Culture on the Canals

Culture on the Canals

There are dozens of fantastic art and historic centres on or very close to Britain’s 3,000 mile canal and river network.

We’ve put together a list of our top five cultural destinations to head for on your narrowboat holiday, together with our nearest canal boat hire base.

***The Swan Theatre in Stratford…Drifters’ base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal near Henley in Arden is a six hour cruise from Stratford-on-Avon and its world-famous riverside Swan Theatre.  The theatre’s 2013 summer season includes productions of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ and ‘As You Like It’.

***The David Hockney Gallery at Saltaire…canal boat holiday-makers can easily reach Sir Titus Salt’s fascinating model town on a week’s narrowboat holiday from Drifters’ 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.

***The Theatre Royal in Bath…Drifters’ base at Bradford on Avon is just a seven-hour cruise from Bath City centre, where narrowboat holiday-makers can find convenient moorings.  Over 200 years old, the World Heritage City of Bath’s beautiful Georgian theatre is one of the country’s best-loved.  Diana Quick is currently starring in ‘The American Plan’ and The Moscow City Ballet is performing there until 17 March.

***The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford…Drifters’ base at Oxford on the River Thames is just a three-hour cruise from Oxford City Centre, home of the Ashmolean Museum.  Founded in 1683, and extensively refurbished in 2007, it is Britain’s first public museum and home to the University of Oxford’s world-class collections of art and archaeology.  The Ashmolean has a series of permanent exhibition galleries, including a fascinating and significant collection of Ancient Egyptian artefacts.  Its 2013 exhibition programme has opened with ‘Xu Bing’s Landscape Landscript’, showing landscapes by one of China’s most exciting and innovative artists working today.

***Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire…Drifters’ base at Great Haywood on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal near Stafford, is just a short cruise or walk from Lord Lichfield’s beautiful Shugborough Estate, now owned by the National Trust.  Set in 900 acres of stunning parkland and riverside gardens, it is a rare survival of a complete estate with all major buildings including the fine Georgian Mansion House, servants’ quarters, model farm and walled garden. Visitors can explore the Mansion’s state rooms and private apartments of the Earls of Lichfield, see costumed characters in the servant’s quarters and farmstead make cheese, beer and bread and find out about the estate’s rumoured connections to the Holy Grail.

Visit Birmingham’s Book Festival Afloat

Year of the Snake

Year of the Snake

Chinese New Year will be celebrated by a third of the world’s population on Sunday (10 February) and this year is the year of the Snake.

To celebrate, we’ve put together a list of serpent-related canal boat holiday destinations:

Look out for our native grass snake…from April to September, narrowboat holiday-makers in England and Wales might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of our native grass snake.

Grey/green in colour, the grass snake is a shy, placid, sun-loving creature that enjoys basking on grassy banks on warm summer days.  River banks, ponds and ditches are their preferred habitats, although they will also make a home of hedgerows, meadows and woodland margins.

If frightened, the grass snake will either turn and run or ‘play dead’, an impressive performance that can involve the snake writhing onto its back and lolling its tongue out of its mouth.

Be amazed by the black mamba at London Zoo…the world’s oldest scientific zoo is right next to the Regent’s Canal in Regent’s Park, so even if you don’t moor up and visit, you can still see some of the animals as you cruise by.

London Zoo’s Reptile House (which features in the opening scene of the first Harry Potter film), is home to some of the biggest and most venomous snakes on earth, including a black mamba.

Drifters’ nearest canal boat hire base is on the Grand Union Canal in West London, just a four and a half hour cruise away

See the venomous king cobra at West Midlands Safari Park…the venom from a single bite of a king cobra is strong enough to kill an elephant.  But the main source of food for these feared animals is other snakes, making them cannilbalistic as well as deadly!

To reach the West Midlands Safari Park, narrowboat holiday-makers can moor up in Kidderminster on the Staffs & Worcester Canal and take a 10 minute taxi ride to the zoo.  Kidderminster is a seven-hour cruise from Drifters’ base at Worcester.

Marvel at the reticulated pythons at Chester Zoo…famous for its medieval architecture and city walls, Chester is also home to an award-winning zoo with over 8,000 animals to see.  The Zoo’s impressive reptile collection includes two enormous reticulated pythons, the longest species of snake in the world.

Medieval Chester is just seven hours from our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal.

See stuffed snakes at the Natural History Museum at Tring…snakes are included in an incredible array of over 4,000 stuffed animals on display at the Natural History Museum at Tring in Hertfordshire.  This fascinating collection, which was gifted to the nation in by the Rothschild family 1937, was put together by the scientist, collector and founder of the Museum,  Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild.

Tring is close to the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire, so canal boat holiday-makers can moor close by at Bulbourne and walk to Tring town centre, just over a mile away.

