Best October half term narrowboat holidays
Great family destinations to choose from this October Half Term
We’ve published a guide to our best October half term narrowboat holidays, with Halloween themes.
Narrowboats are like floating holiday cottages, with everything you need on board for a self-catering adventure afloat. All our boats are equipped with essential home comforts, including central heating, hot water, TV, showers, flushing toilets, and most now have WiFi too.
Prices this October half term start at £680 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four people.
Here’s a guide to our top seven destinations this October Half Term:
1. Visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath
On a weekend break from Hilperton on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire, you can travel to the World Heritage City of Bath. You can moor up at Sydney Gardens and take a 15-minute walk into Bath city centre to visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein. There you’ll find a multi-sensory museum dedicated to the story of Frankenstein, with escape rooms and the Frankenstein Experience walking tour.
The return journey travels 25 miles, passing through two locks (one each way) and takes around 13 hours.
2. Explore the sinister side of Shakespeare’s Stratford with a Ghost Walk
On a short break from Wootton Wawen, on the Stratford Canal near Henley-in-Arden, you can cruise to Stratford-upon-Avon. Once in Stratford, you can moor up in Bancroft Basin, and take a guided walking tour exploring the sinister side of Shakespeare’s Stratford, hearing tales of plague, murder, ghosts and witches.
The journey from Wootton Wawen to Stratford-upon-Avon and back travels through 34 locks and takes around 12 hours.
3. Take a guided tour of Oxford Castle Prison
On a 7-night break from Lower Heyford on the Oxford Canal in Oxfordshire, you can cruise to Oxford and back. Once in Oxford, you can moor up at Aristotle Bridge or Jericho Footbridge and walk to spooky Oxford Castle Prison. There you can take a guided tour through centuries of crime, power, legend and life behind bars.
The journey from Lower Heyford to Oxford and back travels 29 miles, passing through 20 locks (10 each way) and takes around 16 hours.
4. Sign up for the Skipton Ghost Tour
On a weekend break from Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in West Yorkshire, you can cruise through Airedale to the historic market town of Skipton and back. Led by an enigmatic guide known only as The Butcher, the award-winning Skipton Ghost Tour talks of kings, queens, knights, witches and some of the creepiest ghosts in Yorkshire. Skipton Ghost Tours run every Saturday at 6.30pm from Skipton Castle and include a section of the canal. Book ahead at Yorkshire Ghost Tours.
The return journey from Silsden to Skipton travels 13 miles and takes around seven hours.
5. Experience ancient Chester’s eerie haunts on a Chester Ghost Tour
On a short break from Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, you can cruise to the ancient city of Chester. When you reach Chester, you can moor up close to the city centre and take a guided ghost tour around the eerie haunts of Chester’s mysterious past, including tales of the spirit of a Roman centurion still standing at the Northgate. From September to November, tours depart on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from the Town Hall at 7.30pm.
The return journey from Bunbury to Chester travels 24 miles, passing through 18 locks (nine each way) and taking around 14 hours.
6. Navigate through the spooky Blisworth Tunnel
On a short break from Weedon on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, you can cruise to the pretty canal village of Stoke Bruerne. Along the way you’ll pass through the spooky 1.74-mile-long Blisworth Tunnel. Construction of Blisworth Tunnel, one of the longest on the canal system, began in 1793. Teams of navvies worked with picks and shovels for three years until they hit quicksand and the tunnel collapsed, killing 14 men. A new route for the tunnel was found, and it finally opened in 1805. Over the years, a number of boaters travelling through the tunnel have reported seeing lights and a second route emerging. But the tunnel runs straight through the hill so people must have seen the flicker of candlelight where the first tunnel would have intersected with the main tunnel. Perhaps the ghostly navvies are still working there…?
The return journey from Weedon to Stoke Bruerne travels 23 miles, passing through four locks (two each way) and takes around 9 hours.
7. Go on the Hebden Bridge Ghost Tour
On a short break from Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, you can travel along the Rochdale Canal to the old mill town of Hebden Bridge. There they can join the Hebden Bridge Ghost Tour, led by The Ringmaster ghost. The tour explores Hebden’s haunted waterways, streets and bridges, telling tales of witchcraft, forgery and grim little goblins. Tours start at Pack Horse Bridge on Saturdays at 6.30pm and 8pm. Book in advance at yorkshireghosttours.com.
The journey from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden Bridge and back travels 14 miles, passing through 20 locks and takes around 11 hours.
