A recent survey suggested that the pace and pressures of 21st-century living are taking their toll, with families, on average, now spending fewer than seven hours of quality time together each week. Heron Publications editor Mike Firth decided to do something to redress the balance by taking his family – and their dog – on […]
1. Don’t call it a barge – as its name suggests, a narrowboat is not a barge as they are just seven feet wide and designed to fit Britain’s canal locks, while barges are at least twice as wide 2. Size matters – narrowboats range in length from 32ft to 70ft, and provide accommodation for […]
With frosty towpaths, peaceful rural retreats and historic waterside pubs, a narrowboat holiday on Britain’s canal network can offer a great antidote to the hustle and bustle of Christmas. Drifters offers winter cruising* from a number of its bases, with boats ranging from snug craft for two to family vessels for twelve. It’s free to […]
With Britain’s inland waterways in better shape than ever, canal boat holidays are becoming increasingly popular and there are now more boats on the canal network than at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Each year, around one fifth of canal boat hirers are newcomers. A licence isn’t required to steer a narrowboat and all […]
Janie van de Pas, from the Dutch travel blog Britblog, recently took a mid-week break with a friend, travelling from our narrowboat hire base at Tardebigge along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to Birmingham City Centre and back, aboard the 62ft six-berth ‘Wharfdale’. Here’s a translated edit of her review: Day 1 – Heading to […]
With ghosts galore, bats and frogs aplenty, creepy tunnels, spooky locks and misty towpaths, Britain’s 200-year old canal network provides the perfect backdrop for a haunting Halloween. Here’s our guide to the spookiest canal destinations: 1. Beware the blood stained steps at Brindley Bank – the Trent & Mersey Canal at Brindley Bank Aqueduct in […]
A canal boat holiday is a great way to enjoy the splendid colours of autumn in the hedgerows and trees that line our waterways. These colours are dramatically mirrored in the water and there’s plenty of wildlife to spot along the way, including the arrival of flocks of birds in search of berries. There are […]
There’s a lot to be said for messing about in boats. Living life beyond the river banks. It’s a wonderful way to slow down and unwind. Which is why Mrs Cullimore and I recently decided to spend a week slowly chugging up and down the River Thames to Wallingford and back. Setting off from Drifters’ […]
To celebrate the approaching August bank holiday, we’ve put together our top six short break narrowboat holidays: 1. Cruise peacefully along the Caldon Canal…from Drifters’ Peak District canal boat hire base at Stoke on Trent on the Trent & Mersey Canal, a trip along Wedgewood’s Caldon Canal is a great short break route for beginners. Originally […]
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 […]