some fun sights.

ramp for ducks and water rats to be able to exit the canal...they had them every hundred feet or so

avoncliff aquaduct

kennet and avon canal between the avoncliff and dundas aquaducts

english farmhouse on the canal

cottage with its own mooring...i could have moved in immediately!

and one baby photo for some extra cuteness!

up next: the narrowboat, part three (our day in bath)

traveling with kids

while recapping our family travels to england, i wanted to take a quick break and bring you a guest post about traveling with kids.  kendra contacted me recently and asked if i would share this with you all as i  have been traveling quite a bit with my own baby boy :)

traveling with kids

as a mother, i can tell you that traveling with kids can get, well, hectic. when you think everything is running smoothly, something goes wrong.  whether it be a delayed flight, a car sick little one or lost luggage, we are always dreading the worst. but, there are a few tips and tricks to making sure a family vacation rolls out smoothly. check out these tips for traveling with kids:

1. entertainment:

whether you’re cruising by down the highway, jetting through the air, or sailing off into the sunset, if you’re traveling with children you’re going to need an assortment of entertainment. for my trips, i always remember the 3 i’s: interesting, innovative and ipad. you want a toy that will hold your child’s interest, like their favorite action figure or toy car. you also need to be innovative when traveling – children will often get bored when confined to one space so use your imagination! i have heard countless stories from parents about how captivated their toddler was by a bendy straw or cup of ice. and finally, i recommend an ipad or tablet. these can be used for educational games or bedtime movies and may be child-proofed to prevent accidental purchases or emails.

2. tackling security:

if you have ever traveled by plane, you know how testy security can be. if you’re traveling at the right time, you may breeze through and make it to your gate with an hour to spare. or on a particularly congested day, it may take 20 minutes to move an inch. when traveling with children, you need to be prepared and give yourself as much extra time as possible, to make it through any hang ups or hiccups without missing your flight. dress for the occasion with light layers and slip-on shoes– leave the large jewelry and belts at home. remember, only 3oz liquids are allowed through checkpoints – with the exception of baby formula, juice and child medications.

3. accommodations:

when you first decide to take a family vacation, you need to start researching where to stay. it’s tempting to pick the cheapest hotel that pops up in an internet search, but these locations are often not child friendly. if you’re traveling with a toddler, look for hotels that have certified baby-proofed options. if you have an infant, make sure your room has a refrigerator for bottles. when my family of 5 traveled to hawaii for a family vacation, we were able to stay at a child friendly resort that was still ranked amongst the top hotels in honolulu. finding that balance between quality, price and family function can seem overwhelming but i promise with a little help from the internet or a travel agent, you will be well on your way to your best vacation yet!

kendra thornton has been packing her bags and traveling the world since she visited the bahamas at three months old.  she comes from a family of travel agents and founded thornton public relations llc in april 2005 in an effort to bring strategic and low cost public relations to start-up and established travel, consumer and technology companies.  kendra also appears regularly as a travel expert on abc, cbs, nbc and cw affiliates across the country to share travel trends, tips and deals with millions of viewers every year.  prior to starting her own business, she was the director of corporate communications at orbitz.com, one of the nation’s largest travel agencies.  she has been to 28 countries on six continents and is now a full time mum to three wonderful children!  follow kendra on twitter here.