‘My kids loved exploring this beautiful part of the UK on a canal boat’

We were about to board Laila, our 44ft-long narrowboat that we would call home for the next few days, and with no previous experience and two children under six on board, it was safe to say I was a little nervous.

Callum, from the Black Prince hire team in Ely, showed us around the boat and gave us a demo of how to operate it, which eased our concerns, and then before I knew it we were off into the flatlands of Cambridgeshire.

We took it slow to get used to steering the vessel but we soon came to our first lock which, as feared, proved a bit of a challenge. My wife Sally and eldest son hopped off the boat to open it but we didn’t have much luck at first.

Some advice from a local resident helped as we realised the other side of the lock, which was electronic, wasn’t totally shut, preventing the other side from opening. A minor hiccup but once we’d achieved it we both felt much happier.

After that we really started to enjoy cruising along the River Great Ouse at the gentle pace of 4mph, which allowed us to take
in the panoramic landscape and give the boys a chance to start enthusiastically spotting wildlife.

Armed with their wildlife spotting sheets we had printed for them, Henry, five, and Ethan, three, were fascinated as they checked off the list which included swans, herons, cormorants, grebes, a variety of geese breeds and even cows, sheep and horses.

Our next challenge was to successfully moor the boat for the first time. Now on the River Cam, slowly cruising towards the bank with only a minor bump, we found a pub called Five Miles From Anywhere No Hurry Inn in Upware to stop for the evening.

We enjoyed a drink and planned our next day as the kids blew off some steam running around the large riverside garden.

Wicken Fen Nature Reserve was the destination but it took us down a part of the river labelled “narrow but navigable” on the map. So as I turned into Wicken Lode off the Cam I knew it was going to be tight (Cambridgeshire’s lodes are man-made waterways, thought to have been dug by the Romans).

Making the turning into the lode was tricky, you needed to pass under a narrow pedestrian bridge and it took us a while to get the boat in a position we were happy with, but from there on we took the speed right down as we plodded towards Wicken Fen.

I was in full ­concentration at the tiller to make sure we stayed on course, while Sally and the boys were at the bow fascinated by the vast amount of fish they could see as they continued their wildlife spotting adventure.

The wetland nature reserve soon came into sight – it’s run by the National Trust and is its oldest reserve. Spanning 629 acres, more than 9,000 species have been recorded, including rare butterflies, dragonflies and birds. The best way to view it is from the 4.6-mile, family friendly raised boardwalk (£22.50 for a family ticket).

We also took time to look around Fen Cottage, a time capsule of how Fen-dwellers would have lived and had a light lunch in the on-site Docky Hut cafe before setting off towards Cambridge.

Our boat was one of the smallest of the Black Prince fleet but the newest; with one bedroom towards the front with a cosy double bed, and the living room area smartly converted from table to bed to make sure there was enough room onboard for everyone to sleep comfortably.

At the front is a kitchen, with a microwave, oven and a fridge with a small freezer compartment – plenty of room for the supplies we needed over the four nights.

Every bit of space on the boat was used to its maximum potential, with plenty of storage for all of our clothes – being May it was hard to know what weather to pack for! And we did have a real mixture of sunshine and showers.

Heading to Cambridge, we knew from a briefing with Callum that the lock into the city was out of action, unfortunately, and undergoing maintenance for subsidence. So we went as far as we could before mooring for the night at The Bridge pub at Waterbeach. However, a short walk next morning took us to Waterbeach station for the nine-minute journey into Cambridge.

We spent the day exploring the historic university city, strolling alongside the Cam’s banks to admire the colleges and looking around
the market. Sailing back from Cambridge towards Ely, the weather was calm, and we took a moment to admire the mighty Ely cathedral – dating from 1083.

Next morning we took the opportunity to visit, and its unique 171ft Octagon Tower is a spectacular sight. The cathedral has been used frequently for filming some well-known TV shows and films including The Crown, The King’s Speech and most recently Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s biopic of Leonard Bernstein.