The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place 28 July to 8 August 2022. With more canals than Venice, Birmingham is a fantastic city to visit by canal boat, and many of games venues are very close to a canal. These include: Birmingham Arena next to the Birmingham Canal Old Line; Alexander Stadium next to […]
With spooky tunnels, misty towpaths and plenty of ghosts, Britain’s 200-year old canal network provides the perfect backdrop for a haunting Halloween. Drifters’ narrow boat hire prices for boats for up to four people over Halloween start at £560 for a weekend break, £740 for a week. Here’s a guide to our spookiest destinations for […]
Drifters offers winter cruising* on the canals from a number of its bases, with boats ranging from snug narrowboats for two, to larger vessels for twelve. It’s free to moor almost anywhere on the network, so a narrowboat could provide the perfect base for a self-catering rural retreat with stops at historic waterside pubs and […]
Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson recently enjoyed a four-night family break on a Drifters boat, hired from our Stockton base. Here’s what Janet had to say about her ‘Far from the madding crowd’ multi-generational narrowboat holiday: Day 1 – from Stockton to Napton Junction (3 miles, 3 locks) In these days of staycations, families have […]
Canal boat holidays are great for families! They offer the chance to set off together on an adventure afloat, learning how to steer the boat, work the locks and stop at canalside attractions along the way. A licence isn’t required to steer a canal boat, and all Drifters operators provide hirers with boat steering tuition […]
From rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrowboat holiday-makers can explore Britain’s beautiful 3,000-mile network of inland waterways. And there’s a choice of hundreds of waterside destinations and historic canalside pubs to visit along the way. Drifters offers over 550 boats for hire from 45 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. 2022 hire prices start […]
Countryman Magazine editor Mark Whitley describes his recent Drifters narrow boat holiday, cruising the Kennet & Avon Canal from Hilperton to Keynsham, via Bradford on Avon and Bath. Created in the white heat of the Industrial Revolution, canals are nowadays places for pleasure and relaxation. One of the most popular canals is the Kennet & […]
Narrow boat holidays provide a floating holiday home. Cruising along at just four miles per hour, watching out for wildlife along the way, you can take all the supplies you need for an adventure afloat. A licence isn’t required to steer a canal boat, and all our narrow boat hire operators provide boat steering tuition […]
The Avon Ring is one of a dozen or so popular circular routes for narrowboat holiday-makers. It covers a distance of 108 miles, passes through 130 locks and takes around two weeks to complete. Sections of the Stratford Canal, Worcester & Birmingham Canal, River Severn and River Avon make up the route. Drifters has canal […]
The waterways look set to be very busy this summer, so it’s more important than ever to have good boating manners. Tuition is included in all our holiday packages. During your boat handover, as well as showing you how to operate your boat, our boat yard staff will explain the rules and how to navigate […]