Of the many things I’ve asked my husband David to do in pursuit of not being bored at the weekend (high-wire adventure courses, abseiling down waterfalls, white-water rafting) this seemed like an easy sell: two days pottering down river through ­Northamptonshire in a canoe.

To make it extra easy, our Canadian canoe and the rest of our paraphernalia were being transported from place to place by travel company Canoe2, and we’d even get picked up and returned to the car at the end. All we had to do was turn up, paddle, steer and (whisper it) stay overnight in a yurt.

A tiny sticking point.

“Not camping,” said David.

“Exactly,” I hit back. “It’s not camping. It’s a yurt. They’re posher than some hotels. They’re luxurious. They have walls and floors and wood-burners. It’s not camping.”

And then I booked it anyway.

Fry-up: Food tastes so much better in fresh air

As with any British holiday, you’re entirely at the mercy of the weather, and the lowering clouds did look somewhat threatening on arrival. But this is England, and if there’s only one thing we know for sure about the weather, it’s that it spins on a dime.

Within 10 minutes of pushing off, the sun had crept out and turned the grey river into a sparkling masterpiece. With oars lightly sploshing into the water under our far-from-expert rowing skills, this was feeling like a good idea.

The river Nene (pronounced Nen, at least for the bit we travelled) twists and flows quietly through the rural meadows of this under-rated county, meandering over ancient flood plains, under arched stone bridges and past water mills.

We passed alongside historic towns like Oundle and Fotheringhay – the castle where Richard III was born, and Mary Queen of Scots met her grisly end.

Bon voyage: Octavia and husband David canoeing in Northamptonshire

We floated gently past the back garden views of enormous waterside properties you don’t normally get to see, then slowly paddled out of town into the dreamy, green utopia of the English countryside.

It was like going back in time. It felt like the 1950s. One of the loveliest side effects of canoeing is everything you are not using at exactly that moment (so pretty much anything that isn’t an oar) has to go in a watertight pot in the bottom of the boat.

That means no phones, no Facebook, no Twitter, no work emails, no texts. Just us chatting: pointing out herons, bluebell woods, gambolling lambs in the fields, and of course the occasional good-natured bicker about whose fault it was that our progress was in such haphazard, zig-zag fashion down the river.

Adventure: Octavia gets ready for the canoe trip

Before we knew it, it was time to pull in for lunch – a chance for a chunky ham sandwich and a couple of beers at the riverside pub.

Camaraderie on the river is great. People walking on the banks waved at us. Other rowers stopped to talk about the river. Fishermen commented on the weather. It was like mutual appreciation of the river was enough to make us all friends.

The closer we got to our destination, the more concerned I was at having strong-armed my husband into camping. What if he hated it? How would I survive the next day in a boat with the sore-headed bear he becomes after a sleepless night?

But as we hauled the boat up into the Indigo Camping site, he was charmed. You couldn’t not be. Six-year-old Arwen showed us up the hill to our yurt, pointing out an outdoor loo and shower, and the kitchen tent on the way.

Fine style: Luxury yurts in the Nene Valley

“Do you own this campsite, Arwen?” David asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Well, my dad works here too.” (As proven later on when he dropped off our coolbag containing everything we needed for our cooked breakfast.)

Sitting on the hillside as the stars came out, playing a game of travel Trivial Pursuit and occasionally popping another log on our fire, the world felt a lovely distance away. And as we snuggled into our double sleeping bag, I dared hope my husband might even develop a taste for the glamper end of camping.

Over breakfast he admitted he slept really well – the day in the canoe was saved. “I think I could come camping again,” he said.

“It’s not camping,” I repeated like a mantra. “It’s a yurt.” But I’m already looking for other ones we can try.

GET ON BOARD

GOOD TO KNOW Canoe2 don’t believe in penalising parents, so you get charged the same price whether it’s school holidays or not.

WHERE TO EAT We loved The King’s Head at Wadenhoe (food served 12-2 and 6-9pm, mains from £8.95) and The Ship Inn in Oundle (serves lunch and dinner, times vary, mains from £7.25).

BOOK IT Trips with Canoe2 run from one to five days. You can stay in a bell tent, tipi or yurt at Indigo Camping from £139pp. Or they can arrange B&B. Prices include all equipment, baggage transfers and mini-bus ride to starting point. canoe2.co.uk, 01604 832115