Exploring Cheshire’s waterways

Navigating Cheshire’s waterways on an autumn narrowboat holiday

Ashley Gibbin and Ann Mealor of the International Travel Writers Alliance recently reviewed their canal boat holiday exploring Cheshire’s waterways.

Setting off from our canal boat hire base at Anderton on the Trent & Mersey Canal, they cruised to Lymm and back.

Their journey took them along sections of the Trent & Mersey and the Bridgewater canals. They navigated their way through three tunnels: Barnton Tunnel; Saltersford Tunnel; and Preston Brook Tunnel.

Ashley and Ann cruised Cheshire’s canals in October and said: “While it might get a little chilly at this time of year, the narrowboat heats up very effectively, and the crisp clear autumnal mornings provide stunning cruising.”

Their review includes some suggestions for the trip, including making time to visit the Canal & River Trust’s Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre. They also recommend places to eat, including Eighteen The Cross in Lymm.

Ashley says: “One of the joys of the narrowboat is that on can moor up in the proverbial ‘middle of nowhere’ and have everything one needs for an enjoyable evening in. Music playing gently on the Bluetooth player, wine chilled in the fridge and, for us cheese and ‘nibbles’.”

You can read Ashley’s full review of canal boating in Cheshire here.

Ashley and Ann also reviewed a Drifters narrowboat holiday on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire and on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire.

To find out more about cruising the canals of the North West you can read Mark Nicholls review of his journey to Manchester and back.