Every year, we commission new boats to add to our fleet, and we like to take into account customer feedback when designing our boats. This winter we are building three new 60ft Gem Class narrowboats ready for hire this spring, featuring reverse layouts and cruiser sterns.
Our three new boats with cruiser sterns – ‘Onyx’, ‘Garnet’ and ‘Citrine’ – will offer accommodation for up to six people. This style of narrowboat has more of an open feel, ideal for entertaining and summer evenings on the canal. Semi traditional boats have a more enclosed space at the back.
The boats will have a reverse layout – meaning the galley is at the rear and the main sleeping areas are at the front and middle of the boat. Reverse layouts are handy for the skipper to be passed drinks and snacks from the crew!
The modern galley will include extra features such as a microwave, LED lighting and toasters – perfect for that quick breakfast. The flexible sleeping accommodation will be in two cabins, ranging from two doubles to four singles, with the dinette area which can be converted into a double bed.
Gem Class boats will each have two shower/toilet rooms, full central heating and a larger TV in the lounge area.
New Canal Boat Hire Options for 2023:
‘Onyx’ will be based at Whixall
From 3 April 2023, ‘Onyx’ will be available to hire from our narrowboat hire base at Whixall, on the Prees Branch of the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire. On a short break from Whixall, you can travel to the historic town of Ellesmere in the heart of the Shropshire Lake District. On a week’s holiday, you can continue on to Llangollen, crossing the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct along the way. Or head in the other direction, transferring onto the Shropshire Union Canal to visit Nantwich, Market Drayton or Chester.
‘Garnet’ will be available from Monkton Combe
From 3 April 2023, ‘Garnet’ will be available to hire from our canal boat hire base at Monkton Combe, on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Bath. On a short break from Monkton Combe, you can travel west to Bath City Centre or east to Devizes, via Bradford on Avon. On a week’s holiday, you can continue east, travelling up the Caen Hill Flight, then on to Pewsey or Great Bedwyn.
‘Citrine’ will navigate from Oxford
From 27 June 2023, ‘Citrine’ will be available to hire from our base on the River Thames at Oxford. On a short break from Oxford, you can travel west to Lechlade or east to Wallingford, via Oxford and Abingdon. On a week’s holiday, you can continue travelling east along the Thames to Henley, or transfer onto the Oxford Canal to travel up to Banbury.
2023 Gem Class prices will start at £865 for a short break, and from £1,200 for a week.
Emma Lovell, Anglo Welsh’s reservations manager, gives an overview of the top canal boat holiday destinations in England and Wales for 2023
There are thousands of miles of navigable waterways to explore in England and Wales, offering the chance to set off on your very own adventure afloat.
You can cruise slowly through the countryside, watching out for wildlife and planning your next stop. There’s a choice of hundreds of waterside destinations to visit, from canalside pubs, restaurants and walks, to museums, theatres and festivals.
To celebrate the new boating season ahead, here’s a guide to our Top 10 narrowboat holidays for 2023:
1. See the rhino calf born at Chester Zoo
On a short break from our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal you can reach the ancient City of Chester, home to the award-winning Chester Zoo. Visitors to Chester Zoo will find over 20,000 animals from 500 species, including Jiya, an endangered greater one-horn rhino calf. Jiya was born to Mum Asha after a 16-month pregnancy in October 2022. The journey to Chester from Bunbury takes around seven hours, and passes through nine locks.
2. Cruise to Lechlade on Thames for a great choice of country walks
Setting off on a mid-week break from our Oxford base, you can take a Thames boating holiday to Lechlade. The pretty historic town of Lechlade has a choice of pubs, including the 16th century Swan Inn and riverside Trout Inn. And you can pick up a guide to six local walks at the Post Office or Library, including information about the history of the area. The journey to Lechlade passes through seven locks and takes around nine hours.
3. Visit Birmingham, home of the Peaky Blinders
From our Tardebigge base near Bromsgrove, it’s an eight-and-a-half hour, three-lock journey to the Black Country Living Museum. Scenes for all five series of the BBC’s epic gangster drama Peaky Blinders were filmed at the 26-acre Museum. As well as walking in the footsteps of the Shelbys, visitors can explore period shops and homes and have a drink in the ‘Bottle & Glass Inn’. You can also sample the Museum’s famous traditionally cooked 1930’s-style fish and chips and take a trip ‘into the thick’ to experience life in an 1850’s coal mine.
