From 5 April 2019, Drifters member Anglo Welsh Waterway Holidays will begin offering narrowboat hire from Whixall Marina, on the Prees Branch of the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire. From Whixall Marina, deep in the Shropshire countryside, it takes just 30 minutes to reach the main line of the Llangollen Canal – one of the most […]
This year Mothering Sunday coincides with the start of British Summer Time (Sunday 31 March 2019), so what better way to celebrate than by taking to the water for a relaxing day afloat on a canal boat, stopping off at a pub for lunch along the way. Drifters offers day boat hire from 16 boat […]
As we were once a great sea-faring nation, much of our everyday language is peppered with nautical references. To celebrate the new year, we’ve put together our favourite everyday phrases with nautical origins to ‘Chew the Fat’ over on your next adventure afloat: 1. Barge in (queue jump) – barge has two nautical meanings: a […]
From rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrowboat holiday-makers can use their boat as a floating holiday home to explore hundreds of waterside destinations and enjoy taking refreshment at historic canalside pubs. Here are Drifters’ Top 10 canal boat holidays for 2019: 1. Go star gazing on the Mon & Brec – isolated from the […]
The ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’ was compiled over 60 years ago by Robert Aickman, co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association, and published in his book ‘Know Your Waterways’. Here at Drifters, we’ve added the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland (which opened in 2002) to make the perfect Canal Boat Holidays Bucket List: 1. The Pontcysyllte […]
Britain’s beautiful 2,000-mile network of navigable canals and rivers passes through some of our most vibrant towns and cities, with exciting world-class Museums to visit along the way. Here are our Top 10 museums to visit afloat in 2019: 1. Visit the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker – from our canal boat hire base at […]
On Sunday 7 April 2019, we are once again offering people the chance to try canal boating for free at 19 of our boat yards across England and Wales. The taster sessions, run with support from the Canal & River Trust, will be on from 11am to 4pm and will include free short trips on […]
Cherie Thiessen of the Canadian Pacific Yachting Magazine took a week long canal boat holiday with Drifters in September, describing it as ‘…the perfect combination of relaxation and adventure’. Travelling along the Llangollen Canal from our canal boat hire base at Whitchurch (run by ABC Boat Hire), here are some of things she said about […]
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 holiday packages. Today’s narrowboats are […]
Miranda Krestovnikoff, TV presenter and president of the RSPB, describes her recent Drifters canal boat holiday on the Mon & Brec Canal in South Wales: It’s been several years since we’ve ventured out on the canals. On our last trip, a few years back, we chose to go in late October as it was half […]