Visit the boa constrictors at Dudley Zoological Gardens…Eighteen months ago reptile keepers at Dudley Zoo were surprised by the birth of 19 boa babies in their Reptile House.  These large non-venous snakes from Central and South America kill their food by constriction.  The babies have now been re-homed but their parents are still in residence.

Dudley Zoo is about an eight-hour cruise from Drifters’ base at Tardebigge.  Moor up on the Dudley Canal at the Black Country Living Museum and it’s a five-minute taxi ride to the Zoo.

Discover the mythology of snakes at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford…there are many representations of serpents in the extraordinary collection of objects from lost cultures held by the Pitt Rivers Museum.

For example, the Court Art of Benin collection from southern Nigeria, has a number of artefacts depicting snakes.  In Benin cosmology, snakes symbolize the power of Osun, the god of nature.  The python is also a symbol of Olokun, the god of water and it is said that pythons are sent by Olokun to punish wrongdoing.

Drifters has a base at Eynsham on the River Thames, just a three-hour cruise from moorings close to Oxford City Centre.

Swap theme park thrills for animal magic at Drayton Manor Zoo…part of the Drayton Manor Family Theme Park, Drayton Manor Zoo at Tamworth in Staffordshire is home to one of the largest collections of snakes in Britain.

Drifters’ base at Great Haywood is a 12-hour cruise and short taxi ride away.

See Taiwan beauty snakes at Edinburgh Zoo…as well as being home to the UK’s only giant pandas, Edinburgh Zoo offers visitors the chance to see Taiwan beauty snakes.  These large snakes are colourful with beautifully patterned bodies.  They are seen as a delicacy in their native country and are often found in the food markets and menus of Taiwanese restaurants, as well as being used in traditional medicine.

Edinburgh, with centrally located moorings at Edinburgh Quay, is a day and a half’s cruise along the Union Canal from Drifters’ base at the Falkirk Wheel.  There’s a frequent bus service to the Zoo from the City Centre.

Visit the rattlesnakes at Bristol Zoo…the reptile house at Bristol Zoo is home to a variety of snake species, including the Aruba Island rattlesnake.  Belonging to the family of vipers, there are only about 230 of these critically endangered animals left in the wild.

Drifters’ base at Bath on the Kennet & Avon Canal is an eight hour journey away from Bristol Floating Harbour.  Bristol Zoo Gardens is in Clifton, a short taxi or bus ride away.

Best Spring canal boat holidays

RURAL SPRING BREAKS ON THE CANALS

Spring is a great time of year to take to the water as the countryside bursts into new life – trees come into leaf, birds nest and spring flowers emerge on the towpath.

Canal boat holidays offer the chance to see the abundance of wildlife that lives in and around our beautiful 3,000 mile inland waterway network.  From kingfishers, cuckoos and swans to bats, water voles and otters, there’s always something special to look out for.

Drifters’ Spring canal boat hire prices start at £355 for a short break (3 or 4 nights) and £545 for a week on a boat for four.

Here’s our top 10 rural journeys for this Spring:

***Travel to the Shropshire Lake District…from Drifters’ bases at Trevor, Chirk or Whitchurch on the incredibly beautiful Llangollen Canal, the Ellesmere Lakes (also known as The North Shropshire Lake District) are reachable on a short break.  Made up of nine glacial meres, these lakes and their surrounding woodlands are a nature lover’s paradise.

***Journey through the Leicestershire Countryside and visit Foxton Locks…from Drifters’ base at North Kilworth on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal narrowboat holiday-makers can reach Foxton Locks on a short break, enjoying magnificent views of the Leicestershire countryside.

***Cross the Pennines on a canal boat…from Drifters’ bases at Foulridge on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Cumbria or Sowerby Bridge on the Calder & Hebble Navigation in Yorkshire, narrowboat hirers can cross the backbone of England in a week and travel through the heart of West Riding, immersed in timeless scenery.

***Cruise through the beautiful Vale of Pewsey…the pretty canalside village of Pewsey in Wiltshire is reachable on a week’s holiday from Drifters’ bases on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Hilperton or Bradford on Avon.  The canal cuts through the beautiful Vale of Pewsey, which is an area of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury Plain to the south from the Malborough Downs to the north and is part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

***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 has very few locks and incredible mountain views.  Drifters has a base here at Goytre Wharf, close to Abergavenny.

***Take a short break on Wedgwood’s Caldon Canal…one of the quietest and most picturesque canals in Britain, the Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent & Mersey Canal originally built to transport porcelain.  The waterway travels 17 miles from its junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stoke on Trent, through the beautiful Churnet Valley to Froghall Wharf.  Drifters’ base at Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire is ideally placed for canal boat hirers to enjoy a short break on the Caldon.