4. Visit the Fairport Convention folk festival at Cropredy
On a week’s holiday from Stockton, you can cruise along the Oxford Canal to enjoy the festival of folk and rock music at Cropredy (10-12 August). The journey begins on the Grand Union Canal, soon transferring onto the Oxford Canal at Napton-on-the-Hill. Here, there’s a good choice of pubs, including the Kings Head. From there, the route winds gently on through the countryside, passing through 21 locks along the way. The 12-mile journey to Cropredy takes around 12 hours.
5. Moor up to see a play in Shakespeare’s Stratford
From our base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal, you can reach Stratford upon Avon on a short break. There you can moor up in Bancroft Basin to enjoy the town’s lively markets, shops, restaurants and museums. And you can choose from an exciting theatrical programme, including productions of ‘The Tempest’, ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Macbeth’ at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. From Wootton Wawen, it takes around six hours, to reach Shakespeare’s Stratford, passing through 17 locks.
6. Navigate the Four Counties Ring
On a week’s break from our base at Great Haywood in Staffordshire, you can navigate the ‘Four Counties Ring’. This popular circuit will take you along sections of the Trent & Mersey, Shropshire Union and Staffordshire & Worcestershire canals. In total, you’ll cruise 110-miles in around 60 hours, passing through 94 locks. Along the way, you’ll pass through some of the most beautiful landscapes in England, including the Peak District and Cheshire Plains. Highlights include: Wedgewood Pottery in Stoke on Trent; the 1.5 mile long Harecastle Tunnel; the flight of 31 locks at Kidsgrove; the Roman town of Middlewich; and the historic market town of Market Drayton.
7. Pass through the Bingley Five Rise Staircase
From our Silsden base it takes around four hours to reach the Bingley Five Rise Staircase, one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’. Completed in 1774, this spectacular staircase of locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal raises (or lowers) boats 18 metres in five massive chambers. The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate of the next. On a short break from Silsden, you can continue on to Shipley or Saltaire. On a week’s holiday from Silsden, you can reach Leeds.
8. Glide across ‘The Stream in the Sky’
Departing from our base at Trevor in North Wales, you’ll soon encounter the incredible World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. One of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’, this incredible structure transports canal boats 38 metres high across the Dee Valley. On a short break from Trevor, you can travel cross the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, and continue cruising along the Llangollen Canal to Ellesmere. The Mere at Ellesmere offers visitors woodland walks, places to eat, a sculpture trail and an adventure playground. The journey to Ellesmere takes around seven hours, passing through two locks.
9. Travel up the Caen Hill Flight
On a week’s break from our base at Monkton Combe near Bath, you can reach Pewsey Wharf, travelling up the famous Caen Hill flight of locks along the way. The route, which is perfect for a week away, takes you along the Kennet & Avon Canal through 37 locks, including the 29 locks of the Caen Hill Flight at Devizes. You’ll also cruise across two dramatic Bath stone aqueducts at Dundas and Avoncliff, through the historic market town of Bradford on Avon and the beautiful Vale of Pewsey, part of the West Berkshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
10. Experience the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod afloat
Taking a week’s break from Whixall, you can cruise through the Shropshire Lake District to the Eisteddfod town of Llangollen. Every year, thousands of people descend on the pretty town of Llangollen, nestled in the Berwyn Mountains, to celebrate dance, music, costume and culture. The 2023 Eisteddfod is on from 4-9 July. The journey takes around 12 hours and passes through just two locks
Stan Cullimore reviews his widebeam boat holiday on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Stan Cullimore Narrow Boat Holiday on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Earlier this year, Stan Cullimore – journalist, children’s author and member of the 80’s band The Housemartins – took a press trip aboard one of our widebeam boats.
Departing from our canal boat hire base at Silsden, on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in West Yorkshire, he travelled east to Saltaire and back. Along the way, with help from Canal & River Trust volunteer lock keepers, he travelled through the famous Bingley Five Rise Locks.
He describes the beautiful Spring countryside he passed through as “lush, green and gorgeous”, with lambs, bluebell woods and quaint little villages to see along the way.
