A retired couple from Stanton have been enjoying life on the water, as they have paddled almost the full length of the Ashby and Coventry canals in their own canoe.
Geoff Cooper, 75, and his wife Lucinda, 72, have been paddling along the canal network for years, having bought their own canoe back in 1991, after renting one near Derby and getting a taste for time on the water.
They bought the Coleman Ram-X 15 ft canoe for £600, and have tried to get as much use as they can out of it since then.
In recent years they have not been able to paddle as much as they would like, as they no longer feel they can go out in bad weather.
Mr Cooper said: "We have managed to paddle three times already this year. Nowadays, the weather has to be ideal for us. No rain or winds!"
The couple have enjoyed journeying up and down the canals for more than 25 years spending time in the outdoors and the beautiful countryside surrounding them.
The pair got hooked on the hobby after they had both retired and say they enjoy getting outdoors as much as they can.
Mr Cooper said: "We joined the Canoe Club of Great Britain and bought a book on the waterways guide. The canals were pictured as a road map.
"We covered several miles at a time in a day, then the next time we went to the last part of the canal that we had ended at and did a few more miles again, doing this over a period of time until we had covered most of the canals in the Midlands."
Ashby Canal is 31 miles long and runs from Burton through Ticknall, Bosworth, Shenton, Nuneaton before it joins the Coventry Canal.