***Meander along the Oxford Canal…Drifters’ base at Napton in Warwickshire is at the head of the predominantly rural Oxford Canal.  One of the earliest built, the canal follows the contours of the land, meandering its way south to Oxford through pretty villages like Shipton-on-Cherwell with stone built houses, cosy pubs, ancient churches and village greens.

***Visit the Scottish Lowlands by boat…from Drifters’ base at Falkirk the stunning Scottish Lowlands can be explored by canal boat.  Boaters heading east to Edinburgh must first travel through the magnificent Falkirk Wheel boat lift, built at the intersection of the Forth & Clyde and Union canals as part of the Millennium Link project to restore the waterways linking the east and west coasts of Scotland.  Once through the Wheel, canal boat holiday-makers can travel along the peaceful Union Canal, passing through the pretty canal villages of Ratho and Linlithgow and reaching Edinburgh in a day and a half.

***Enjoy the rural Ashby Canal…from Drifters’ base at Stretton under Fosse on the North Oxford Canal near Rugby, boaters easily can travel to the peaceful and entirely rural Ashby Canal.  Originally built to move coal and limestone from the Ashby Woulds, the canal passes close to the historic market town of Market Bosworth, the famous Battlefield of Bosworth and a number of cosy country pubs.

***Wonder at West Berkshire’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty…Drifters’ base at Aldermaston on the Kennet & Avon Canal offers canal boat holiday-makers the chance to cruise through parts of the North Wessex Downs – one of the largest tracts of chalk downland in southern England and perhaps one of the least affected by development.  A four night mid-week break gives enough time to cruise to Hungerford and back, passing through Newbury and the pretty village of Kintbury along the way.

 

Visit a Waterway Museum

Visit a Waterway Museum

To find out more about the fascinating history of our canal network, including the people who built and worked on it, why not visit a waterway museum on your canal boat holiday.

We’ve listed our favourite museums and visitor attractions, together with the nearest Drifters canal boat hire base.

The National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port

History comes to life at the National Waterways Museum on the banks of the Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal in Cheshire, with extensive in-door displays, boat trips and historic buildings.

Designed by Thomas Telford under the direction of William Jessop, the docks at Ellesmere Port were still in use as late as the 1950’s.  Visitors to the museum can walk round its locks, docks and warehouses and visit its forge, stables and workers cottages.

The Museum is also home to the waterways archive and a unique fleet of historic working boats, cared for by the Heritage Boatyard team.  It offers an exciting programme of events, featuring everything from beer festivals to historic boat rallies.

Drifters’ nearest canal boat hire base is a ten-hour cruise away at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire.  Prices start at £465 for a short break and £660 for a week.

The London Canal Museum

Housed in a former ice warehouse on the Regent’s Canal in King’s Cross, The London Canal Museum tells the story of London’s canals, the cargoes carried, the people who lived and worked on the waterways and the horses that pulled their boats.

Visitors can peer down into the huge Victorian ice well used to store ice imported from Norway by ship and canal boat.  The warehouse was built in 1862-3 for Carlo Gatti, the famous ice cream maker so the Museum also features the history of the ice trade and ice cream.

Drifters’ nearest base on the Grand Union Canal in West London is a six-hour cruise away.  2013 prices start at £525 for a short break and £808 for a week.

The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne

Set in the beautiful village of Stoke Bruerne alongside the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, The Canal Museum is a treasure trove of stories, displays, films and collections about our waterways.

Housed on two floors of a historic corn mill, the museum provides an excellent overview of the history of Britain’s canals.

Visitors can find out about the great engineers and navvies who created the canals, and the boat families, ‘leggers’ and lock keepers who lived and worked on them.

Examples of canal crafts, traditional clothing and specialist tools are on display, as well as models of working boats, Claverton Pumping Station and the Foxton Inclinded Plane boat lift.

Drifters’ nearest base is just an hour away on the Grand Union Canal at Gayton.  Prices start at £455 for a short break and £695 for a week.

Gloucester Waterways Museum

The Waterways Museum at Gloucester is housed in a Grade II listed warehouse at the heart of the City’s fine Victorian docks, beside the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and River Severn.

It is home to historic boats, real working engines, intricate models, objects designated of national importance, interactive displays, archive films and trip boats.

Through a series of galleries, the Museum sheds light on all aspects of our waterways.  For example, ‘Trade and The Docks’ captures the atmosphere of a working warehouse and shows the role played by docks and canals in the British Empire and Industrial Revolution.

While ‘The Story of Canals’ gives a fascinating overview of the people who created, worked and lived on the canals.

Drifters’ nearest base is at Worcester, a 10-hour cruise along the River Severn.  Prices start at £355 for a short break and £545 for a week.

The Standedge Tunnel

Tunnelling three and a quarter miles beneath the Pennines, Standedge is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in Britain.

It took the navvies 16 years to build, cutting through solid rock to connect Marsden in West Yorkshire with Diggle in Greater Manchester in 1811.

