The 93-mile long Trent & Mersey Canal begins close to the River Mersey near Runcorn and finishes at its junction with the River Trent in Derbyshire. It has 73 locks and several feats of canal engineering, including the magnificent Anderton Boat Lift, which raises or lowers boats 15 metres between the River Weaver and the […]
Canal boat holidays are fantastic for families, offering the chance to enjoy the autumn countryside, watch out for waterway wildlife, learn how to work the locks and speak the boating lingo. This October Half Term, why not set sail together for a family adventure afloat, enjoying the splendid colours of autumn in the hedgerows and […]
Stretching 137 miles through 166 locks, the Grand Union Canal was built to transport goods between London and Birmingham. This famous waterways, which celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2020, emerged as a result of the amalgamation of eight independent waterways, including the Grand Junction and Oxford canals. It cuts across the country from the River […]
From rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrowboat holiday-makers can use their boat as a floating holiday home to explore Britain’s beautiful 3,000-mile network of inland waterways, with the choice of hundreds of waterside destinations and historic canalside pubs to enjoy visiting along the way. Drifters offers over 550 boats for hire from 45 locations […]
Canal boats provide a floating holiday home so it’s possible to take all sorts of pets on the canals. And as well as hundreds of dogs each year, Drifters’ canal boat hire operators have accommodated many other kinds of pets aboard their canal boats, including rabbits, hamsters, caged birds, goldfish and tortoises. To celebrate, here […]
A canal boat holiday is a great way to enjoy the splendid colours of autumn in the hedgerows and trees that line our waterways, as they are dramatically mirrored in the water. There’s plenty of wildlife to spot along the way during the autumn months, including flocks of fieldfare searching for hawthorn berries, and small […]
Britain’s beautiful inland waterways flow through some our most exciting towns and cities, all hosting annual events and festivals. Today’s narrowboats provide comfortable accommodation with all the essential home comforts, including well equipped kitchens, fresh water flushing toilets, hot water and showers, comfortable beds, TVs, DVD players and many now have WiFi too. So canal […]
Research shows people feel happier and more relaxed by Britain’s beautiful inland waterways* and with speed limits of just four miles per hour, canal boat holidays are often said to be ‘the fastest way to slow down’. So for anyone thinking of slowing right down over the August Bank Holiday, here’s a list of Drifters’ […]
When it comes to narrowboats and narrowboat holidays, there are lots of words and terms used to describe the parts of the boat and the equipment needed to navigate the canals. Many of them derive from the old working boatmen’s terms and are quite idiosyncratic. To help those who are new to narrowboating, Drifters’ has […]
We feel happier by the water – the Canal & River Trust’s recent research shows we feel happier and less stressed by our waterways, and the longer we spend there, the more relaxed we become. It’s the fastest way to slow down – with speed limits of just 4mph and hundreds of miles of tranquil […]