Get the family afloat this summer

Top 5 Easter canal boat holidays

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Canal boat holidays are fantastic for families, offering the chance to set off on an adventure together – learn how to work the locks, navigate tunnels, speak the boating lingo, spot wildlife, explore traffic-free towpaths and visit waterside attractions along the way.

Easter prices start at £495 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, £685 for a week.  Here are our top 5 destinations this Easter:

1. Boat to Birmingham & enjoy Cadbury World’s Easter Eggstravaganza…Perfect for beginners, boaters can travel lock-free to Birmingham in just five hours from our canal boat hire base at Tardebigge on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, stopping off along the way to celebrate an eggstra-special Easter at the canalside Cadbury World. With more canals than Venice, there’s no better way to travel into Birmingham City Centre where over-night moorings are available at Gas Street Basin, close to Brindley Place. There’s plenty for families to see and do in Britain’s second city, including penguin feeding at the National Sea Life Centre or watch the West End smash hit show ‘Evita’, starring Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow, at the Hippodrome.

2. Visit Georgian Bath and its Award-winning Egg theatre…on a short break narrowboat holiday from our  base at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, boaters can travel along the beautiful Kennet & Avon Canal and reach the centre of the World Heritage City of Bath in seven hours, with just seven locks to negotiate along the way. As well as stunning architecture, great shopping and restaurants, Bath has many fantastic family attractions, including the Roman Baths and the Theatre Royal’s award-winning egg theatre, especially for children, young people and their families.

3. Enjoy an Easter Egg hunt at the Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum…close to J15a of the M1, Drifters’ base at Gayton on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire is easy to get to and offers a great variety of routes. On a short break, boaters can travel south to Fenny Stratford and back, cruising through delightful countryside and the picturesque village of Stoke Bruerne, with its friendly waterside pubs and fascinating Canal Museum, offering Easter Egg Hunts 4-12 March. On a week’s cruise, canal boat holiday-makers can head to the historic town of Market Harborough via the Foxton staircase of locks, with wonderful views of the Leicestershire countryside and the chance to find out about the intriguing Foxton Inclined Plane boat lift which once operated there.

4. Take part in an Eggstraordinary Eggventure Trail at Oxford’s Museum of Natural History…our Oxford base at Eynsham on the River Thames is a three-hour cruise from Oxford, where boaters can find moorings within walking distance of city centre attractions. This Easter, visitors to the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History can Eggsplore the Museum with an eggciting egg-hunter’s trail. Other family-friendly attractions in Oxford include: climbing the 14th century Carfax Tower to take in a view of Oxford’s ‘dreaming spires’; seeing the witch in the bottle and shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum; touring the incredible Ashmolean Museum, with collections from the Neolithic era to the present day; discovering the real Harry Potter Hogwarts Hall at Christ Church College; and stocking-up on goodies in the Covered Market.

5. See Barbara Hepworth’s egg-like forms at the Hepworth Wakefield…Travelling gently along the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation from our’ base at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, it takes 12 hours to reach Wakefield, with moorings right outside The Hepworth Wakefield. This Easter visitors can enjoy the Museum’s free ‘Making a Modern Collection’ exhibition, featuring works by Barbara Hepworth, L S Lowry, Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson, as well as some special Easter family activities. Along the way, boaters can stop off at: the historic market town of Elland and enjoy at meal the Barge & Barrel gastro pub; historic Brighouse with markets, shops and places to eat; and Mirfield with medieval stocks and ducking stool.

Hire a canal boat for Mother's Day

Hire a canal boat for Mother’s Day

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Why not spoil the hard-working Mum in your life with a relaxing day on the water, nourished by a posh picnic afloat or a pub lunch along the way.

We offer day boat hire at 12 of our bases, from less than £12 per person. Full tuition is included so those new to canal boating can get the hang of steering, mooring up and working the locks. Boats are equipped with cutlery, crockery and a kettle and most also have a toilet, cooker and fridge.

Here’s a list of our day boat hire centres, suggested routes and prices for 2015:

• Travel across ‘The Stream in the Sky’ – Our base at Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales is a 20-minutes cruise from the World Heritage site Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. At over 38 metres high and 305 metres long, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is truly one of the wonders of the waterways, offering stunning views of the Dee Valley below. Day boaters can reach the pretty mountain-side town of Llangollen in two hours. Day boat hire from Trevor starts at £110 for up to 10 people. £140 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Visit the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’ – our base at Anderton on the Trent & Mersey Canal in Cheshire, is next to the historic Anderton Boat Lift. This incredible edifice, also known as ‘the Cathedral of the canals’, looks like some giant three-storey-high iron spider and provides a 50-foot vertical link between two navigable waterways – the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. From Anderton, the Leigh Arms at Little Leigh (bridge 209 for Black Price forge) is an easy day trip away. This friendly, canalside pub offers home-cooked pub food and cask ales. ***Day boat hire from Anderton starts at £150 for up to 12 people.

