Drifters new hire base on the Coventry canal

In March 2022, Drifters will open a new narrow boat hire base at Springwood Haven Marina on the Coventry Canal at Nuneaton.

Haley Hadley, marketing & sales director for Drifters’ operator ABC Boat Hire, explains:

“Along with many other domestic holiday options, we’ve seen an increase in popularity of our holidays over the last two years.

“From rural retreats to vibrant city centres, narrow boat holiday-makers can use their boat as a floating holiday home to explore Britain’s beautiful 3,000-mile network of inland waterways. Boaters have the freedom to moor their boats up where they choose, and can enjoy visiting waterside destinations along the way, including historic canalside pubs.

“In 2021 we opened a new base on the Coventry Canal at Kings Orchard Marina close to Lichfield, taking boaters deep into the Staffordshire countryside.

“With bookings for 2022 already up by around seven per cent compared to January 2020, this year we are opening a new base on the Coventry Canal at Springwood Haven, offering a choice of rural and urban destinations.”

Route options from Springwood Haven

Canal boat holiday-makers can choose from a range of short break and longer holidays from Sprinwood Haven. For example, on a short break, boaters can travel to Coventry Basin, in the centre of 2021’s City of Culture. The journey travels 12 miles and takes around five hours. With no locks along the way, it’s perfect for beginners.

Or on a week’s break, canal boat holiday-makers can travel along the Ashby Canal to Snarestone and back. A six-mile section of this peaceful waterway in Leicestershire is designated a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), recognising the diversity of its plant, insect and animal life, including nine species of dragonfly. The route also takes boaters past the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field, where Here in 1485 the reign of Richard III ended and Henry Tudor became Henry VII. The journey to Snarestone and back takes around 20 hours.

Other week-long destinations from Springwood Haven include: Tixall Wide on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal; Market Harborough on the Market Harborough Arm of the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal; Banbury on the Oxford Canal; Stoke Bruerne on the Grand Union Canal; and Shardlow on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

On a 10-day or two-week break, boaters can complete the Warwickshire or the East Midlands (Leicester) Ring.

Narrow boats available at Springwood Haven

Eleven narrow boats will be available to hire from Springwood Haven, ranging from boats for two people, to bigger boats with accommodation for up to 10.

Narrow boat hire prices for 2022 from Springwood Haven start at £849 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for up to four people, £1,189 for a week.