Entries by Debbie Ludford

Best days out boating on the canals this spring

Drifters offers canal boat day hire from 19 locations in England and Wales. We’ve published a guide to the best days out boating on the canals this spring. With prices starting from just £10 per person, hiring a canal boat for the day is a great way to get the family together for a memorable […]

Bank holiday rural retreats on a canal boat

Britain’s canals take boaters through some of our best loved countryside You can enjoy the choice of hundreds of bank holiday rural retreats on a canal boat with Drifters. There are so many places to moor up your canal boat in quiet backwaters.  And the chance to visit historic country pubs and farm shops along […]

Winter cruising on the K&A

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, […]

Top new narrowboats for 2025

Every year we add dozens of new canal boats to our hire fleet Drifters offers the choice of over 500 canal boats for hire from 40 locations across England, Wales and Scotland, and every year dozens of new boats are added to our fleet. There are over 35,000 canal boats on Britain’s 3,000-mile inland waterways […]

Bluebell woods to see on a canal boat holiday

Canals meander through some of Britain’s best loved countryside with bluebell woods to explore The UK is home to almost half the world’s bluebells, and they are one of the nation’s favourite wildflowers.  Native bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are an ancient woodland indicator. The Woodland Trust says, “most flowering usually happens in April, so this is […]

Guide to the Four Counties Ring

Love Travelling’s guide to cruising round the Four Counties Ring on a narrowboat Last autumn Marion Collinson of Love Travelling travelled round the Four Counties Ring on a narrowboat holiday with her family, and has since published a Guide to the Four Counties Ring. Marion departed from Drifters’ canal boat hire base at Stoke-on-Trent aboard […]

Canal boat holidays get top marks

New research by the Canal & River Trust reveals 87% of people would recommend canal boat holidays Canal boat holidays get top marks in the Canal & River Trust’s 2024 Hire Boat Survey. The research reveals 87% of people who took a quintessentially British holiday on the nation’s historic navigable canals and rivers would definitely […]

Exploring Cheshire’s waterways

Navigating Cheshire’s waterways on an autumn narrowboat holiday Ashley Gibbin and Ann Mealor of the International Travel Writers Alliance recently reviewed their canal boat holiday exploring Cheshire’s waterways. Setting off from our canal boat hire base at Anderton on the Trent & Mersey Canal, they cruised to Lymm and back. Their journey took them along […]

Reasons to take a narrowboat holiday

5 Star Stories have reviewed their boating holiday on the Kennet & Avon Canal Setting off from our base at Hilperton on the Kennet & Avon Canal, 5 Star Stories cruised to Bath and back and published 5 reasons to take a narrowboat holiday. From slowing down and disconnecting, to feeling part of a community […]

A dog-friendly holiday on the Kennet & Avon Canal

Travel writer Kim Jones reviews her dog-friendly boating holiday on the Kennet & Avon Canal Kim Jones of Kick Back Times has reviewed her Drifters holiday with her partner and her dog Hugo. They set off from Bradford on Avon Marina on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire. In her article, Kim describes the […]