• Glide through the Brecon Beacons – from our boat yard at Goytre Wharf on the beautiful Monmouth & Brecon Canal near Abergavenny, enjoy incredible mountain views on the two-and-a-half-hour journey to the Star pub at Mamhillad, a short walk from bridge 62. Day hire from Goytre starts at £90 for up to 12 people. £105 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Explore Shakespeare’s country – from our hire base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal near Stratford Upon Avon, boaters can head south to the pretty village of Wilmcote and back (2.5 hours each way), and enjoy lunch at The Mary Arden Inn. Day boat hire from Wootton Wawen starts at £99 for up to 10 people. £120 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Wend your way through Wiltshire – from our canal boat hire base at Hilperton Marina in Wiltshire on the Kennet & Avon, cruise east through unspoilt countryside to waterside The Barge Inn at Seend, or head west to historic Bradford on Avon, with its stunning Tithe Barn and plenty of pubs, cafes and restaurants to choose from. Day boat hire from Hilperton starts at £105 for up to eight people. £130 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Experience the rural North Oxford Canal – from our narrowboat hire base at Stretton-under-Fosse near Rugby, cruise north through open farmland to the pretty village of Ansty with its pottery and Rose & Castle pub. Or head south, travelling through quiet woodland to the village of Newbold, and enjoy home cooked food at the canalside Barley Mow pub. Day boat hire from Rugby starts at £150 for a boat for 12 people. £190 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Staffordshire delights – from our boat yard at Great Haywood on the Staffs & Worcs Canal near Stafford, cruise to the historic market town of Rugeley and back, through several locks, past Lord Lichfield’s beautiful Shugborough Hall and the delightful Wolseley Arms in Wolseley Bridge. The return journey takes six hours. Day boat hire from Great Haywood starts at £99 for up to 10 people. £120 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Sightseeing along ‘The Shroppie’ – from our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union near Crewe, cruise south past Barbridge and Nantwich to Baddington Bridge. With no locks to negotiate and plenty of pubs en route, it’s a delightful way to spend the day afloat. Day boat hire from Bunbury starts at £99 for up to 10 people. £120 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Tunnel through rural Worcestershire – from boating base at Tardebigge on the Worcs & Birmingham Canal near Bromsgrove, cruise north to Kings Norton Junction, a pretty rural route with historic pubs along the way, including the family-friendly Hopwood House at Alvechurch. The route is lock-free but there are three tunnels to pass through. Day boat hire from Tardebigge starts at £99 for up to 10 people. £120 on weekends and bank holidays.

• Discover the beauty of Berkshire – Our base at Aldermaston on the Kennet & Avon Canal in West Berkshire is now offering day boat hire. Boaters can travel east to Tyle Mill Lock in just over two hours, and take a ten-minute walk to The Spring Inn in the pretty village of Sulhamstead for lunch. Up to eight people can enjoy a day out on Aldermaston’s day boat ‘Wyvern’. Day hire prices start at £105 for a weekday, £130 for weekends and bank holidays.

• Visit Foxton Locks – from our boat yard at Union Wharf in Market Harborough it takes a pleasant two-and-a-half hours to cruise to the top of Foxton Locks, with stunning views of the Leicestershire countryside, plenty of places to picnic and the Foxton Locks Inn. Visitors can watch canal boats negotiate the famous Foxton Staircase flight of locks and find out about the intriguing Foxton Inclined Plane Boat Lift that once operated there at the tiny little museum dedicated to it. Day boat hire at Market Harborough starts at £140 during the week for up to 12 people, £180 at weekends and bank holidays.

Visit Birmingham’s Book Festival Afloat

Celebrate the Worcester & Birmingham Canal’s Bicentenary

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…travel along this beautiful historic waterway, from the cathedral City of Worcester, through the green hills of Worcestershire to the vibrant centre of Birmingham

In 2015 it will be 200 years since the Worcester & Birmingham Canal opened. This popular 29-mile long historic waterway starts in Worcester as an off-shoot of the River Severn, and ends in Gas Street Basin in the heart of Birmingham.

The canal climbs 130 metres from Worcester to Birmingham. It has 58 locks along its length, including 30 at Tardebigge – one of the largest lock flights in Europe.

Construction of the canal began in 1792 from the Birmingham end, and the final section was completed in December 1815. A major user of the canal in its freight-carrying heyday was the canalside Cadbury chocolate factories at Bournville and Blackpole.

Today, holiday-makers can explore this beautiful historic waterway by canal boat, starting at Drifters’ Worcester base and reaching City centre moorings in Gas Street Basin in around 22 hours.

