By Angela Wibking

Taking a slow boat takes on new meaning when you sign up to cruise the Ouse River in England on twin flat-bottomed boats known as the Barkis and the Peggotty. Our final destination was that renowned seat of higher learning, Cambridge, but getting there was much more than half the fun.

My sister and I had come to England expressly for this very different sort of cruise ship experience. After a night in London, we had been transported by car about an hour north to the town of Brampton, the home "port" for the Barkis and the Peggotty.

Our 3-day cruise would take us some 57 miles along the Ouse (pronounced "ooze") through a region of England known as the Fens, an area noted for its flatness. The Fens come by their flatness honestly, for the entire area was once a soggy, marshy wetland. It was only in the mid-1700s that the flat earth began to rise from beneath the waters when King Charles prevailed upon Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutch drainage engineer, to begin the process of reclaiming the land from the sea.

At first windmills were used to pump the water from the Fens; later steam and electricity would power the pumps that even today hold back the water from the land.

The reclaimed land was unbelievably rich and farming became a major industry, as it remains today. The new system of rivers, including the Bedford and the New Bedford, created by the drainage project also created new jobs. Lock keepers were needed, as well as laborers to clear the shallow waterways of their constant enemy, silt. Today the best way to appreciate this land build on water is to float, as we were about to do, along its most ancient river.

The Ouse is hardly even a river by American standards. We have creeks that are wider and possess stronger currents. But the Ouse is a river nevertheless and one that has been around since the western edge of Europe drifted off, eons ago, to form what is now Great Britain.

Today the Ouse meanders through the Fens and finally dumps its waters into a scoop of the North Sea called the Wash. After the great drainage project was completed in the 1800s, river trade on the Ouse became brisk. Today it consists mostly of pleasure craft boats like the Barkis and the Peggotty.

These twin crafts are owned and operated by Stephanie and Colin Glover, who know the Fens well. Colin is a native of the county of Norfolk, the heart of the Fens. After a 17- year career in the Royal Navy, during which Colin earned an engineering degree, the couple spent several years with a private company in the Middle East. Then about ten years ago, the Glovers realized their dream of running their own hotel boat business on the Ouse.

Colin designed the two boats specifically for that river and had them built to his specifications, christening them after two Charles Dickens characters. Stephanie, a gourmet cook whose recipes have been featured in Bon Appetit and Gourmet, signed on as head chef and first mate.

Our own cruise on the Ouse began one bright September morning, toward the end of the Glovers’ season.

Tea or coffee is delivered promptly to one’s cabin aboard the Peggotty at 7:30 a.m. This personal touch serves a practical purpose: Since the Barkis and the Peggotty travel separately down the river, the wake-up tea or coffee service ensures that guests are up, dressed and on board the Barkis, with its lounge/ bar and dining room, in plenty of time for the day’s journey. Since the rate of travel is only about 4 miles per hour, getting an early start is essential.

Breakfast is served in the dining room at 8:30 a.m. and is cooked to order. One may choose from a full English breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, fried potatoes and toast or opt for porridge (oatmeal), muesli or other cold cereals. Like all meals enjoyed during the cruise, the first one of the day is delicious.

Once under way, passengers settle back for about 3 hours of travel before lunch, with another 3 or 4 after the noon meal. Inside the snug and comfortable lounge of the Barkis, one can enjoy the view from the windows or relax with a book. This is the way to go during inclement weather, but during our cruise the weather was glorious and you couldn’t keep us inside. My favorite spot was on the roof of the boat itself, where the views and the photo opportunities are delightful.

The Peggotty is outfitted with five twin cabins, each with private bath, so the maximum guest capacity is just 10 people. The cabins feature very comfortable beds in a modified bunk-bed arrangement, a small closet and a bath with toilet, sink and shower.

Mooring at lunch just outside of the village of St. Ives, we set out with Colin on a short walking tour of Hemingford Abbots, a picturesque village known for its thatched roof cottages, a 1,000 year old church and the Axe and Compass, a 500-year-old pub where we had lunch.

Arriving in St. Ives itself at about 4 p.m., we moored for the night and then took off to explore the outdoor market. St. Ives was founded in 1146 and has long been a center of local commerce, with a market that offers everything from fresh produce and flower bulbs to clothing and souvenirs.

After another good night’s rest aboard the Peggotty, we woke to a day of bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. This day, spent floating through the vast, flat fields of the Fens was perhaps my favorite.

Away now from even the smallest town, the river traffic thins out. The air and the light become clearer and sharper and relaxation takes over. Type A personalities would just hate it, but then I doubt they would ever book themselves on a cruise like this in the first place…though it would do them a world of good.

After mooring that afternoon in the middle of the most scenic of nowhere, we took a short walk along a country lane to explore a 200-year-old steam pumping station.

The Stretham station no longer functions but it is open to the public as a self-guided museum. You just walk in, throw 50 pence in the well-worn donation box and have a look around at the huge boilers and a two-story tall wheel that once worked together to pump the water from the Fens.

Meals aboard the Barkis are looked forward to throughout the day, as Stephanie’s cooking is superb.Lunch is typically a salad, lightly dressed with vinaigrette, and a hearty casserole or quiche-type dish. Dinner, which follows cocktails from the cash bar in the lounge area, is served at 7:30 p.m. and is the evening’s main event.

Among the dinner appetizers served on our cruise were mushrooms in wine over toast, shrimp in creamy caper sauce in puff pastry, and spinach pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese in cream sauce. Entrees were perfect English lamb chops with fresh mint sauce, pork cutlets with apple and pistachio in phyllo and chicken breast with cheese, wrapped in bacon.

Desserts ranged from bread pudding and orange soufflé to my personal favorite--berry crumble..a sort of English fruit cobbler served with cream. A selection of biscuits and cheeses, including the regional favorite Stilton, is offered following dessert. Wine accompanies the meal and port and coffee come afterwards.