Entries by Drifters

Top 5 Yorkshire Canal Boat Holidays

To celebrate Yorkshire Day (1 August), we’ve put together our Top 5 Yorkshire Canal Boat Holidays for 2017. Prices from our Yorkshire bases start at £405 for a short break (three or four nights), £620 for a week on a boat for two people. 1. Travel one-way across the Pennines…Starting from Drifters’ base at Barnoldswick […]

Celebrate National Parks Week Afloat

Taking a canal boat holiday is a great way to explore some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside, including a number of our National Parks. Pottering along at just four mph, it’s easy to unwind and take in the scenery. To celebrate National Parks Week (24-30 July), we’ve put together our Top 3 National Park canal boat holidays: […]

Drifters Top 5 Summer Canal Boat Holidays

Narrowboat holidays are great for families – giving the chance to set off together on a micro-adventure afloat, learning how to work the locks and speak the boating lingo, as well as spot wildlife and explore waterside attractions along the way. It’s easy to learn how to steer a narrowboat and you don’t need a […]

Hire a canal boat for Father’s Day

Day boat hire on the canals offers the chance to treat Dads with a fun day out on the water, nourished by a pint and a pub lunch along the way. We now offer day boat hire at 18 of our bases.  Full tuition is included so if you are new canal boating, we’ll help you […]

Top 5 half term holidays afloat

Canal boat holidays are great for families – take off together on a micro-adventure afloat, 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. It’s easy to learn how to steer a narrowboat and you don’t need a licence.  […]

Over 3,800 people got afloat at our National Open Day

Here at Drifters we are delighted to announce that over 3,800 people enjoyed a free canal boat trip at one of our open day events held on Sunday 23 April 2017. The event, which was supported by the Canal & River Trust, offered narrowboat holiday taster sessions at 19 of our canal boat hire bases […]

Top 7 Easter Canal Boat Breaks

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.   Here are our top six destinations for Easter 2017: Visit […]

Drifters’ Top 5 Literary Escapes Afloat

VisitEngland has declared 2017 as the “Year of Literary Heroes” – recognising the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, 20 years since the first Harry Potter book, and other publishing phenomena that have helped put England on the map. To celebrate, we’ve put together our Top 5 Literary escapes afloat: Explore Ted Hughes’ Calderdale by […]

Hire a canal boat for Mother’s Day

Day boat hire on the canals offers the chance to spoil hard-working Mums with a relaxing day afloat, nourished by a picnic afloat or a pub lunch along the way. Drifters offers day boat hire at 16 of its bases, from less than £10 per person.  Full tuition is included so if you are new […]

Celebrate 80 years of The Hobbit with a trip through Tolkien country

Published 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, the popularity of JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ endures, not least amongst the canal boat community where dozens of boats bear the names of Tolkien’s characters. Tolkien spent much of his childhood exploring the village of Sarehole (now Hall Green), Moseley Bog, the Malvern Hills, and nearby Bromsgrove, […]