The story of this incredible feat of 18 and 19th century engineering is told at the Standedge Tunnel visitor centre at Marsden, where a trip boat also operates.

Narrowboat holiday-makers can book a passage through the tunnel with a Canal & River Trust pilot, giving a vivid personal commentary.

Drifters’ nearest canal boat hire base is 20 miles away at Sowerby Bridge.  Prices for a week’s break start at £515 (including fuel).

The Anderton Boat Lift

No description can adequately convey the sheer scale of this engineering feat, designed by Edwin Clark.

Also known as ‘The Cathedral of the Canals’ this extraordinary structure raises boats 15 metres (50ft) from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal.  It consists of two huge counterbalanced water tanks, each large enough to take a barge or pair of narrowboats, held within a giant three-storey-high iron spider-like construction.

The Operations Centre at Anderton tells the story of the lift, with interactive displays.  Narrowboat hirers can book a passage through in advance through their hire company.

Drifters has a base at Anderton, with 2013 prices starting at £455 for a short break and £695 for a week’s hire. 

The Falkirk Wheel

Built as part of the Millennium Link project to restore the canals linking the east and west coasts of Scotland, The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s first and only rotating boat lift.

Standing at a height of 35 metres, it moves boats between the Union Canal and Forth & Clyde Canal, replacing a flight of 11 locks which was dismantled in 1933.

It can carry 600 tonnes, including eight or more boats and uses just 1.5KWh of energy to turn – the same amount as it would take to boil eight household kettles.

The Falkirk Wheel visitor centre vividly tells the story of the canals and the Wheel.

Drifters has two canal boat hire bases at the Falkirk Wheel, with 2013 prices starting at £446 for a short break and £686 for a week’s hire.

Bingley Five Rise Locks

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 Five Rise Café has a cabinet of curiosities which explains why the canal and locks were built.  There’s also a Family Trail to follow and a Smartphone App to download with videos and real stories about the locks.

Drifters’ nearest canal boat hire base is 30 miles away at Foulridge.  2013 prices for a week’s break start at £515 (including fuel).

Foxton Inclined Plane Museum

The Foxton Inclined Plane was short-lived but fascinating example of Victorian ingenuity.

The Foxton staircase of locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal was built in 1810.  A trip through the locks takes about 45 minutes, rising 75ft and uses 25,000 gallons of water.  Only narrowboats can travel through.

Towards the end of the 19th century, with the coming of the railways, canal carrying companies wanted to use bigger boats to take coal from the North to the London factories.  Grand Junction Canal Company engineer Gordon Cale Thomas put forward the idea of a unique boat lift which consisted of two huge tanks of water linked by wire rope.

A steam driven winch at the top wound the rope on to one side of its drum and simultaneously let it off the other, raising and lowering the tanks.  Two narrowboats or one barge could fit in each tank.

The lift, which opened in 1900, reduced the journey time up or down the hill to 12 minutes and used considerably less water.

Sadly, with the reduction in traffic on the canals, the lift was mothballed in 1911 to save money and in 1928 the machinery was sold for scrap.

The Foxton Inclined Plane Trust runs a small museum in the lift’s former boiler house at Foxton Locks which tells the story of the incredible Foxton Inclined Plane.

Drifters’ nearest base is a five-hour cruise away at North Kilworth.  2013 prices start at £465 for a short break or £660 for a week.

Take a romantic canal boat holiday for two this Valentine’s

Take a romantic canal boat holiday for two this Valentine’s

Cosy double berths, wood burning stoves, frosty towpaths and still moorings make canals the perfect romantic hideaway.

A number of our canal boat hire bases offer winter cruising and luxury boats for two, giving couples the chance to escape on board their very own ‘love boat’!

Once afloat, light the on-board wood-burning stove and cuddle up for a romantic evening afloat or stop-off at historic country pubs with roaring log fires.

Today’s narrowboats are fully equipped with all the essential mod cons, including central heating, hot water, televisions and DVD players, so whatever the weather it’s always nice and cosy on board.

It’s free to moor almost everywhere on the waterway network, so a canal boat could provide the perfect romantic hide-away in the countryside miles from anywhere or a base for exploring exciting waterside destinations like Bath, Chester and Birmingham.

