Up close and personal with pike on canal

I HAVE spent several days this autumn travelling on the Grand Canal in my boat.

In some stretches where the canal cuts through peat bogs the water is quite opaque. But in others it’s as clear as bottled water and on certain days when the sun is at the right angle, and there is no breeze, a remarkable thing happens.

You can look over the side of the boat and the whole underwater world is revealed as clearly as if you were floating over a giant aquarium.