Canal Boat Holiday Destinations from Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire

Our Sowerby Bridge narrow boat hire base is at the junction of the Calder & Hebble Navigation and the Rochdale, so there’s a great choice of routes.

The 21.5-mile Calder & Hebble Navigation links Sowerby Bridge with Wakefield, and it has 27 locks.

The 33-mile long Rochdale Canal crosses the Pennines, linking Sowerby Bridge with the Bridgewater Canal and Ashton Canal in Manchester. It has 92 locks.

Three or four-night destinations from Sowerby Bridge

Hebden Bridge and back (14 miles, 20 locks, 11 hours)

Cruise along the Rochdale Canal soon going through three locks, including Tuel Lane Lock, the deepest in the country. Navigating slowly along the side of the valley, at Luddenden Foot you’ll find the Lord Nelson pub in the heart of this historic village, set within a Conservation Area. The next two locks take you to Mytholmroyd, birthplace of Ted Hughes. The canal carries on through Fallingroyd Tunnel to Hebden Bridge. You can moor in the centre of town, where there’s a good choice of pubs, restaurants, cafes and independent shops. There are some fantastic walks from Hebden, including up to Heptonstall and along Hardcastle Crags. Leaving the centre of Hebden Bridge, cruise on through the valley, with woods, crags and the Calder running alongside. Turn your boat around below Lock 12 and then moor up to visit the Stubbing Wharf canalside pub.

Todmorden and back (20 miles, 34 locks, 16 hours)

Follow the route to Hebden Bridge and carry on up the valley, with views of the moors high above. The Pennine Way crosses at Callis.  Moor up to explore Todmorden, including its Victorian Town Hall, lively market and many places to eat and drink, including The Staff of Life Inn.

Shepley Bridge and back (22 miles, 32 locks, 16 hours)

Navigate along the tree-lined Calder & Hebble Navigation. At Elland you’ll find a great choice of pubs, including The Fleece Inn. At Brighouse there are shops and good pubs, including The Old Ship Inn.  Pass under a towering motorway viaduct and wind on to Mirfield with shops and a choice of pubs, including the riverside Pear Tree. Continue on through the valley to Shepley Bridge, where interesting buildings surround an old, fully working, dry dock.

7-night destinations from Sowerby Bridge

Wakefield and back (42 miles, 52 locks, 27 hours)

Follow the 3 or 4-night route to Shepley Bridge and continue on through wide river sections and narrow cuttings to Wakefield. There you can moor up outside the Hepworth Wakefield gallery. There are two riverside pubs – The Navigation and The Bridge Inn. The Henry Moore Sculpture Park is a short bus ride away.

Stanley Ferry and back (48 miles, 54 locks, 30 hours)

Follow the route to Wakefield and continue along the Calder & Hebble Navigation to Fall Ing Lock, Here you’ll join the Aire & Calder Navigation, a wide commercial waterway that takes you to Standley Ferry. Here are two aqueducts, the Canal & River Trust’s lock gate workshops and the popular Stanley Ferry pub.

10 or 11-night destinations from Sowerby Bridge

Selby and back (96 miles, 68 locks, 40 hours)

Follow the 7-night route to Stanley Ferry and continue on to Castleford, where you can buy stoneground flour at the Queen’s Mill Tearooms.  Cruise on along the Aire & Calder Navigation. At Bank Dole you’ll leave the main line and its electric locks, to drop into the Aire.  At Selby, moor up to explore this historic market town’s ancient Abbey, market and choice of places to eat, including 1 The Crescent bar and restaurant.

Short break on Yorkshire canals

Goole and back (128 miles, 74 locks, 58 hours)

Follow the route to Selby, enjoying after Knottingley a very remote stretch of waterway. When you arrive in Goole, moor up near the Sobriety Project waterways museum. Goole is a canal town and a port.  You can see examples of the fixed and floating cranes which lifted the Tom Puddings (square barges or ‘pans’) that bought coal in by trains to be lifted into ships. From there they went by sea to the power stations of London. You can’t take your boat into the docks, but you take one of the museum’s excellent guided boat trips.

14-night destinations from Sowerby Bridge

Sheffield and back (158 miles, 114 locks, 70 hours)

Go almost to Goole but turn right onto the New Junction Canal, heading straight across a flat landscape with enormous skies. Turn onto the South Yorkshire Navigation, with huge electric locks. Next you’ll go through the smaller locks of the Tinsley Flight and on into Sheffield Basin. There you can moor up to explore this vibrant city, where you’ll find independent eateries and microbreweries, live music, theatre, street art and exhibitions.