Here’s a list of boat yards offering winter narrowboat holidays and ideas of where to go:

  • Enjoy Valentine’s Day afloat in Bath…Drifters’ base at Sydney Wharf in the centre of the World Heritage City of Bath offers the chance to enjoy Valentine’s afloat in one of Britain’s most romantic places.  With world-famous museums, galleries, shops and restaurants and some of the finest Georgian architecture in Britain, Bath makes a fantastic destination for couples.  And if you fancy a cruise, you can head east along the beautiful Kennet & Avon Canal to historic Bradford on Avon with its early Saxon church and mediaeval tithe barn. Short breaks from Bath over Valentine’s Day start at £525, weekly hire from £745.
  • Visit the romantic ‘Stream in the Sky’the beautiful 46-mile Llangollen Canal is one of the most popular on the inland waterway network, and navigating the awe-inspiring 300metre World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, soaring nearly 40 metres high above the rushing waters of the River Dee is tantamount to free flight.  What a place to propose?! From Drifters’ hire base at Trevor, right next to the aqueduct, a short break to Ellesmere and back, offers the chance to travel over the aqueduct and explore the beautiful Vale of Llangollen and Shropshire Lake District.  Short breaks from Trevor over Valentine’s Day start at £465, weekly hire from £660.
  • Head for the bright lights of Birmingham…the vibrant City of Birmingham with city centre moorings at Gas Street Basin is just a five-hour cruise away from Drifters base at Tardebigge on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal near Bromsgrove, making it the perfect journey for beginners.  Short breaks from Tardebigge over Valentine’s Day start at £465, weekly hire from £660.
  • Visit Mediaeval Chester…from Drifters’ base at Bunbury you can reach the ancient City of Chester on a short break, travelling along the Shropshire Union Canal.  Chester boasts a vibrant market hall, an award winning zoo, busy racecourse, trendy bars, shopping malls and restaurants.  Or head to the historic market town of Middlewich on the junction of the Trent & Mersey and Shropshire Union Canals.  Short breaks from Bunbury over Valentine’s Day start at £465, weekly hire from £660.
  • Explore the Potteries in Staffordshire…Drifters’ 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 travel to historic Market Drayton, home of the gingerbread man along the Shropshire Union.  On a short break, head through quiet countryside to the South Staffordshire village of Coven on the Staffs & Worcs Canal.  Short breaks from Great Haywood over Valentine’s Day start from £465, weekly hire from £660.
Visit the Montgomery Canal

Visit the Montgomery Canal

Although only seven miles of this incredibly beautiful and remote canal is currently navigable, a narrowboat holiday along The Monty is a must for wildlife enthusiasts.

Once derelict, the Montgomery Canal reverted back to nature so well that much of it has become a haven for rare plants and animals and some sections have been designated Sights of Special Scientific Importance (SSSIs).

Authorised by an act of parliament in 1794, the canal runs for 38 miles from its junction with the Llangollen at Frankton Locks near Ellesmere in Shropshire to Newtown in Montgomeryshire, now part of Powys.

While most canals could generate enough income from the cargo they carried to be financially viable, the Montgomery Canal was built to transport lime for agricultural purposes.  Local landowners and promoters of the canal hoped to achieve a return on their investment through greater crop yields, rather than the more usual share dividends.

Partly because of the late arrival of railways in the area, the canal remained profitable until after the First World War.  But from then it became increasingly run down and was sadly officially abandoned in 1944.

Thanks to the dogged restoration efforts of the Shropshire Union Canal Society, boaters can now travel through six locks as far as Queens Head, passing over the new single span Perry Aqueduct.

Volunteer working parties continue to work towards full restoration for boats but the stretch already opened has much to offer the canal boat holiday-maker.

The route is incredibly quiet and rural and access to the canal is controlled by the lock keeper at Welsh Frankton, allowing only a limited number of boats on the length at any one time.  This helps to create a delicate balance between the needs of a navigation built for boats with the important ecology that is now established there.

A further isolated 17 mile section is usable through Welshpool and canoeists can access almost the entire canal, apart from the three mile dry section between Redwith Bridge and Llaymynech.  Thankfully, the towpath runs the full length, giving full access to walkers.

Just some of the waterways’ highlights include: historic warehouses at Rednal and Queens Head; pubs, restaurants, bike and canoe hire at the pretty village of Maesbury Marsh; the nature reserves at Aston Top Lock; angling at Gronwen; the stone built Vyrnwyn Aqueduct; and the market town of Welshpool, with its medieval timber castle.

Our nearest canal boat hire bases are at Blackwater Meadow near Ellesmere in Shropshire and at Chirk in Wrexham, both on the Llangollen Canal.

 

