Canal boat holidays are great for pets

Canal boat holidays are perfect for dogs, with plenty of towpath walks, dog-friendly canalside pubs and other dogs to meet along the way.

And as well as hundreds of dogs, Drifters canal boat hire operators have accommodated many other kinds of pets aboard their floating holiday homes, including rabbits, hamsters, caged birds, a goldfish and a tortoise.

Drifters director Nigel Stevens explains: “Narrowboats provide a floating holiday home so it is possible to take all sorts of pets on the canals. Most of our operators charge a supplement for a pet of between £25 and £35, but some allow the first pet to go free, so it can work out a lot cheaper to bring your pet along on your holiday and let them enjoy the cruise too!”

Here are our top five canal boat holiday destinations for animal lovers:

1. Visit the Sea Life Centre at Brindleyplace…With over 60 displays of freshwater and marine life, the Sea Life Centre at Brindleyplace in Birmingham is a fantastic destination for animal lovers. Boaters can travel lock-free to Birmingham in just five hours from our base at Tardebigge, and find centrally located over-night moorings at Gas Street Basin. 2014 prices from Tardebigge start at £555 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, and £790 for a week.

2. Get close to the tigers at ZSL London Zoo…the world’s oldest scientific zoo is right next to the Regent’s Canal in Regent’s Park and is now home to two critically endangered Sumatran tigers and their three cubs. From our West London base on the Grand Union Canal, canal boat holiday-makers can reach the Zoo in just five hours. 2014 hire prices from London start at £594 for a short break on a five berth boat, weekly hire from £963.

3. See David Hockney’s Dachshunds at Saltaire…canal boat holiday-makers can reach Sir Titus Salt’s fascinating model town on a week’s narrowboat holiday from our base at Sowerby Bridge. Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded on the banks of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Bradford in 1851 by Sir Titus Salt, a leading industrialist in the woollen industry. Salts Mill has a number of galleries, including the stunning David Hockney Gallery showing both permanent and temporary collections of the Bradford-born artist’s work, including prints of some of the portraits he has made of his beloved Dachshunds, Stanley and Boogie. 2014 weekly hire from Sowerby Bridge starts at £530 for a two berth boat.

4.Watch Rooney the penguin in training at Chester Zoo…famous for its medieval architecture and city walls, Chester is also home to an award-winning zoo with over 11,000 animals to see. Each year the Zoo’s keepers name their baby penguins after a particular theme and this time round they’ve been named after English World Cup stars, past and present. Rooney the penguin, who hatched in spring, has been moved into a nursery at the zoo to learn how to swim, hunt and feed, along with classmates Gerrard, Banks and Moore. Chester is a seven-hour cruise from our Bunbury base on the Shropshire Union Canal. 2014 prices from Bunbury start at £555 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, and £790 for a week.

5. Admire the Kelpies at Falkirk…towering a colossal 30 metres above the Forth & Clyde Canal, The Kelpies horse statues form a dramatic gateway to the canal entrance at Falkirk. Constructed of structural steel with a stainless steel outer skin, each of the Kelpies weighs over 300 tonnes. They are the centrepiece of The Helix park and serve as a monument to horse powered heritage across Central Scotland. 2014 prices from our base at Falkirk start at £499 for a short break (three or four nights) on a four berth boat, weekly hire from £913.