Canal boat hire on the Kennet & Avon Canal

Kennet & Avon Canal

The 87-mile-long Kennet & Avon Canal links the Bristol Avon at Bath with the River Thames at Reading. Passing through some of England’s most beautiful countryside, it’s one of the most popular canals in Britain for boating holidays.

The Kennet & Avon Canal has 105 locks, including 29 at the dramatic Caen Hill locks in Devizes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.

Drifters offers narrow boat hire on the Kennet & Avon Canal at:

• Bath, Somerset;
• Monkton Combe, near Bath, Somerset;
• Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire;
• Hilperton, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire;
• Devizes, Wiltshire; and
• Aldermaston, Berkshire.

Popular short break destinations on the Kennet & Avon Canal include:

• Bradford on Avon to Bath;
• Hilperton to the Caen Hill Flight of locks at Devizes;
• Devizes to Bradford on Avon; and
• Aldermaston to Newbury.
Spectacular canal features and landscapes on the Kennet & Avon Canal:
• The beautiful Bath Valley;
• Two stunning Bath stone aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas;
• The spectacular Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes;
• The Vale of Pewsey dotted with pre-historic features;
• The ancient Savernake Forest;
• The 502-yard-long Bruce Tunnel; and
• West Berkshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Historic places to visit on the Kennet & Avon Canal:

• UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath;
• Claverton Pumping Station;
• The American Museum at Claverton;
• Historic England’s Tithe Barn at Bradford on Avon;
• The historic market town of Bradford on Avon;
• The historic market town of Devizes;
• Crofton Pumping Station;
• The historic market town of Hungerford;
• The historic market town of Newbury; and
• Reading Museum.
Pubs to visit on the Kennet & Avon Canal:
• The George at Bathampton;
• The Cross Guns at Avoncliff;
• The Barge Inn at Bradford on Avon;
• The Barge Inn at Seend;
• The Barge Inn at Honeystreet;
• The Royal Oak at Wootton Rivers;
• The Dundas Arms at Kintbury;
• The Lock, Stock & Barrel at Newbury;
• The Swan at Thatcham; and
• The Row Barge at Woolhampton.

Tuition is included in Drifters canal boat hire service on the Kennet & Avon Canal.

Overseas visitors might find Great British Boating very helpful