All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide.
This dreamy poem, at the beginning of the children’s novel, Alice in Wonderland, describes a real boat trip in Oxford, where three young girls once begged Lewis Carroll to tell them a story about “The dream-child moving through a land, Of wonders wild and new…” It describes perfectly the lazy feeling of drifting along a river, enjoying the serenity of nature, and the tranquillity of being on the water.
We don’t offer rowing boat hire at Fox Narrowboats, but better than that, we are now offering skippered boat trips along the tranquil waters of the Middle Level. We already offer day boat hire, and narrowboat holidays, but these new boat trips are for those visitors who don’t want to steer a boat. Departing from our marina in March, Cambridgeshire, just allow our qualified skipper to take the tiller, and point out the many interesting features that can only be seen from the river. Each boat trip is 90 minutes aboard the ‘March Explorer’. This is our newest day hire narrowboat with room for 10 passengers on board. There is a seating area undercover as well as toilet on board. There is also plenty of space to sit outside on a summers day and enjoy being close to nature.
From our hire boat marina you will leisurely glide along the old course of the River Nene, which is a quieter river, and part of the Fenland waterways network. The waterways that make up the Middle Level system are a mixture of natural rivers and man-made canals that were started in the early 17th century. An unexpected consequence of the draining of the Fens was the shrinking of the dried out land. Most of this area is now below sea-level, because the land has sunk, so the Middle Level rivers now have to be pumped up to sea-level to drain the land.
The town of March is a short train journey from Cambridge or London, and was once a small island community. It was developed as a Tudor Port, and later as a railway town in the 19th century. The River Nene flows through the town centre, so pretty cottages and buildings, open fields and parks can be seen from the river banks as you pass through. If you are already familiar with March, this is a chance to learn about our riverside history and see the town from a different perspective. Boat cruises begin and end at Fox Narrowboats marina. Look out for kingfishers, fish, heron and dragonflies, as “full leisurely we glide.”
We expect these trips to be popular, and availability is limited, so book your own “golden afternoon” now.
90 min boat trips – June 2024
Book Now: Skippered Boat Trips on March Explorer
Are you new here? Click ‘Blog’ (top right) and look for ‘Follow Blog’ in the right sidebar to get the latest helpful boating tips. (We never share or sell email addresses, we’ll just be sending you selected articles from our blog.)