Beginning their journey with views of Worcester Cathedral, boaters pass Diglis Basin and soon reach open countryside. After a series of locks, including the Offerton Flight of six, the canal passes beneath the busy M5 motorway.

Next it’s the 230-yard long Dunhamsptead Tunnel and then Hanbury Junction, where the Droitwich Junction Canal connects with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.
The National Trust’s Hanbury Hall can be reached by a pleasant walk across the fields from Astwood Bottom Lock and the village of Hanbury itself is said to be the real-life counterpoint of Radio 4’s Ambridge, home of The Archers.

Two smaller flights of locks follow before holiday-makers reach the base of the Tardebigge flight, with 30 locks over two miles, making it the longest in the country.
It was at Tardebigge Wharf at the top of the flight – with its dry dock, maintenance yard, workers cottages and historic warehouse – that Tom Rolt first met Robert Aickman, a union which led to the creation of the Inland Waterways Association, the driving force behind the restoration of the canal network.

Next the canal passes through the Lickley Hills using three long tunnels: Tardebigge the 580-yard long Tardebigge Tunnel; 613-yard Shortwood Tunnel; and Wasthill Tunnel, the longest at 2,726 yards.  This stretch also passes beneath the M42 and runs close to the Upper and Lower Bittell Reservoirs, built to feed the canal and once regularly visited by a young Bill Oddie.

Boaters next reach Kings Norton Junction, where the Worcester & Birmingham meets the Stratford Canal under permanently open guillotine gates.
Then on through the 105-yard long Edgbaston Tunnel and across the Holliday Street Aqueduct.

Finally, at its northern end, the canal joins the Birmingham Main Line at Gas Street Basin. Here traditional narrowboats and elegant black and white iron footbridges now sit alongside modern bars and restaurants and the City’s Mailbox luxury shopping centre.

Drifters also has bases on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Alvechurch and Stoke Prior, all close to Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. And the Worcester & Birmingham Canal forms part of both the popular Avon and Stourport Cruising Rings.

2015 prices from Worcester start at £368 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, weekly hire from £560.

Top 10 canal boat holidays for 2014

Top 5 epic canal boat journeys

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Britain’s 2,000-mile canal network offers a huge variety of canal boat holiday routes, from easy short breaks with no locks through to epic journeys around cruising rings, which take weeks and involve a lot of locks!

Weekly hire in 2015 starts at £480 and Drifters operators usually offer discounts on the second week of hire.

Here are our top five epic journeys to inspire:

1. The South Pennine Ring (71 miles, 197 locks, 80 hours): not for the faint-hearted, this epic two-week journey can be taken from our base at Sowerby Bridge. It crosses the Pennines twice and includes passage of Britain’s longest canal tunnel. It takes in the Calder & Hebble Navigation, the Huddersfield Broad and Narrow canals, the Ashton and Rochdale canals. Highlights include: dramatic Pennine views; Tuel Lane Deep Lock; Manchester City Centre; and, one of the Seven Wonders of Waterways, the awesome three and a quarter-mile long Standedge Tunnel which, designed by Thomas Telford, cuts through the Pennies to link Marsden and Diggle.

2. The Cheshire Ring (97 miles, 92 locks, 55 hours): starting from our’ base at Anderton, this superb route takes canal boat holiday-makers through the heart of Manchester and the Peak District via the Ashton, Macclesfield, Peak Forest, Rochdale, Trent & Mersey and Bridgewater canals. It can be done in a week but it’s easier in two. Highlights include: the spectacular vertical Anderton Boat Lift, also known as ‘The Cathedral of the Canals’; Preston Brook Tunnel; Dunham Massey Hall and its working Elizabethan Mill alongside the Bridgewater Canal; Castlefield Basin; Manchester’s China Town; the Rochdale 9 locks; Buxworth Basin, Whaley Bridge and the glorious Top Lock at Marple; and the Cheshire Plain and heavily locked ‘Heartbreak Hill’.

3. The Leicester Ring (157 miles, 102 locks, 75 hours): from our base at Rugby on the Grand Union Canal, this epic route is achievable in two weeks. The route cruises a mixture of non-tidal, broad and narrow canals, including the Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry, Oxford, Trent & Mersey canals, the Grand Union Leicester Line and the rivers Soar and Trent. Highlights include: the Saddlington Tunnel, a roost for bats on the Leicester Line; the Foxton Staircase of Locks and Museum dedicated to the incredible Foxton Inclined Plane Boat Lift which once carried boats up and down the hill in two giant bath tubs; the pretty canal village of Stoke Bruerne with its Canal Museum; Blisworth Tunnel; Braunston canal village; Hillmorton Locks; the 11 locks at Atherstone; Coventry with views of its magnificent cathedral; and the 18th century canal village of Shardlow.

