This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept settingsHide notification onlySettingsWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
Privacy Policy
Best spring canal boating breaks
/in News /by DriftersBritain’s beautiful inland waterways are a great place to visit in the Spring time, when the countryside is bursting into new life, with blossom on the hedges and waterside trees, birds busy rearing their young, spring lambs playing in the fields and bluebells in waterside woodlands. To celebrate the beauty of Spring-time on the canals, […]
Love Travelling visits Bath on a canal boat holiday
/in News /by Debbie LudfordLittle Miss Traveller from the Love Travelling blog recently took a Drifters press trip on the Kennet & Avon Canal, setting off from our Devizes canal boat hire base. She travelled to Georgian Bath and back with her husband and son on a four night break. Marion reviews the boat, the handover process (where someone […]
Top 10 canalside pubs to visit on a canal boat holiday
/in News /by Debbie LudfordCanalside pubs are popular destinations for canal boat holiday-makers, and there are hundreds to choose from. They often have names like The Lock Inn, The Navigation Inn, The Narrowboat, The Tunnel and The Bridge. And many date back to the days when canals were the transport infrastructure of the industrial revolution. Canalside inns provided refreshment […]
Visit Edinburgh on a canal boat holiday
/in News /by Debbie LudfordFrom Drifters canal boat hire base at Falkirk, you can cruise to Edinburgh and back on four-night or week-long canal boat holiday. The journey takes you along the Union Canal, from the Falkirk Wheel to Edinburgh Quay, travelling 32 miles in around 11 hours. The route passes through the Falkirk Wheel, through two locks, two […]
New canal boat holidays from Nantwich in Cheshire
/in News /by Debbie LudfordFrom the middle of March 2024, we will be offering canal boat holidays from Nantwich Marina on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire. We’ll have three different sized narrowboats for hire, offering accommodation for between four and eight people. There’s a great choice of short breaks, week-long holidays and two-week routes from Nantwich. Here’s a […]
Best canal boat holidays in 2024
/in News /by Debbie LudfordFrom rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrowboat holiday-makers can explore Britain’s peaceful 3,000-mile network of inland waterways. There are hundreds of waterside destinations to choose from including dozens of historic canalside pubs. We’ve published a guide to our Top 8 canal boat holidays for 2024: 1. Cruise through the Cheshire countryside to Middlewich On […]
New electric day canal boat for hire on the Peak Forest Canal
/in News /by Debbie LudfordDrifters member ABC Boat Hire has launched a new electric day boat at New Mills Marina on the Peak Forest Canal in Derbyshire. Boating on the Peak Forest Canal The 15-mile long Peak Forest Canal is one of Britain’s most scenic waterways, running along the edge of the Peak District and alongside the River Goyt. […]
Explore ‘Happy Valley’ country by canal boat
/in News /by Debbie LudfordSimon from The Version Humax recently reviewed his multi-generation family boating holiday in Yorkshire. They set off from our canal boat hire base at Sowerby Bridge and travelled along the Calder & Hebble Navigation to Hebden Bridge. Simon says, “The route allowed us to explore the idyllic surroundings at a leisurely pace, making it perfect […]
‘Top of the Locks’ for 2024 canal boat holidays
/in News /by Debbie LudfordThere are over 1,800 locks on the 2,000 miles of navigable waterways in England and Wales, all enabling boats to travel up and down hills. There’s no mystery to using locks – just a series of step-by-step tasks. A lock is simply a chamber with gates at either end. By emptying or filling the chamber […]
Top 10 aqueducts to cruise across on a canal boat holiday
/in News /by Debbie LudfordBritain’s 3,000-mile canal network is made up of thousands of historic structures, including dozens of aqueducts. Aqueducts were originally invented by the Romans. The idea of a ‘canal in the sky’ was initially ridiculed by the canal builders. They were concerned about the amount of masonry required to support the weight of the water above. […]