Cruise through the Worcestershire countryside and into the heart of Birmingham on a boating holiday on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal
This popular 29-mile long waterway starts in Worcester as an off-shoot of the River Severn. It takes boaters through the green hills of Worcestershire and the ancient Forest of Arden, before ending at Gas Street Basin in the heart of Birmingham.
The canal climbs 130 metres from the city of Worcester to Birmingham, using 58 locks, including 30 at Tardebigge, the longest flight of locks in England.
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.
The Trent & Mersey Canal
Cruise through the Potteries and Cheshire countryside on a boating holiday on the Trent & Mersey Canal
The 90-mile long Trent & Mersey Canal, begins close to the River Mersey near Runcorn and finishes at its junction with the River Trent in Derbyshire.
It evolved as a result of the development of the pottery industry in North Staffordshire, where the local clay had enabled pottery to be manufactured since Elizabethan times.
In 1765 Josiah Wedgewood, the top producer of pottery, put forward the idea of building a canal to link the Potteries with the River Mersey. Engineered by the canal-building genius James Brindley, it was the country’s first long distance canal.
Opening in 1777, the effect of the canal was instant and phenomenal – transport costs were quartered and the whole area expanded. As well as pottery, industries prospering from it included the brewing industry at Burton on Trent, salt at Middlewich, Northwich and Sandbach, and coal mining in North Staffordshire.
Today the canal takes narrowboat holiday-makers through some of the best scenes that our waterways have to offer. From the Cheshire Plains to the charming Potteries. The canal boasts mighty feats of canal engineering, including the Anderton Boat Lift and the 2,647-metre long Harecastle Tunnel. As well as the flight of 31 locks between Middlewich and Kidsgrove known as ‘Heartbreak Hill’, which raise the canal up from the Cheshire Plains.
The Macclesfield Canal
On a boating holiday on the Macclesfield Canal you can enjoy spectacular Pennine views
The beautiful tree-lined Macclesfield Canal was one of the last narrow canals to be built, and the first to be awarded Green Flag status.
It runs for 28 miles from its junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Marple in Cheshire, to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire.
Passing mostly through green and rural surroundings, the canal follows the natural contours of the land. It passes along the side of the most westerly Pennine hills through High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington, Macclesfield and Congleton.
Approved by an Act of Parliament in 1826, the Macclesfield Canal was designed to provide a direct link between Manchester, the Potteries and the Midlands, reducing journey times. It also served cotton mills, quarries and coal mines around Macclesfield, Congleton and the Peak District.
The coming of the railways soon outcompeted the canal, but it was still used for some freight carriage until the 1960s. As a local cruising club had already been using the waterway for many years, its leisure potential was already established, so it remained navigable.
With its spectacular views over the Cheshire Plain, the Macclesfield Canal is one of the highest in the country. And is perhaps the most beautiful section of the Cheshire Ring. With just one flight of locks at Bosley, the Macclesfield Canal enjoys miles of lock-free cruising either side.
Narrowboat holiday-makers can enjoy seeing the historic structures that line its route, including Victorian mills and warehouses. They can also look out for the canal’s original stone milestones and six ‘snake’ bridges, where the towpath changes sides of the canal, allowing horses to move over without having to be untied from the boat.
You can cruise the Macclesfield Canal on a boating holiday from Bunbury or Great Haywood.
The Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Cruise through the Yorkshire Dales and Airedale on a holiday on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
At 127 miles, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal is the longest single canal in the country.
This mighty waterway crosses the Pennines and links the wide waterways of Yorkshire with those of Lancashire and the River Mersey.
From the vibrant centres of Leeds, Liverpool, Wigan and Burnley, to the awe-inspiring vast areas of open space of the moorlands at the canal’s summit and the peace of the wooded Aire Valley, the scenery of this canal varies dramatically.
The Leeds & Liverpool main line has 93 locks and two tunnels, there are two more locks on the seven-mile long Leigh Branch and eight on the seven-mile Rufford Branch. The waterway was recently extended by the construction of the Liverpool Link. This takes boaters right into the heart of the city, passing in front of the Three Graces to moor in Salthouse Dock.
