What happens when life slows from motorway speed to just 5 miles an hour?
Life in the Slow Lane is Jocelyn St Clair's warm, funny and deeply personal memoir of life on the water — from pottering along the River Thames in a tiny traditional launch called Lusitania to cruising the beautiful canals of Burgundy aboard a 50-foot Dutch barge called Dorney.
Along the way there are boat-driving lessons, nerve-wracking locks, French lock-keepers who stop for lunch, sleepy villages, fresh baguettes, glorious countryside, unexpected adventures, barge cabin fever and plenty of moments when boating life does not quite go according to plan.
At its heart, this is a story about discovering the joy of slowing down and learning that real luxury is not speed, possessions or rushing from one thing to the next.
Sometimes real luxury is simply having the time to notice where you are.
Welcome aboard Dorney — and welcome to Life in the Slow Lane.