4. The Avon Ring (108 miles, 130 locks, 58 hours): Starting from our bases at Tardebigge, Wootton Wawen, Worcester or Alvechurch, this World-famous journey negotiates 130 locks. Most people tackle this trip over two weeks, but it is possible to do it in a week. The ring navigates sections of the Stratford Canal, River Avon, River Severn and Worcs & Birmingham Canal. Highlights include: Stratford-Upon-Avon and its famous Swan Theatre; the Lapworth flight of 25 locks; the Wilmcote flight of 11 locks; the River Avon and its panoramic views across Wawickshire and the Cotswolds; historic Evesham and Tewskesbury; Worcester and its magnificent cathedral; Telford’s lofty Mythe Bridge; the tidal River Severn double river-lock at Diglis, the 30-lock Tardebigge Flight, the longest in the country; and the 2495-metre long Wast Hills Tunnel.

5. The Warwickshire Ring (101 miles, 94 locks, 48 hours): starting from our bases at Napton or Rugby, with a mixture of urban and rural landscapes, the Warwickshire Ring is easily navigated in two weeks. It takes in the Grand Union, Oxford, Coventry and Birmingham & Fazeley canals. Highlights include: the flight of 11 locks into Atherstone, Hawkesbury Junction with one of the tightest turns on the system where the Oxford joins the Coventry; Hillmorton locks (three pairs); the tricky Knowle Flight of five locks; the pretty canal village of Braunston; Napton Junction; Newbold and Shrewley tunnels; the awesome Hatton Flight of 21 locks; Warwick Castle; Leamington Spa; and Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin.

Celebrate Christmas on the Canals

Celebrate Christmas on the Canals

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Britain’s canals can offer a great antidote to the hustle and bustle of Christmas.

Six of our canal boat hire bases offer winter cruising, giving canal boat holiday-makers the chance to enjoy cosy evenings afloat, visit waterside pubs with roaring log fires, and wake-up to frosty towpaths and crisp clean air.

Whether it’s a snug boat for two or family affair for six, celebrating Christmas or New Year afloat offers a great getaway. It’s free to moor almost anywhere on the network, so a narrowboat could provide the perfect base to enjoy new year celebrations in waterside towns and cities like Bath, Birmingham, Warwick and Stratford upon Avon.

All boats have central heating, hot water, televisions and DVD players. Some also have multi-fuel stoves. So, whatever the weather, it’s always nice and cosy on board.

Prices over Christmas and New Year start at start at £585 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, weekly hire from £840.

Here’s a list of Drifters bases offering winter cruising:

• Travel to Bath along the Kennet & Avon Canal…our base in the historic town of Bradford on Avon offers the chance to cruise to the World Heritage Status City of Bath and back. Cosy country pubs to enjoy along the way include the George Inn at Bathampton, once a 12th-century monastery, and the Cross Guns at Avoncliffe, with panoramic views of the foothills of the Cotswolds. Christmas and New Year prices from Bradford on Avon start at £725 for short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four and £1,010 for a week on a boat for four.

• Chug through rural Warwickshire…On a short break from our base at Stretton-under-Fosse near Rugby, boaters can head south along the beautiful Oxford Canal to Braunston, winding through classic scenery, much of which hasn’t changed for centuries. On a week’s holiday, narrowboat holiday-makers could travel to Stratford upon Avon and back, passing through Warwick and Leamington Spa. Christmas and New Year prices from Stretton start at £585 for a short break (three or four nights) and £895 for a week on a boat for four.

• Take a lock free journey to Birmingham…Birmingham is just a five-hour cruise away from our Tardebigge base on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal – with no locks to negotiate. City centre moorings are available at Gas Street Basin, close to the bars, restaurants, shops and museums at Brindley Place and the Mailbox and Bullring shopping centres. Christmas and New Year prices from Tardebigge start at £680 for a short break (three or four nights), and £945 for a week.

• Navigate ‘The Stream in the Sky’…the awesome 300-metre long World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, carries the Llangollen Canal 40 metres above the rushing waters of the River Dee. From our base at Trevor, next to the aqueduct, the village of Llangollen is a two-hour cruise to the west and to the east, Ellesmere is a seven-hour journey through the beautiful Vale of Llangollen. Christmas and New Year prices from Trevor start at £680 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for two, and £945 for a week.

• Explore the Potteries in Staffordshire…our base at Great Haywood, at the junction of the Staffs & Worcs and Trent & Mersey canals in Staffordshire, offers a variety of routes. On a week’s cruise canal boat holiday-makers can head up the Trent & Mersey Canal to the Caldon Canal, and travel through the beautiful Churnet Valley. Those on a short break can head to the town of Fazeley, via the pretty canal village of Fradley on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Christmas and New Year prices from Great Haywood start at £775 for a short break (three or four nights), and £1,085 for a week on a boat for six.