And it boasts two of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’ – the famous Bingley Five Rise Locks near Bradford and the awesome Burnley Embankment, carrying the canal high above the town.
You can experience a boating holiday on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal from our base at Silsden.
The Grand Union Canal
Built to transport goods between London and Birmingham, today the Grand Union Canal is alive with pleasure boats, walkers, cyclists and wildlife
Stretching 137 miles through 166 locks, the Grand Union Canal emerged as a result of the joining of several waterways.
It cuts across the country from the River Thames at Brentford in London to the Digbeth Branch canal in the heart of Birmingham. The Grand Union Canal takes boaters up through the rolling Chiltern Hills, rural Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.
Along the way, it has a series of branches, including the Paddington, Slough, Wendover, Aylesbury, Leicester and Northampton arms.
Some of its most dramatic features include the magnificent Iron Trunk Aqueduct carrying the canal over the River Ouse in Buckinghamshire, the 2,795-metre long Blisworth Tunnel in Northamptonshire and the Hatton Flight of 21 Locks in Warwickshire.
Just some of the canal’s key destinations are the county town of Warwick with its jaw-dropping castle on the banks of the River Avon. And the charming canal villages of Braunston and Stoke Bruerne.
You can reach the Grand Union Canal from our base at Wootton Wawen.
The Caldon Canal
Explore the Potteries, remote moorlands, tranquil water meadows and dense woodlands on a holiday on the Caldon Canal
The peaceful Caldon Canal is often described as ‘one of the finest canals in Britain’. It runs from the Trent & Mersey Canal at Etruria in Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall Wharf in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
There are 17 locks along its length. The canal passes through moorlands close to Denford and water meadows at Cheddleton. It takes boater through the beautiful wooded Churnet Valley, with a restored steam railway running alongside.
In the middle of the Caldon Canal, there’s a 2¼-mile arm towards the historic market town of Leek. And the now derelict 13-mile Uttoxeter extension connects at Froghall.
Opened in 1779, the Caldon Canal was built to carry Peak District limestone for the iron industry and flints for the pottery industry. Freight traffic ceased on the Caldon soon after the railway was constructed alongside. By the 1960s the canal was virtually unnavigable.
But enthusiasts bought the canal back into use by 1974 and the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust is now working to restore the Uttoxeter branch of the waterway.
You can reach the Caldon Canal from our Great Haywood base.
The Oxford Canal
Experience meandering waterways, peaceful villages and the chance to visit the world famous City of Oxford by boat
The picturesque 77-mile long Oxford Canal was completed in 1790. It links the City of Oxford and the River Thames, with the Cathedral City of Coventry at Hawkesbury Junction.
Following the contours around hills, rather than using cuttings and embankments like later canals, this largely rural waterway meanders gently through the countryside. The waterways is dotted with pretty villages, rural pubs, black-and-white lift bridges and nature reserves.
Once the main transport route from the Midlands to the south of England, it’s now one of the most popular and beautiful canal boat holidays routes.
You can reach the Oxford Canal from our Oxford base.
The Llangollen Canal
Experience breath-taking mountain views, a UNESCO World Heritage site, historic market towns and havens for wildlife
The beautiful 41-mile long Llangollen Canal crosses the border between England and Wales, and links the Eisteddfod town of Llangollen in Denbighshire with the Shropshire Union Canal, just north of Nantwich in Cheshire.
The scenery varies from rural sheep pastures and ancient peat mosses, to tree-lined lakes and the dramatic foothills of Snowdonia.
In 2009, an 11-mile section of the waterway from Gledrid Bridge to the Horseshoe Falls in Llangollen was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. This includes the incredible 307-metre long Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and 220-metre long Chirk Aqueduct.
Soaring 35 metres above the rushing waters of the River Dee, which tumble out of Snowdonia, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is truly one of the wonders of the waterways. Built by the great canal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, the aqueduct was completed in 1805. Supported by giant 18 pillars, it’s the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain, with an exhilarating sheer drop on one-side.
You can cruise the Llangollen Canal on a holiday from our Trevor, Whixall and Bunbury bases.
