30 miles of the Llangollen Canal from Llangollen to Whitchurch are still open Despite the breach on the Llangollen Canal on 22 December 2025 at Whitchurch in Shropshire, most of the Llangollen Canal is still open for holidays. The canal and towpath are closed between Bridge 31A Whitchurch Bypass Bridge and Lock 6 Grindley Brook […]
Britain’s canals and rivers provide homes for many birds, animals, fish and insects Cruising gently through the countryside on a narrowboat, you can enjoy spotting water birds, dragonflies, kingfishers and bats. Even in city centres, Britain’s network of inland waterways provide safe havens for a wide variety of plants and animals. We’ve published a guide […]
Choose from hundreds of Easter canal boat holiday destinations with Drifters Britain’s beautiful inland waterways are a great place to visit at Easter, when the countryside is bursting with new life. With over 40 canal boat hire locations, and over 3,000 miles of canals and rivers, there are hundreds of destinations to choose from. Drifters […]
Olivia Ellis has reviewed her first canal boat holiday experience Taking a canal boat break from Wrenbury on the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire, Olivia has reviewed her first narrowboat holiday experience in Urban & Beyond. Travelling with her partner Maria, they took a four-night break and cruised through the Shropshire countryside. Olivia’s review ‘A Guide […]
Drifters offers winter canal holidays from seven locations in England and Wales With quiet canals, cosy waterside pubs and festive waterside destinations, why not experience Christmas or New Year on a narrowboat. We offer winter cruising* from seven of our bases, with boats offering accommodation for between two to 12 people. All our winter boats […]
Every year new boats are added to the Drifters fleet. We offer the choice of over 500 canal boats for hire from 40 locations across England, Wales and Scotland. Every year we build new boats over the winter, ready to launch the following spring. Here’s a guide to our new narrowboats for hire in 2026: […]
Mary & Kevin of Luxe Beat review their first canal boat holiday Departing from Springwood Haven Marina on the Coventry Canal near Nuneaton, Mary and Kevin of Luxe Beat Magazine have reviewed their Drifters holiday. It was their first canal boat holiday experience. After their boat handover and tuition, they began their four-day cruise through […]
Allways Travellers describe the experience of winter cruising on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire Ashley Gibbin and Ann Mealor of the International Travel Writers Alliance have reviewed their winter cruising on the K&A experience. Setting off from our canal boat hire base on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, […]
Little Wandering Wren has reviewed a canal boat holiday on the Ashby Canal Setting off from our canal boat hire base at Springwood Haven, on the Coventry Canal near Nuneaton, Jenny and her crew enjoyed holidaying on the Ashby Canal. Jenny’s article describes their boat, Foxy Lark and the facilities on board. She provides details […]
Drifters offers over 500 boats for hire from 40 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. We’ve published a guide to autumn events to visit on a canal boat holiday. Our autumn 2025 hire prices start at £713 for a short break (3 or 4 nights) on a boat for up to four people, £980 for […]