• Moor up in Stratford upon Avon…it’s a picturesque six-hour cruise to Stratford upon Avon from our base at Wootton Wawen, near Henley in Arden in Warwickshire. Boaters can moor up in Stratford canal basin, a stone’s throw from the Swan Theatre and the town’s shops, restaurants and museums. Christmas and New Year prices from Wootton Wawen start at £605 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, weekly hire from £840.

Top 10 canal boat holidays for 2015

Top 10 canal boat holidays for 2015

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With boats travelling at a maximum speed of 4mph, a canal boat holiday really is the fastest way to slow down. There are over 3,000 miles of peaceful canals and rivers to explore across Britain – from rural retreats to vibrant city centres.

Drifters offers over 500 boats for hire from 37 canal boat hire locations across England, Scotland and Wales. 2015 hire prices currently start at £368 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for four, £480 for a week.

Here are our Top 10 canal boat holidays for 2014:

1. Celebrate the Worcester & Birmingham Canal’s Bicentenary…in 2015 it will be 200 years since the popular Worcester & Birmingham Canal opened. This 29-mile long waterway starts in Worcester, as an off-shoot of the River Severn, and ends in Gas Street Basin in the heart of Birmingham. It has 58 locks along its length, including 30 at Tardebigge, one of the largest lock flights in Europe. A major user of the canal in its freight-carrying heyday was the Cadbury chocolate factories at Bournville and Blackpole. Today, narrowboat holiday-makers can explore this beautiful historic waterway by canal boat, starting at our Worcester base and reaching City centre moorings in Gas Street Basin, with easy access to the City’s Mailbox and Bullring shopping centres, theatres, museums and restaurants, in around 22 hours.

2. Enjoy a journey through the Yorkshire countryside to the famous Bingley 5-rise locks…from our Sowerby Bridge base it takes a week to travel to the Bingley 5-rise locks and back, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. Completed in 1774, this spectacular staircase of locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal 17 miles from Leeds, raises (or lowers) boats 18 metres (60ft) in five cavernous chambers. The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate of the next. The journey from Sowerby Bridge starts with a cruise along the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation, passing through Elland, Brighouse and Shepley Bridge. Then on through Wakefield, with moorings available right outside the Barbara Hepworth museum, then on to Stanley Ferry to see the aqueduct, which looks like a miniature Sydney Harbour Bridge. Now onto the Aire & Calder Navigation with electric locks and on to Leeds, passing the Royal Armouries Museum. Next boaters join the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, travelling through fields and woods and enjoying spectacular views of old West Riding industry and passing through Sir Titus Salt’s fascinating model town at Saltaire, with Italianate mills and Hockney Museum. After several staircase locks along the way, boaters reach the famous Five Rise Locks at Bingley. The total journey there and back travels 110 miles, passes through 118 locks and takes 54 cruising hours.

3. Experience the Edinburgh Festival afloat…Edinburgh Quay is a day and a half’s journey from our base at Falkirk, on the Lowland Canals in Scotland. The journey starts with a trip through the iconic Falkirk Wheel (the world’s first and only rotating boat lift) and then on to the Union Canal, passing through Linlithgow, Broxburn and Ratho. Visitor moorings are available at Edinburgh Quay, just a five-minute walk from Princes Street, with easy access to the City’s many attractions and Festival events. In 2015, the Edinburgh International Festival dates will run from 7-31 August, coinciding for the first time with the Fringe events. Highlights include a staging of Ivo van Hove’s Antigones, starring Juliette Binoche and a stripped-down production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro by Iavn Fischer and the Budapest festival orchestra. 

4. Float across ‘The Stream in the Sky’…the Llangollen Canal’s incredible World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales stands at over 38 metres high above the Dee Valley. It consists of a cast iron trough supported on iron arched ribs, carried on 19 hollow pillars. Each span is 16-metres wide. With not even a hand rail on the south side of the aqueduct to obscure the stunning views of the valley below, canal boaters literally feel like they are floating above the earth. From Drifters’ base at Trevor, close to the Aqueduct (which will celebrate its 210th birthday in 2015), holiday-makers can travel to the pretty towns of Llangollen and Ellesmere, visiting the Horseshoe Falls at Llangollen, the Ellesmere Lakes, teaming with wildlife and Chirk, with its 900-year old Castle.

5. Visit the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park & enjoy the Rugby World Cup afloat…Some of the matches for the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be held at the Olympic Stadium, on the banks of the River Lea. It takes around nine hours to reach Three Mills at the edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from our canal boat hire base on the Grand Union Canal Paddington Arm in West London. The journey passes through picturesque Little Venice, Regent’s Park, London Zoo, Camden Lock, Kings Cross and Victoria Park. There are plenty of safe places to moor along the way, with easy access to London’s top attractions, theatres, restaurants and shops. The first Olympic Stadium match takes place on Weds 23 September, France vs Romania.