DRIFTERS TOP 10 CANAL BOAT HOLIDAYS FOR 2013

DRIFTERS TOP 10 CANAL BOAT HOLIDAYS FOR 2013

  1. Take a one-way trip through the Pennines…One of the great canal journeys this takes you across the backbone of England and through the heart of West Riding, in scenery varying from the timeless calm of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal summit to the hubbub of Leeds waterfront.  Highlights: the Stanley Ferry aqueducts; Leeds waterfront and Royal Armouries Museum; Sir Titus Salt’s Italianate mills and model town at Saltaire; Bingley Five Rise of locks; spectacular views of the Yorkshire Dales; and Foulridge Tunnel driven through the top of the Pennies.  Bases: Drifters One-way trips start either at the junction of the Rochdale Canal and Calder & Hebble Navigation in Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire or on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Foulridge in Lancashire.  Prices: a week’s hire on a boat for four people starts at £825, rising to £1500 in the peak of the summer holidays.  Fuel is included.  First pet goes free.  Transfers for four people cost £40.
  2. Float across ‘The Stream in the Sky’…the Llangollen Canal’s awesome 305-metre long World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales stands at over 38 metres high above the Dee Valley.  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!  Journey highlights: the picturesque town of Llangollen and its access to Horseshoe Falls; Ellesmere lakes (the Shropshire Lake District) teeming with wildlife; Chirk Castle; and the historic market town of Whitchurch.  Bases: Trevor is the closest base to the aqueduct, just 20-minutes cruise away but Drifters also has bases on the Llangollen at Chirk, Wrenbury, Whitchurch and Blackwater Meadow.  Prices: start at £385 for a short break and £595 for a week.
  3. Travel on a luxury boat to Bath…dozens of new boats are being introduced to the Drifters fleet for holidays 2013, including the new ‘Lark’ class at Hilperton on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire near Trowbridge.  These six-berth boats have same extra special features such as wider beds, a TV in the bedroom as well as the saloon and a front deck table – perfect for al fresco dining.  From Hilperton, the World Heritage City of Bath is a day and half’s peaceful cruise away along the beautiful Kennet & Avon Canal.  Or pick up the new four-berth ‘Bond’ class boat from Bradford on Avon, just a seven-hour cruise from Bath City Centre.  Special features on ‘Bond’ boats include an extra shower room, a large stern and foredeck and a solid fuel stove.  Journey highlights: Bath’s fabulous Georgian architecture, Thermae Spa, shops, restaurants and museums; the stunning Medieval Tithe Barn at Bradford on Avon; and The George at Bathampton, once a 12th century monastery.  Bases: Hilperton and Bradford on Avon on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire.  Prices: a short break on a ‘Bond’ Class boat from Bradford on Avon starts at £560 and weekly hire from £800.  A short break on a ‘Lark’ starts at £585 and a week’s hire from £895.
  4. Glide through the Brecon Beacons…isolated from the main canal network, the beautiful Monmouth & Brecon Canal offers 35 miles of quiet countryside.  Running through the Brecon Beacons National Park from Brecon to Cwmbran it has few locks but incredible mountain views.  Journey highlights: the wonderful Georgian town of Crickhowell with 13th century castle; picturesque Talybont-on-Usk with access to Blaen y Glyn waterfalls; and Brecon with its cathedral, castle ruins and stunning Georgian architecture.  Base: Goytre Wharf on the Mon & Brec near Abergavenny.  Prices: start at £455 for a short break and £695 for a week on a five berth.
  5. Discover Europe’s only short break canal circuit…50 years ago campaigning began to restore the Droitwich Canals and they finally reopened in 2011, creating the only cruising ring in Europe which can be completed on a short break.  The Droitwich Ring takes 16 hours to cruise, covering 21 miles and 33 locks.  It incorporates the River Severn and the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, as well as the Droitwich Canals. Journey highlights: the historic Spa town of Droitwich; the Hanbury flight of locks; stunning views of the Worcestershire countryside along the River Severn; and the beautiful City of Worcester with its stunning 12th century cathedral.  Bases: Drifters base at Worcester is on the ring and Stoke Prior is just a few miles north of the ring on the Worcester & Birmingham.  Prices: start at £412 for a short break and £634 for a week on a boat for four.
  6. Cruise into the heart of Birmingham and take in a show…boasting more canals than Venice, Birmingham simply has to be visited by water.  City centre moorings are available at Gas Street Basin with easy access to Brindley Place, the Mailbox and Bullring shopping centres, theatres, museums and restaurants.  In 2013, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery is holding a special exhibition of The Staffordshire Hoard Anglo-Saxon collection and War Horse comes to the Birmingham Hippodrome in the autumn. Journey highlights:  Brindley Place and Gas Street Basin.  Bases: Drifters base at Tardebigge is just a five-hour lock-free cruise away from Birmingham City Centre.  Birmingham is also accessible on a week’s break from Drifters bases at Alvechurch and Stoke Prior.  Prices: start at £465 for a short break and £660 for a week on a four berth boat.
  7. Visit Scotland’s lowland canals and experience the World’s first rotating boat lift…Built as part of the Millennium Link project to restore the canals linking the east and west coasts of Scotland, The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s first and only rotating boat lift.  Standing at a height of 35 metres, it moves boats between the Union and Forth & Clyde canals, replacing a flight of 11 locks dismantled in 1933.  It can carry up to 600 tonnes and uses just 1.5KWh of energy to turn – the same amount as it would take to boil eight kettles.  Once the Wheel has taken you up, boaters can travel along the peaceful Union Canal, reaching Edinburgh in a day and a half.  Visitor moorings are available at Edinburgh Quay, just a five-minute walk from Princes Street with easy access to the City’s fantastic museums, shops, restaurants and its world-famous castle.  Highlights: the Falkirk Wheel; the pretty canal villages of Ratho and Linlithgow; and the bright lights of Edinburgh.  Bases:  Drifters has two bases at the Falkirk Wheel.  Prices: start at £455 for a short break and £695 for a week on a boat for four.
  8. Meander through the heart of England on the Warwickshire Ring…the popular Warwickshire Ring combines stretches of beautiful unspoilt countryside with exciting urban centres, including Birmingham and Warwick.  It covers 101 miles, 94 locks and takes 48 hours of cruising, so can be done is a week but there’s more time for sight-seeing on a two week break.  The journey includes stretches of the Grand Union, Oxford, Coventry and Birmingham & Fazeley canals.  Journey highlights: the pretty canal village of Braunston; the awesome Hatton Flight of 21 locks; Warwick Castle; Leamington Spa; and Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin.  Bases: Stretton, Rugby and Napton on the North Oxford Canal in Warwickshire.  Prices: start at £595 for a week.
  9. Enjoy a short break on Wedgwood’s Caldon Canal…one of the quietest and most picturesque canals in Britain, the Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent & Mersey Canal and was originally built to transport porcelain.  The Caldon travels 17 miles and uses 17 locks from its junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal at Etruria near Stoke on Trent, through the beautiful Churnet Valley to Froghall Wharf.  The journey is ideal for newcomers to canal boat holidays and can easily be done on a short break.  Journey highlights: stunning views along the River Churnet; the Black Lion Pub at Consall Forge; and the Churnet Valley Railway.  Bases: Stoke on Trent at the junction of the Caldon and Trent & Mersey Canals in Staffordshire.  Prices: short breaks start at £412, weekly hire from £634.

