Canal Boating And Marinas Are In The Limelight During The Jubilee Celebrations and Olympic Games

It's a busy time in London at the moment. Not only are the Great British public gearing up for the Olympics, we also have the Diamond Jubilee, celebrating the 60 years that Queen Elizabeth has been on the throne.

One part of the Jubilee celebrations is a flotilla on the River Thames and is set to be one of the largest ever assembled. Many types of boat are involved including fire boats, working boats and even narrow boats. These narrow boats have come from all over the country, from various places including Liverpool, Warwickshire and Cheshire marinas and those tethered on different waterways including Grand Union Canal and Shropshire Union Canal moorings. Due to the un-hurried nature of the narrow boat, many have been travelling for the last two or three weeks, in order to arrive on time for what will be unique event marking Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

Once the Jubilee celebrations are over, it will be full steam ahead to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The torch is currently working its way around the country, destination London. One thought that springs to my mind is, "How will London transport be affected by the influx of visitors and what is being done to help ease the pressures of the extra thousands of people due to descend on England's capital?"

One novel way of getting to and from the Olympic stadium is by boat, but more specifically, canal boat. The license to provide a canal boat service to the Olympic Park has granted to one company based 40 minutes (by canal boat) from the stadium. Their service travels to and from the stadium from two places, Limehouse Basin and Tottenham Hale both of which you can arrive at by various means of London transport. With the increase of road traffic and pedestrians, this canal boat may well be the quickest way to get to the stadium even if only travels at 4 miles per hour! This leisurely pace also allows you to relax and take in the scenery as you travel through London.

However, this service does seems to be a premium service rather than a service for all. Whilst you do dock just 70 metres from the Stadium, with its own fast-track entrance and can sip a complimentary glass of champagne whilst waiting for your boat, an adult return ticket is priced at £95.00 and a child return ticket is £50.00. For a family of four, the cost is £290.00.

All that aside, I think that this is certainly an interesting use for the canal boat and this, along with the flotilla will hopefully show how versatile it can be.