Learn to let fate take the wheel as you cruise through South Wales' Brecon Beacons National Park on a boat.

My partner Alex shouted from the sidewalk next to the canal as I was speeding down it, "Slower!" His slow tone and pleasant Welsh accent all but concealed the fear in his voice.

The drawbridge Alex had just cranked open was immediately hit by our 45-foot-long narrowboat because I immediately moved the incorrect lever forward. Fortunately, this ship's top speed is only approximately four miles per hour. However, the sound of metal striking metal caused a loud noise that halted a small group of onlookers in their tracks. There is nothing quite like an American driving in the UK.

Slowly, Alex said once again. My golden retriever, Cali, was standing next to me and appeared to be considering jumping ship.

We had leased the boat from Country Craft Narrowboats in the village of Llangynidr for our three-day canal excursion through the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. Alex, who grew up around 30 miles away, frequently went camping and fishing with his family. We spent our mornings sipping coffee on the deck of our boat, Country Girl, which featured a double bed with plaid bedding, a full kitchen, a lounge and dining space, a bathroom with a shower, and a deck wide enough for two camping chairs. Ducks would occasionally paddle by us as we sat on the deck.

We traveled from Llangyndir to the town of Brecon and back via the 20-mile Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. The red sandstone peaks of the Brecon Beacons, the mountain range after which the park is called, were visible as we floated past small towns, farms, and sheep. We moored overnight so we could easily return to our boat after dinner for a game of cards or just go straight to sleep in our comfortable floating home. We followed a map of canal-side taverns.

No place exemplifies a cwtch (the Welsh word for a cuddle, hug, or small, safe space) quite like a warm pub after a wet, windy day of raising and lowering canal locks and navigating out of mudbanks. We frequently pulled up and were greeted with open arms despite having wet hair, unclean clothes, and a moist dog. Soon after staying at the Royal Oak in Pencelli town, we got a report that our boat had broken loose and was floating in the canal. Alex immediately raced out into the rain to retrieve it. A drink of Brecon Gin, a Welsh alcohol created with water from the national park, was enjoyed while sitting by the fire to ease the tension.

We naturally celebrated our midway point in Brecon with to-go gins from Hop In Beer & Gin House that were garnished with rosemary sprigs, grapefruit slices, and black peppercorns. We anchored close to the Three Horseshoes Inn, a hilltop gastropub in Groesffordd, later that evening and dined on braised leeks, pig belly, and Cornish monkfish in a wooden beach hut in the backyard.

Our days were spent in contented solitude save for a few friendly volunteer lock keepers who kindly showed me how to operate the locks along the rest of our route while Alex drove the tiller (we learn from our mistakes). We spent hours taking in the sights and sounds of the park, occasionally pausing for a stroll or a picnic. As it did every day, when it started to rain, we would hilariously go into survival mode, collecting our waterproof gear and shouting commands into the wind as we worked together to haphazardly steer our ship to safety.

I began to get Alex's constant affection for recalling his family's visits to the Brecon Beacons during his formative years. There was someplace between that juxtaposition of calm and exhilaration where I learned more. If the Welsh didn't learn to dance in the rain, they wouldn't have much time to dance at all. His innate optimism and passion for the daily, which felt so delightfully different to me when I first met him, suddenly made sense.

Wales canal cruising
 

The six barges that Country Craft Narrowboats offers are fully furnished. March to October.

Visit the Coach & Horses Inn, in Llangynidr, for example.
 

This 16th-century inn's informal bar serves traditional ales, while its dining room serves upscale seafood-centric pub fare such as fish pie with saffron mash and roasted cod loin with pea and mint purée.

Hotel White Hart, Talybont on the Usk
 

Just off the Taff Trail, you may replenish your energy after a trek or bike ride with a hearty steak and ale pie, lamb shank, or chili con Carne, along with a variety of regional cask beers and gins.

The Royal Oak, Pencelli On bright days, this family-run pub's waterfront beer garden is the finest place to savor home-cooked favorites including gammon and eggs, fish and chips, and chicken curry. On rainy days, an inside is a cozy place with an open fire.

Groesffordd's The Three Horseshoes Inn
 

Seasonal gastropub meals are served in garden beach huts so customers can take in the hilltop vista no matter the weather, such as venison haunch with turnip and crispy kale, pig belly with granny smith apple and braised shallots, and charcoal braised leek with nori seaweed emulsion.

Brecon's Hop In Beer & Gin House
 

Hop In, which opened in 2020, offers tapas created with ingredients from regional suppliers, such as confit of duck leg with spring onion and ginger croquettes, mussels in white wine, garlic, and leek, and craft beer from "progressive breweries" and gin from throughout the globe.

To learn more about Wales, get in touch with Nicola Butler, a T+L A-List advisor who organizes tours all around the nation, including secret locations like the Pembrokeshire coast. Send an email to [email protected].