He talks about the experience of steering a widebeam boat, and how it differs from navigating on a narrowboat. And he takes you on a tour of his widebeam canal boat’s “luxury decadence” and “spacious” interior, including the saloon with a wood burning stove, kitchen area and double cabin.
Stan travelled aboard ‘Bob’s Drum’, our 55ft long widebeam boat with accommodation for up to eight people. ‘Bob’s Drum’ is one of six widebeam boats available to hire from Sildsen, where 2023 prices start at £990 for a short break (three or four nights), £1,505 for a week. There are also 17 narrowboats for hire from Silsden.
This Autumn set sail on an adventure afloat, enjoying the beautiful colours in the trees and hedgerows that line Britain’s canals and rivers.
You’ll be self-contained on board your very own floating holiday cottage, equipped with the key comforts of home, including hot water, TV, WiFi*, well-stocked kitchens, showers, flushing toilets and central heating.
Welcome to our guide to our top Canal Boat destinations for Autumn 2022:
Glide across ‘The Stream in the Sky’ to Whitchurch
On a week’s break from our canal boat hire centre at Trevor in North Wales, you can travel to Whitchurch and back. The journey along the Llangollen Canal to Whitchurch takes 22 hours and passes through two locks. Along the way, you’ll travel across the incredible Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This UNESCO World Heritage structure carries the canal 126 feet high above the Dee Valley. Next you’ll go through the Whitehouses and Chirk tunnels, then across the magnificent Chirk Aqueduct. Then it’s on through the beautiful Shropshire countryside, passing Ellesmere and Cole Mere. Once at Whitchurch, you can moor up to explore this pretty historic town, with independent shops and restaurants, and way-marked walks.
Travel round the Black Country Ring
From our narrowboat hire base at Great Haywood in Staffordshire, you can complete the Black Country Ring. The journey takes around 43 cruising hours, and travels through 79 locks. It navigates sections of the Birmingham & Fazeley, Birmingham Main Line, Coventry, Staffordshire & Worcestershire and Trent & Mersey canals. Highlights include Birmingham city centre’s Gas Street Basin, the Black Country Living Museum, and the waters at Tixall Wide.
Cruise through the Worcestershire countryside to Lapworth
Navigating from our Tardebigge base near Bromsgrove, it’s a gentle seven-hour cruise through the countryside to the village of Lapworth. You’ll be travelling along the Worcestershire & Birmingham Canal. There are two tunnels to navigate through, but no locks. Once moored up in Lapworth, you can explore the village and visit the National Trust’s Packwood House.
Navigate through the Airedale to Gargrave
On a short break from Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, you can cruise to Highgate Winding Hole, close to the village of Gargrave. The route passes through Kildwick with its White Lion pub, Snaygill, home of the Bay Horse pub, and Skipton with its fascinating medieval castle. The pretty village of Gargrave near the head of the Airedale, offers a choice of pubs, including the Masons Arms. The journey to Highgate Winding Hole and back travels 20 miles and takes around 11 hours.
Float along the Kennet & Avon Canal to Devizes
From our base at Bath it takes around 10½ hours to reach Foxhangers Wharf, on the edge of Devizes. Here you can walk up the magnificent Caen Hill flight of locks, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. Along the way, you’ll pass through eight locks, and over two dramatic Bath stone aqueducts at Dundas and Avoncliff. You’ll also pass a series of canalside pubs, including the Cross Guns at Avoncliff and the Barge Inn at Bradford on Avon. This route is perfect for a short break.
Boat through the Warwickshire countryside to Fenny Compton
On a short break from Stockton, you can reach the pretty canalside village of Fenny Compton. The journey begins on the Grand Union Canal, transferring onto the Oxford Canal at Napton-on-the-Hill, where there’s a good choice of pubs. From there, the route winds gently through the countryside, with a series of locks to negotiate along the way. The journey to Fenny Compton and back takes around 20 hours, passing through 24 locks (12 each way).
Take a Thames boating holiday to Lechlade
From our narrowboat hire base on the River Thames at Oxford, it’s a tranquil nine-hour, journey to the pretty market town of Lechlade. Perfect for a mid-week break, the route passes through seven locks and miles of peaceful countryside. Places to stop off at include the village of Radcot with its 800-year old bridge across the Thames. And Kelmscott Manor, once the Cotswold retreat of William Morris. Lechlade has a choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants, as well as independent shops.
