Dangers of the towpath
OK, really there are no dangers on the towpath apart from the occasional wobbly cyclist. If you are a cyclist, slow down when approaching people on the towpath and get off your bike if necessary. Boaters should not stretch lines across the towpath and pay attention when getting off the boat so you don’t step in front of a bike.
There are no dangerous animals in the UK apart from the venomous adder (apparently a shy, timid snake), a bull in a field and loose dogs. Dogs are everywhere in the UK and so welcome in most places that it’s a surprise to see a “No Dogs” sign. As a consequence, you’ll also see lots of “No Dog Fouling” signs that seem to be widely ignored, leading to the most common danger on the towpath, stepping into a pile of dog poop.
The only real danger you’ll regularly encounter is brushing up against stinging nettles. I’ve done so frequently, but luckily I don’t have much more reaction than a little redness and a little itchiness. The only proven remedies are antihistamines, either in a cream or as a pill or tablet (remember those cold remedies I suggested you bring?). Wash with soap and cold water (not urine!) to rinse off venom.
Services
You’ll learn to keep an eye out for services as you travel, just as you would along a motorway, because it’s even harder to turn a narrowboat around than your car. If you look carefully at a Pearson’s Canal Companion, a Nicholson’s Guide or a canal guide you download from the CRT or other waterways-related website, you can get a pretty good idea of what’s along your canal.
The most important services are restrooms, water points, showers, groceries, laundries, electricity and waste disposal.
Pay toilets are very common in the UK. They’re extremely clean and are serviced regularly. You can probably find one near a market square. It costs about 20-40p.
Restrooms
If you’re lucky, there may be CRT restrooms and showers along your canal. You’ll need a CRT key to access these. It’s probably one of the keys hanging from the cork floater you were handed at the boat hire. (The other two keys are probably for the boat’s ignition switch and the padlock on the rear hatch.)
These keys can be bought from the CRT store for £7 and I think they make a great Christmas gift. It can be a pain to share the key that’s attached to the cork floater. A spare key can be a great convenience.
You might also find showers and even laundries at some CRT services. The showers are usually on a timer, providing water for a set time, and are free.
Water, electricity, waste
The key is also used to access the water points to fill the tank on your boat. You’ll find posts like this along the canal, often near a lock or intersection. Never waste an opportunity to top up.
After unlocking the water point, you can drop down a hatch that will expose knobs or a lever to control the spouts on either side of the post. You’ll connect to the outlets with the hose that you’ll probably find in the gas locker in the front of the boat.
It’s unlikely you’ll be given a cable to connect the boat to an electric outlet on the towpath, but if you are, you can buy pre-paid cards from the CRT store in various denominations. Your boat manual will show you how to switch to mains power.
It’s also unlikely that your boat hire will show you how to pump out waste, but you can ask. The canal trust also sells pump out cards, but it’s really best if you stop at a marina and pay someone to do it for you. If your boat hire has multiple locations, they will probably pump you out for free at those locations. The pump out port on your boat is probably on the same side as the toilet.
Most narrowboats (and certainly most hired boats) have separate batteries to start the engine and to power the lights and kitchen appliances, so leaving the lights on and your device chargers plugged in all night won’t prevent the engine from starting the next day. That said, draining the secondary batteries completely isn’t a good idea and I’m sure is frowned on by your boat hire.