Visit a Christmas market on a canal boat holiday
Drifters offers winter cruising from five bases in England and Wales
You can visit a Christmas market on a canal boat holiday with Drifters winter cruising.
Our canal boats for hire range from snug narrowboats for two, to larger boats for seven.
All Drifters’ boats have central heating and hot water, and some also have multi-fuel stoves. So, whatever the weather, it’s always nice and cosy on board.
Prices start at £635 for a short break (three or four nights), £875 for a week.
Here’s a guide to the top Christmas markets and events to visit on a barge holiday in 2024:
1. Visit Stratford-upon-Avon’s Victorian Christmas Market
This award-winning event taking place 7-8 and 14-15 December 2024 features hundreds of stalls selling seasonal products, with traders decked out in Victorian costumes. From Wootton Wawen, it’s a six-hour cruise to moorings in Bancroft Basin in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon. The journey passes through 17 locks each way.
2. Boat to the Bath Christmas market
From Thursday 28 November to Sunday 15 December, Bath Christmas market will return to the historic City of Bath. You can explore dozens of chalets nestled amongst iconic monuments, with a wide range of crafts, gifts, food and drink. You can cruise into Bath on a short break from our bases at Devizes, Hilperton, Bradford on Avon, Monkton Combe and Bath.
3. Navigate to the World of Wedgewood for some Christmas shopping
The World of Wedgewood is next to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stoke on Trent. There you can browse the world famous pottery centre’s Festive Collection, including the Nutcracker Collection. From Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal in Staffordshire, you can reach the World of Wedgewood in around eight hours. You’ll pass through 12 locks along the way.
4. Experience Christmas at Warwick Castle
From Stockton on the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire, you can cruise to Warwick and back to experience ‘Christmas at the Castle’ (23 November 2024 to 5 January 2025), including an open-air ice rink, Stories with Santa and winter food and drink village. The journey from Stockton to Warwick takes around seven hours, passing through 20 locks.
*NB some of our routes will be affected by winter maintenance work on the canal network.