Boat to the ancient City of Chester
On a short break from our Bunbury base near Tarporley in Cheshire, you can reach the historic City of Chester. The 12-mile journey along the Shropshire Union Canal takes you through the rolling Cheshire countryside. It takes around seven cruising hours, and passes through 18 locks. Once in Chester, you can enjoy some of the city’s best loved attractions, including Britain’s most complete Roman and medieval walls and the Tudor open-air galleries.
Navigate the Avon Ring
On a 10-day or two-week break from Wootton Wawen, boaters can navigate the Avon Ring. The 109-mile circuit travels sections of the Stratford Canal, River Avon, River Severn and Worcester & Birmingham Canal. It passes through 131 locks and takes around 58 cruising hours. Highlights include Shakespeare’s Stratford, historic Evesham, Tewkesbury, Worcester and the 30 locks at Tardebigge.
We are offering discounts of up to 20% on our holidays departing in August 2022. To celebrate, reservations manager Emma Lovell, has put together a guide to our top family canal boat holiday destinations this summer.
Canal boat holidays are great for families, offering the change to experience life afloat exploring Britain’s beautiful canal network. Along the way, you can watch out for wildlife and stop off at exciting waterside destinations.
Our narrowboats are like floating holiday cottages, with everything you need for a self-catering staycation afloat. This includes comfy beds, hot water, TV, WiFi, well-stocked kitchens, showers and flushing toilets.
To celebrate our offer, we’ve listed our Top 9 family destinations this summer, all suitable for beginners:
1. Enjoy a free theatre performance in Stratford-upon-Avon
Setting out from our base at Wootton Wawen, it’s a delightful six-hour journey through the Warwickshire countryside to Bancroft Basin, in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon. The journey along the Stratford Canal passes through 17 locks. From Bancroft Basin, it’s a short walk to the Dell, an outdoor stage in Avonbank Gardens. A series of free outdoor theatre performances are taking place in the Dell this summer. These include the Merchant of Venice performed by the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group, 27-28 August.
2. Visit the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham
Cruising from our canal boat hire base at Tardebigge, it’s a five-hour journey to Birmingham City Centre. You’ll cruise along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to find moorings at Gas Street Basin. From there Brindleyplace, home to the National Sea life Centre, is a short walk away. Here you can experience the UK’s only 360 degree Ocean Tunnel, see the Penguin Ice Adventure and meet the UK’s first Sea Otters.
3. Take a Thames boating holiday and visit the quirky Pitt Rivers Museum
From our Oxford base, it’s a tranquil three-hour cruise along the River Thames to moorings at Hythe Bridge. This is the perfect base for exploring Oxford’s city centre. One of the City’s most popular attractions is the fascinating Pitt Rivers Museum. Here thousands of archaeological and ethnographic objects from all over the world are on display. Some of the most famous exhibits include a 17th Witch Bottle and an 11-metre high totem pole.
4. See the new penguin chicks at Chester Zoo
Setting off from our narrowboat rental base at Bunbury, it takes seven hours to reach the ancient City of Chester. The journey along the Shropshire Union Canal passes through nine locks. Once there, you ca visit the award-winning Chester Zoo. The Zoo is home to 21,314 animals from 500 species, including nine adorable new penguin chicks born there.
5. Watch the Wars of the Roses Show at Warwick Castle
On a narrowboat holiday departing from our Stockton base, it’s a seven-hour journey to Warwick. You’ll travel along the Grand Union Canal, passing through 20 locks along the way. Once there, you can visit the magnificent medieval Warwick Castle on the banks of the River Avon. The Castle offers a fantastic family day out with ramparts to climb, the Castle Dungeon, Great Hall and Kingmaker Exhibition to explore. There’s also soaring birds of prey and trebuchet firing displays to watch. And this summer there will also be daily live Wars of the Roses shows, recreating the historic jousting battles of the 15th century.
