Maidens’ Trip

Emma embarked on an exciting journey with two friends, all three 18-year-olds from a middle-class background, venturing into the boating world. They acquired skills in handling 72-foot-long canal boats and transporting steel and coal cargo from London to Birmingham and Coventry. They learned to splice ropes, bail out bilge water, maintain the engine, and steer through tunnels. They survived on kedgeree, fried bread and jam, took in a kitten, lost their bicycles, quarrelled, laughed, and grew tougher and dirtier as the weeks passed and their adventures are told in this book.