6. Cruise the Caen Hill Flight, 25 years after it was restored…with 16 of its 29 locks falling in a straight line, the Caen Hill flight of locks on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Devizes in Wiltshire is visually the most impressive in the country. The locks were the final link in the Kennet & Avon Canal’s construction, opening in 1810. By 1950 they had become derelict but after a major restoration effort, they were reopened HM The Queen in 1990. From our base at Hilperton near Trowbridge it takes less than four hours to reach the base of the Caen Hill Flight. The journey through the locks takes around five hours and it’s not long before boaters reach the beautiful Vale of Pewsey and the ancient Savernake Forest.

7. See the newly cleaned dinosaurs at the Oxford Museum of Natural History…the Oxford University Museum of Natural History reopened in 2014 after a £2million project to fix its leaking roof. Over 8,500 Victorian glass tiles were individually removed and resealed and a mass specimen cleaning project was undertaken, including all the big dinosaurs! Founded in 1860 as the centre for scientific study at the University of Oxford, this fascinating Museum now holds the University’s internationally significant collections of geological and zoological specimens, including the Oxfordshire dinosaurs and the Dodo. Our Oxford base on the River Thames is just a three-hour cruise from the City centre, where canal boat holiday-makers can moor-up close to Hythe Bridge and use their boat as a base to visit the Museum and explore the City.

8. Visit Bristol’s vibrant Floating Harbour…from our Sydney Wharf base in the centre of Bath, canal boat holiday-makers can head west on the River Avon, reaching Bristol’s exciting Floating Harbour in eight hours. Over 200 years ago, 80 acres of tidal river was impounded in Bristol, allowing visiting ships to remain afloat all the time. The Harbour grew as a busy commercial port. Today leisure boaters can enjoy moorings there and use it as a base to visit Brunel’s masterpiece, the SS Great Britain, the Blue Reef Aquarium and the @Bristol science centre with its Planetarium and hundreds of hands-on exhibits to explore.

9. Potter through the Peak District…Our Peak District base, at the junction of the Caldon and Trent & Mersey canals, near Stoke on Trent, offers the perfect way to experience this beautiful National Park in the heart of England. The gentle 12-hour cruise along the peaceful Caldon Canal to Froghall Basin is perfect for narrowboat holiday beginners on a short break. On a week’s break, boater’s can travel to Whaley Bridge at the end of the Peak Forest Canal and back, passing through Harecastle Tunnel, Congleton, Macclesfield and Marple.

10. Glide through the Breacon Beacons…isolated from the main canal network, the beautiful Monmouth & Brecon Canal runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park. Stretching 35 miles from Brecon to Cwmbran, this peaceful waterway, with very few locks, offers canal boat holiday-makers incredible mountain views. From our base at Goytre Wharf, near Abergavenny, on a week’s break, boaters can cruise to Brecon and back, passing through Georgian Crickhowell, with its fascinating 13th century castle, and Talybont-on-Usk with walks to the waterfalls at Blaen y Glyn. Brecon itself is home to a cathedral, theatre, cinema, castle ruins and stunning Georgian architecture, as well as some of the best views of the Brecon Beacons from Pen y Fan, the highest point in Southern Britain at 886m.

Take a Canal Boat Holiday this Halloween

Chill out on a canal boat holiday this Halloween

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Reputedly playing host to hundreds of ghosts, with 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 afloat.

Here are a few of the spookiest places to go:

• Get the chills in Chester…visit the City’s old Northgate where the canal was dug into part of the town’s moat and a Roman centurion can sometimes be seen guarding the entrance to the City. And The King’s Inn, an old coaching house, is believed to be haunted by three separate spirits. Travel from our canal boat hire base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, reaching Chester in seven hours, passing through nine locks.

• Watch out for the Monkey Man on the Shroppie…the Shropshire Union Canal is said to be Britain’s most haunted canal with five ghosts along its length, including ‘The Monkey Man’ at Bridge 39 near Norbury. This hideous black, shaggy coated being is believed to be the ghost of a boatman drowned there in the 19th century. Head north from our’ base at Brewood on the Shropshire Union Canal in Staffordshire near Stafford.

• Ghost Tunnel…Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, close to our Gayton base, has spooked a number of boaters over the years. At 3,076 yards (2.81km) it’s one of the longest on the canal system. When construction began in 1793, the tunnel was a major feat of engineering. Teams of navvies worked with picks and shovels for three years until they hit quicksand and the tunnel collapsed, killing 14 men. A new route for the tunnel was found and it finally opened on 25 March 1805. Over the years, a number of boaters travelling through the tunnel have reported seeing lights and a second route emerging. But the tunnel runs straight through the hill so people have must seen the flicker of candlelight at the spot where the first tunnel would have intersected with the main canal tunnel. Perhaps the ghostly navvies are still working there…?