10. Visit London afloat and see an unexpected side of the Capital…travel through the heart of London, starting on the Grand Union Canal at Greenford in West London and finishing in the docklands in the east at Limehouse Basin, where the Regent’s Canal meets the mighty River Thames.  Along the way you’ll see a quieter more peaceful side of the Capital, passing through Little Venice, Regent’s Park, London Zoo and Victoria Park.  There are plenty of safe places to moor with easy access to London’s top attractions, theatres, restaurants and shops.  Journey highlights: passing over the North Circular and watching the queues of traffic as you glide on by; pretty and tranquil Little Venice with waterside eateries; vibrant Camden Lock and its market; the Victorian Ragged School Museum at Mile End; and Gordon Ramsey’s The Narrow Pub at Limehouse Lock.  Base: London on the Grand Union Canal at Greenford.  Prices: short breaks start at £525, weekly hire from £808.

For more information about Drifters canal boat holidays call 0844 984 0322 or visit www.drifters.co.uk.

Ends

For Drifters press enquiries, including photos and destination details, contact Debbie Walker on 01628 635831/077486 40577 walker.debbie@sky.com

Notes to editors

Drifters Waterway Holidays is made up of a consortium of six hire boat companies: Anglo Welsh, Black Prince, Countrywide Cruisers, Rose Narrowboats, Shire Cruisers and UK Boat Hire.  Between them they offer over 500 boats for hire, operating from 35 bases across the country.  2013 prices start at £355 for a short break and £545 for a week.  Narrowboats range from 42ft to 70ft and can accommodate up to 12 people.  www.drifters.co.uk Tel 0844 984 0322.

 

 

FILMS MADE ON THE CANALS…take a canal boat holiday and follow in the wake of the stars!

FILMS MADE ON THE CANALS…take a canal boat holiday and follow in the wake of the stars!

 

From romantic waterside encounters to gritty urban scenes, Britain’s canals and rivers have featured in many movies and television shows over the years.

To celebrate this, Drifters Waterway Holidays (www.drifters.co.uk) has put together a list of some of its favourite waterway starring moments and listed the closest canal boat hire bases:

The World is Not Enough (1999): the opening sequence of this action-packed adventure was shot in the Isle of Dogs.  Look closely and you should also be able to spot Camden Lock on the Regents Canal in the first few minutes of the film.  To follow in the footsteps of 007 (albeit at a safer more leisurely pace), hire a canal boat from Drifters’ West London base on the Grand Union Canal and head east, reaching Camden Lock within five hours.

Young Adam (2003): in this romantic thriller, Ewan McGregor played a young drifter working on a barge on the Clyde in the 1950s.  The film is beautifully shot and provides poignant insights into the half-forgotten era when our waterways were an integral part of working life.  To see the Scottish Lowlands from the perspective of a modern-day canal boat, take a narrowboat holiday from Drifters’ base at the Falkirk Wheel, where the Forth & Clyde meets the Union Canal.