6. Travel across the Stream in the Sky to Ellesmere
Departing from our Trevor base on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, you can reach the Shropshire town of Ellesmere in seven hours. Along the way, you’ll travel across the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This incredible structure, also known as ‘The Stream in the Sky’, carries the canal 38 metres high above the Dee Valley. Once at Ellesmere, in the heart of the Shropshire Lake District, you can take time to explore the Mere. The Mere has Victorian gardens, woodland paths, historic castle and lots of wildlife.
7. Meet historic characters at the Black Country Living Museum
Navigating from our Tardebigge base, it’s an eight-hour journey to the Black Country Living Museum. The route travels along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and passes through three locks. Visitors to the Museum this summer will find history brought to life by historic characters, telling the story of what it was like to live and work in one of the first industrial landscapes in Britain. Families can enjoy watching live demonstrations, taking part in old fashioned street games, visiting the vintage cinema, and enjoying traditional fish and chips.
8. Visit the Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes
From our base on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Monkton Combe near Bath, it takes around nine hours to reach the base of the Caen Hill flight. The journey travels 15 miles and passes through eight locks. The breath-taking sight of the 16 locks in a row, part of a total of 29 locks, is truly one of the most spectacular of Britain’s inland waterways. The historic market town of Devizes is a short walk away, with its Wadworth Brewery Visitor Centre and famous shire horses making daily deliveries. Devizes also has a great range of independent shops, pubs and restaurants, including the Bear Hotel.
9. Get close to nature at Fradley Pool Nature Reserve
Setting off from our Great Haywood base near Stafford, it takes around six hours to reach Fradley Junction. The journey travels 12 miles along the Trent & Mersey Canal, and passes through five locks. Picturesque Fradley, offers visitors guided walks, a café, two pubs and Fradley Pool Nature Reserve, home to an abundance of wildlife. Along the way, you’ll pass the National Trust’s Shugborough Estate and Cannock Chase. As well as a number of rural family-friendly canalside pubs, including the Wolseley Arms near Rugeley.
The city of Birmingham has more canals than Venice, so it’s not surprising that eight of the 13 venues for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are on or very close to a canal.
Taking place from 28 July to 8 August, the Games will see around 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories compete in 19 different sports and eight Parasports. To celebrate the opportunity to visit the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and their venues on a narrowboat holiday.
We’ve published our Top 8 narrowboat holiday Games destinations afloat:
1. Travel the Birmingham Mini Ring from Tardebigge
From our Tardebigge base on the Worcestershire & Birmingham Canal near Bromsgrove, you can navigate the Birmingham Mini Ring. This circuit takes you into the heart of Birmingham, travelling sections of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, Birmingham Canal Old Main Line, Tame Valley Canal and Wyrley & Essington Canal. The route travels 45 miles, passes through 49 locks and takes around 27 cruising hours. Games venues on or close by the route include: Birmingham Arena next to the Birmingham Canal Old Line (Gymnastics); Alexander Stadium next to the Tame Valley Canal at Perry Barr (Athletics); and Sandwell Aquatics Centre close to the Tame Valley Canal (Diving and Swimming).
2. Cruise to Cannock Chase Forest from Great Haywood
From our canal boat hire base at Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stafford, Cannock Chase Forest is less than two hours away. The journey to over-moorings at Rugeley navigates five miles of the Trent & Mersey Canal and passes through two locks. Cannock Chase Forest will be used for the Mountain Biking event.
3. Travel to Coventry Stadium from Stockton
From our narrow boat hire base on the Grand Union Canal at Stockton, it takes 15 hours to reach Coventry Basin, travelling 36 miles and passing through seven locks. The route navigates up the North Oxford Canal and joins the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction. Coventry Stadium will be hosting the Judo, Rugby Sevens and Wrestling events.
4. Navigate to the Alexander Stadium from Tardebigge
It takes around 13 hours, travelling 28 miles and passing through eight locks to reach Perry Barr Top Lock from our Tardebigge base. The journey begins on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, and transfers onto the Birmingham Canal Navigations at Worcester Bar. Alexander Stadium will host the Athletics events.
5. Cruise to St. Nicholas Park in Warwick from Wootton Wawen
From our base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal, it takes around 12 hours, cruising 14 miles and passing through 38 locks to reach moorings at Saltisford in Warwick. Myton Fields, the other side of the river to St. Nicholas Park will be used for the Birmingham 2022 Cycling Road Race.