• Tunnel Terror on the Union Canal in Scotland…two walkers and their dogs were terrified by the apparition of a man who had been lured to the Union Canal tunnel at Falkirk in the 1940s and viciously murdered after he had been unable to pay his gambling debt. Our Falkirk base is very close to this tunnel.

• A Killing at Kidsgrove…the Trent & Mersey Canal’s Harecastle Tunnel at Kidsgrove is said to be home to a shrieking boggart – the ghost of Kit Crewbucket who was murdered and whose headless corpse was dumped in the canal. Travel there from our Peak District base on the Trent & Mersey near Stafford.

• Aqueduct apparition…The Llangollen Canal in Wrexham is haunted by an eerie figure that can sometimes be seen on moonlit nights gliding along the towpath by the World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Our base at Trevor is just 20 minutes from the Aqueduct.

Top 5 Autumn breaks afloat

Top 5 Autumn breaks afloat

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A canal boat holiday is a great way to enjoy the splendid colours of autumn in the hedgerows and trees that line our waterways.

And there are plenty of foraging opportunities along the way – look out for apples, blackberries, elderberries, damsons and sloes and make freshly-picked fruit crumbles on board.

Here are our top five destinations this autumn:

1. Go blackberry picking on the Stratford Canal…from our canal boat hire base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal, it’s a picturesque six-hour cruise through the Warwickshire countryside to Stratford upon Avon, with plenty of hedgerow forgaging opportunities along the way. Once at the birthplace of the Bard, boaters can moor up in Bancroft Basin, just a stone’s throw from the Swan Theatre and town’s shops, restaurants and museums.

2. Enjoy stunning views of the Leicestershire countryside…Foxton Locks, on the Grand Union Canal Leicester Line, celebrated its 200th anniversary this year. The Foxton flight can be reached in five hours from our base at North Kilworth. From the top of the flight, boaters can enjoy panoramic views of the Leicestershire countryside and check out the tiny Museum dedicated to the Foxton Inclined Plane boat lift, an extraordinary feet of Victorian engineering which once operated there.

3. Wend your way through Wiltshire…the historic town of Bradford on Avon can be reached on a short break from our Hilperton base on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Trowbridge, with beautiful views of the Wiltshire countryside to enjoy along the way. Bradford on Avon is an architectural treasure chest, with gems including the magnificent 14th century Tithe Barn and striking Town Bridge over the River Avon.

4. Cruise through the Scottish lowlands…from our base at the Falkirk Wheel boat lift, it’s a peaceful five-hour cruise through the Scottish lowlands along the Union Canal to the historic town of Linlithgow. Here, narrowboat holiday-makers can visit the beautifully preserved remains of Linlithgow Palace on the shores of Linlithgow Loch, and sample some of the town’s excellent eateries, including the award-winning Four Marys pub.

5. Explore the Brecon Beacons afloat…the beautiful Monmouth & Brecon Canal offers 35 miles of quiet countryside to explore with incredible mountain views. From our base at Goytre Wharf near Abergavenny, boaters can journey through the Brecon Beacons National Park from Brecon to Cwmbran, visiting the Georgian town of Crickhowell with its 13th century castle and picturesque Talybont-on-Usk, with walking access to Blaen y Glyn waterfalls.

Top 10 August bank holidays afloat

Top 10 August bank holidays afloat

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Canal boat holidays are great for families, offering the chance to set off on an adventure together, learn how to work the locks, spot wildlife, explore traffic-free towpaths and visit waterside attractions along the way.

All our operators provide hirers with life jackets and boat steering tuition. Bikes can be stored on the roof of the boat and dogs are welcome aboard most hire boats.

Here are our top 10 August Bank Holiday destinations for 2014:

1. Visit the magnificent Horseshoe Falls…from our base at Chirk on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, the picturesque town of Llangollen with walking access to the famous Horseshoe Falls, is an eight-hour cruise away. The journey includes traversing the awesome 305-metre long World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which towers 38 metres high above the Dee Valley.

2. See the tigers at London Zoo…from our base on the Grand Union Canal in West London, ZSL London Zoo can be found alongside the Regent’s Canal, just a five-hour cruise away. Narrowboat holiday-makers can explore the world’s oldest scientific zoo and head to Tiger Territory to see the three Sumatran tiger cubs born there in February.

3. Visit Edinburgh Castle and Mary King’s Close…from our base at the Falkirk Wheel boat lift on the junction of the Union and Forth & Clyde canals in Scotland, Edinburgh is an 11-hour cruise away. Visitor moorings can be found at Edinburgh Quay, just five minutes from Princes Street. From there, it’s easy to access to the sights of Edinburgh, including the magnificent castle and fascinating Mary King’s Close, frozen in time beneath the Royal Mile.