The Full Monty (1997): the canals make their star appearance close to the beginning of this popular northern comedy.  The scene where Gaz (played by Robert Carlyle) and Dave (Mark Addy) float down the canal on a partially submerged car was shot on Bacon Lane, Sheffield, along the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation.  To re-live the laughter, hire a narrowboat from Drifters’ Yorkshire base at Sowerby Bridge and travel through the Pennines to Sheffield.

Breaking and Entering (2006): the filming of this romantic thriller from director Anthony Minghella brought Hollywood A-listers Jude Law and Ray Winstone to the Regent’s Canal in Camden.  To recall the thrill of the chase, hire a canal boat from Drifters’ West London base on the Grand Union Canal and head east, reaching Camden Lock within five hours.

Inspector Morse (1987-2000): Inspector Morse (played by John Thaw) and his side-kick Lewis (Kevin Whately) were frequently seen enjoying a pint at The Trout on the River Thames at Wolvercote.  To take in that scene, hire a boat from Drifters’ Oxford base on the River Thames at Eynsham, a three-hour cruise from The Trout.

The River (1988): David Essex played a solitary canal lock-keeper in this popular romantic comedy made for television.  The lock cottage at Wootton Rivers on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Pewsey was chosen for setting of his home.  Drifters’ base at Aldermaston on the Kennet & Avon Canal is a delightful three-day cruise away through the West Berkshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the idyllic countryside of the Vale of Pewsey.

Canal Walks (2011): for this popular BBC series, Julia Bradbury explored some of Britain’s finest scenery via the towpaths of the Caledonian, Worcester & Birmingham, Kennet & Avon and Llangollen canals.  Our favourite of the four episodes was her visit to the magnificent World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales.  To follow Julia’s footsteps afloat, hire a boat from Drifters’ base at Trevor, right next to the Aqueduct.

The Bargee (1964): Harry H Corbett and Eric Sykes star in this classic comedy about the life of a canal bargee with an eye for the ladies.  Look out for shots of the Grand Union Canal in Hemel Hempstead and Apsley among the plentiful canal footage.  To reach this area of the network, head south from Drifters base at Gayton on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire.

Tezz (2011): Bollywood came to Birmingham’s canals to film a section of this action thriller starting Anil Kapoor of Slumdog Millionaire fame.  During the filming, stunt actors jumped off the canal bridge onto moving narrowboats, outside the Mailbox shopping centre.  Don’t try this one at home!  But to visit Birmingham City Centre and explore some of the City’s incredible network of canals, hire a boat from Drifters base at Tardebigge and you can be in Brindley Place in just five hours.

Ten good reasons to take a canal boat holiday.

Ten good reasons to take a canal boat holiday.

 

  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, on a narrowboat holiday stress levels are immediately reduced and a whole new much steadier pace of life takes over.
  2. Freedom – across the majority of our 3,000-mile inland waterways network moorings are free, so, glass of wine in hand, you are free to choose where to moor your canal boat for the night.
  3. Fitness – working the locks, exploring local footpaths, cycling the towpaths and standing at the tiller enjoying the fresh air – all the ideal antidote to stuffy gyms and office blues.
  4. The greener way – a boating 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. Plenty of pubs – 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 and the extraordinary Anderton Boat Lift AKA “The Cathedral of the Canals”.
  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. Enjoy all the comforts of home – today’s canals boats are fully equipped with all the essential mod cons: central heating, microwaves, ovens, hot water, TV, DVD players, showers and flushing toilets.
  9. Help keep the local economy afloat – over £1½ billion is spent by visitors to the waterways each year on goods and services, supporting some 54,000 jobs.
  10. Try something new – around a fifth of hire boaters are new to canal boat hire each year so it’s easy to learn to steer a boat and navigate the waterways.

 

Watch out for Wildlife

Watch out for Wildlife

Britain’s canals and rivers have become important havens for wildlife so canal boat holidays are great for anyone interested in nature.

Many kinds of animals live on the canals, from common sights such as ducks, coots, geese, swans and moorhens, to rarer creatures like otters, kingfishers and water voles.

On a narrowboat holiday, as you potter along as just four miles per hour or less, you are likely to spot a whole host of creatures during the day – birds in the hedgerows, waterfowl on the water, herons fishing quietly on the bank.

You might see kestrels in the air, a stoat on the towpath or frogs and newts in shallow waters.

At night, if you moor up somewhere rural and close to trees, you might also hear an owl, witness bats swooping across the canal or glimpse a badger wandering close to the riverbank.

In the morning, you will probably wake to the sound of birds singing and in the summer, you might even hear a cuckoo calling.

Depending on the time of year, you are also likely to see many representatives from the insect world – dragonflies, damselflies, bumblebees and butterflies to name but a few.

Canal boat hire gives you the chance to holiday on the water and watch out for the wildlife that lives there.