A canal boat holiday is a great way to enjoy the vibrant colours of autumn in the hedgerows and trees that line our waterways – dramatically mirrored in the water. There’s plenty of wildlife to spot along the way during the autumn months, including flocks of fieldfare and redwing searching for hawthorn berries, and wood […]
The sun is out and Britain’s beautiful canal network offers over 2,000 miles of waterways to explore. If you’ve ever fancied taking a canal boat holiday, what better time to take the plunge? Here are the top 9 things you need to know about narrowboating: 1. You don’t need a licence – it’s easy to […]
Canal boats provide a floating holiday home, so it’s possible to take all sorts of pets on the canals. And as well as hundreds of dogs each year, Drifters’ canal boat hire operators have accommodated many other kinds of pets aboard their canal boats, including rabbits, hamsters, caged birds, goldfish and tortoises. Here are our […]
From romantic waterside encounters to gritty urban scenes, Britain’s canals and rivers have featured in many movies and television shows over the years. And recently, a number of television series have put canal boat holidays at very the centre of the action, with popular series like Tim and Pru’s ‘Great Canal Journeys’ and ‘Celebrity Carry […]
Travelling through the countryside and waterside towns and villages at just four-miles-an-hour, canal boat holidays are the fastest way to slow down. You don’t need a licence and it’s easy to learn how to steer a narrowboat. Drifters offers 590 narrowboats for hire from 47 bases across England, Scotland and Wales. Our summer holiday prices […]
The Canal & River Trust, the charity that cares for the nation’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, has published research that shows spending time by the waterways can make you happier and improve your life satisfaction. ‘Assessing the wellbeing impacts of waterways usage in England and Wales’ reveals: • the associated benefits of visiting […]
Hundreds of pubs can be found alongside Britain’s inland waterways, many of them historic rural locals offering the perfect place to eat, drink and relax on a canal boat holiday. With names like the Lock, the Navigation, the Narrowboat and Bridge, canalside pubs often date back to the construction of the canals over 200 years […]
With boats travelling at a maximum speed of 4mph, and over 3,000 miles of navigable peaceful inland waterways to explore across Britain, canal boat holidays really are the fastest way to slow down. From rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrowboat holiday-makers can use their boat as a floating holiday home to explore. Drifters’ offers […]
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 […]