4. See the freshly cleaned dinosaurs at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History…this fascinating museum reopened earlier this year after a £2million project to fix its leaking roof. Over 8,500 Victorian glass tiles were individually removed and resealed and a mass specimen cleaning project was undertaken, including all the big dinosaurs! Our Oxford base on the River Thames is just a three-hour cruise from the City centre where canal boat holiday-makers can moor-up close to Hythe Bridge and use their boat as a base to visit the Museum and explore the City.

5. Watch Wicked at the Birmingham Hippodrome…With more canals than Venice, there’s no better way to travel into Birmingham City Centre than by canal boat. 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. There’s plenty for families to see and do there, including a visit to the Sea Life Centre at Brindley Place and the chance to see the acclaimed musical ‘Wicked’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

6. Enjoy the Pennines afloat…from our base at Sowerby Bridge on the junction of the Rochdale Canal and Calder & Hebble Navigation, a trip to the historic market town Todmorden is the perfect short break destination. Climbing through woods, fields and small stone towns, canal boat holiday-makers pass through the old mill town of Hebden Bridge, nestled in a fork in the hills. The journey there and back covers 20 miles, 32 locks and takes around 16 hours.

7. Travel to Bosworth Field and find out more about King Richard III…from our base at Stretton under Fosse on the North Oxford Canal near Rugby, the beautiful Ashby Canal makes a great short break destination. The canal passes close to the fascinating site of the Battle of Bosworth Field, where in 1485 King Richard III died and lost his crown to Henry Tudor.

8. Visit Bristol’s Floating Harbour, home of Blackbeard the Pirate…on a short break from Sydney Wharf in the centre of Bath, canal boat holiday-makers can head west on the River Avon and moor up in Bristol’s Floating Harbour. Once there, boaters can visit Brunel’s masterpiece, the SS Great Britain and the Blue Reef Aquarium to find out more about the city’s fascinating marine history, including Blackbeard the Pirate, said to have been born there. The journey to Bristol takes eight hours, passing through 13 locks.

9. Visit the Roman Baths in Bath…our base at Hilperton on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire is a day’s cruise from Bath City Centre. Canal boaters can moor-up close to Pulteney Bridge (reminiscent of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence), enjoy views of Bath’s fabulous Georgian architecture and visit the Roman Baths, one of 17 museums located within a square mile of this World Heritage Status city.

10. Swap your canal boat for a steam train…from our Peak District base at the junction of the Caldon and Trent & Mersey canals, near Stoke on Trent, it’s a gentle 12-hour cruise along the peaceful Caldon Canal to Froghall Basin. From there, it’s a short walk to Froghall Station and the opportunity to take a steam train ride on the Churnet Valley Railway.

Best Spring canal boat holidays

Top 10 reasons to take a canal boat holiday

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1. It’s the fastest way to slow down – with speed limits of 4mph and hundreds of miles of tranquil unspoilt countryside to cruise through, stress levels are immediately reduced on a narrowboat holiday and a whole new much steadier pace of life takes over

2. Freedom to explore – the majority of our inland waterways offer boating holiday-makers free moorings, so, glass of wine in hand, you are free to choose wherever you lay your boat for the night

3. Keep up your fitness – working the locks, exploring local footpaths, historic sites, towns and villages, cycling the towpaths and standing at the tiller enjoying the fresh air are all the ideal antidote to stuffy gyms and office blues

4. The greener way – a canal boat holiday is estimated to be some 20 times better for the planet than spending two hours flying for a holiday overseas and as soon as you swap your car for a boat, you’ll be using a third of the fuel and emitting a sixth of the pollution

5. Pubs galore – with hundreds of waterside pubs, a watering hole is never far away, many of them historic rural locals

6. History is all around – thousands of historic structures make up the waterway system, including: the soaring majesty of the World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct; the extraordinary Anderton Boat Lift, also known as “The Cathedral of the Canals”; and the awesome three-mile long Standedge Tunnel cutting through the Pennines

7. Watch out for wildlife – waterways provide homes for large numbers of birds, plants and animals, including many protected species – the water vole, otter and kingfisher, so there’s always something special to look out for

8. All the comforts of home – today’s canal boats are fully equipped with all the essential mod cons – central heating, hot water, TV, showers, flushing toilets, and some now have Wifi too

9. Help keep the local economy afloat – £1½ billion is spent by visitors to the waterways each year on goods and services, supporting over 54,000 jobs

10. Try something new – with around a fifth of canal boat hire boaters new to the market each year, it’s easy to learn how to steer a boat and navigate the waterways.