Pair hope to reach Banbury by canal in time for Christmas

Hope Talbot, right, and Polly Waller will be on a winter canal boat challenge aboard 'Sue Perb' from Bristol to Banbury NNL-181125-114227009

The former Chenderit School pupil and fine art graduate has thrown in her marketing job for a life on the canals with girlfriend Polly Waller.

The pair are half way to Banbury on a December trip from Bristol and will hopefully reach town moorings by Christmas.

Hope said: “I grew up near Banbury, and know how important the canal is to the town. Polly and I visited Canal Day this year and had a brilliant time looking around the dockyard. I can’t believe I’d never visited after growing up there.

“My parents still live nearby so we set off from Bristol on December 1, with the aim of reaching Banbury in time for Christmas.”

The canal boat bug started when the pair spent a week on Polly’s 24ft boat. Hope said: “We broke down twice and got stranded for three days without hot water but we had such a great time we decided we wanted to do it again for longer.

“I’m usually incredibly cautious and worry about things way too much to do anything spontaneous but something about the canals really got me.

“The day after the holiday, I decided to quit my job, give notice on my houseshare and start planning for a three month canal tour.

“We’re going to tour the canals of the UK with the aim of being the first people to complete the IWA Silver Propeller Challenge, which was set up to encourage people to make the most of our inland waterways.”