Entries by Drifters

Top 9 canalside events to visit on a canal boat holiday

Britain’s canals and rivers host hundreds of exciting events each year, bringing people to the waterways and celebrating the things that make them special. Here’s our pick of the best canalside events to head to on a canal boat holiday in 2024: 1. Easter Boat Gathering, Friday 29 March to 1 April The annual Easter […]

Best canal boat holidays for beginners

With Britain’s inland waterways in better shape than ever and the health benefits of spending time by the water proven, narrowboat holidays are becoming increasingly popular. You don’t need a licence to steer a canal boat and all Drifters’ operators provide hirers with boat steering tuition as part of their canal boat holiday hire. Today’s […]

Canal boat holiday ‘bucket list’ guide

The ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’ was compiled by Robert Aickman, co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association, and published in his book ‘Know Your Waterways’ over 70 years ago. Here at Drifters, we’ve added the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland (which opened in 2002) to make the perfect Canal Boat Holiday ‘Bucket List’ guide for 2024: […]

Top 8 Easter canal boat holidays

Canal boat holidays are fantastic for families – offering the chance to set off on an adventure together, learning how to work the locks and speak the boating lingo, as well as spotting wildlife, exploring traffic-free towpaths and visiting waterside attractions along the way. Drifters’ prices this Easter start at £710 for a short break […]

Best spring canal boating breaks

Britain’s beautiful inland waterways are a great place to visit in the Spring time, when the countryside is bursting into new life, with blossom on the hedges and waterside trees, birds busy rearing their young, spring lambs playing in the fields and bluebells in waterside woodlands. To celebrate the beauty of Spring-time on the canals, […]

10 top tips for canal boat holiday beginners

You don’t need to be an expert to hire a canal boat, and each year around one fifth of narrowboat hirers are new to the waterways.  With Britain’s 3,000-mile network of inland waterways in great shape, there’s never been a better time to try a narrow boat holiday. To help you get the most out […]

Top 5 narrowboat holidays for wildlife spotting in 2021

Cruising gently through the countryside, canal boat holiday-makers can enjoy spotting a variety of wildlife.  From ducks, moorhens, swans and dragonflies, to kingfishers, otters, bats and water voles.  And even in city centres, waterways provide safe havens for a wide variety of plants and animals. Drifters offers over 550 boats for hire from 45 locations […]

Top 5 Narrowboat holidays on the Scottish Lowland Canals

The Forth & Clyde Canal links the Irish Sea with the North Sea, running from Bowling on the Clyde Estuary, to Grangemouth and the magnificent Kelpies on the Firth of Forth.  The Union Canal is linked to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Falkirk by the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s first rotating boat lift.  At […]

Exploring the Ashby Canal

by Mark Whitley, editor of The Countryman magazine Friday It’s a sunny afternoon at Drifters’ Rugby Wharf narrowboat hire base, as I meet up with friends Jude, and John & Lynne. We’re here for a week-long exploration of the local canal network – our ultimate destination, the Ashby Canal. But first, an introduction to our […]

Top 10 canal boat holidays for beginners

With a thriving 3,000-mile network of navigable inland waterways, the health benefits of spending time by the water proven and the merits of a lower carbon staycation, UK narrowboat holidays offer a great holiday experience. A licence isn’t required to steer a canal boat and all our operators provide boat steering tuition as part of […]