6. Travel round the Stourport Ring from Tardebigge
From our Tardebigge base, on a week’s break you can navigate the Stourport Ring. The journey passes through 118 locks and takes around 44 hours. It takes in sections of: the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal; Worcester & Birmingham Canal Navigation; the River Severn; Birmingham Canal Main Line; and Stourbridge canals. It takes boaters close to Egbaston Stadium, where the Cricket T20 will take place, and the Birmingham Arena where the Gymnastics will take place.
7. Cruise to Victoria Park in Leamington Spa from Stockton
From our Stockton base on the Grand Union Canal it takes around seven hours, travelling seven miles and passing through 20 locks to reach Frost’s Wharf in Leamington. Victoria Park in Leamington Spa will host the Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls events.
8. Navigate the Warwickshire Ring from Stockton
From our Stockton base you can navigate the Warwickshire Ring. This popular circuit travels 104 miles, passes through 94 locks and takes around 53 hours. It can be done in a week, but it’s best to allow 10 days or two weeks so that you’ll have time to visit places along the way. The Warwickshire Ring travels sections of the Grand Union Canal (passing through Leamington Spa and Warwick), the Coventry Canal and Birmingham & Fazeley Canal. Games venues on or close by the route include: Birmingham Arena (Gymnastics); Edgbaston Stadium (Cricket); Coventry Stadium and Arena (Judo, Rugby Sevens, Wrestling); St Nicholas Park in Warwick (Cycling Road Race); and Victoria Park in Leamington Spa (Lawn Bowls).
Escape into the countryside on a canal boat this Spring
By Emma Lovell, Anglo Welsh’s Reservations Manager
Spring and the chance to take a long awaited break, can’t come soon enough this year!
Narrowboat holidays offer a fantastic way to explore the countryside, with everything you need on board. You don’t need a licence to steer a canal boat, and tuition is included in all our packages. We’ve got hundreds of routes and destinations to choose from, and many are suitable for beginners.
So why not pack up and ship out for an adventure afloat this Spring. Travelling gently through the countryside, you can watch the natural world around you bursting with new life. From blossom on the hedgerows and new leaves on the trees, to birds busy nesting, and spring lambs playing in the fields.
To help you plan your waterway getaway, we’ve put together a list of our Top 8 Spring escapes:
1. Cruise through the Welsh Mountains to Llangollen
From our barge hire base at Whixall Marina, on the Prees Branch of the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire, it takes around 12 hours, passing through two locks, to reach the historic town of Llangollen. Perfect for a week away, this route will take you through Ellesmere and the Shropshire Lake District, and then across the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts, with incredible views of the Welsh Mountains and the Dee Valley.
2. Take a Thames boating holiday to Lechlade
Cruising along 23 waterway miles, and passing through seven locks, from our canal boat hire base near Oxford on the River Thames, it takes around nine hours to reach the pretty market town of Lechlade. This peaceful journey will take you through the Oxfordshire countryside into the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You’ll pass the historic village of Radcot and William Morris’s Kelmscott Manor. This holiday is perfect for a mid-week break.
3. Cruise gently through the countryside to Whitchurch
It takes around nine cruising hours to reach Whitchurch from our Bunbury base, perfect for a short break. The journey begins on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, and transfers onto the Llangollen Canal at Hurleston Junction in Shropshire. There are 20 locks to pass through and miles of unspoilt countryside. Once at Whitchurch, you can take time to explore this historic market town and its choice of places to eat.
4. Complete the Birmingham Mini-Ring Circuit
From our narrowboat hire base on the Stratford Canal at Wootton Wawen, the Birmingham Mini-Ring can be completed on a week’s break. The route will take you through 83 locks and takes around 35 cruising hours. Highlights include: cruising through the remains of the Forest of Arden on the Stratford Canal; the village of Bourneville, home of Cadbury’s chocolate on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal; Gas Street Basin in central Birmingham; and the flight of 13 locks at Farmers Bridge on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.
5. Navigate through the Yorkshire countryside to Saltaire
On a short break from our base at Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, you can travel to Sir Titus Salt’s famous model town at Saltaire. The journey takes around seven hours, and passes through 11 locks. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sir Titus Salt built the textile Mill and entire village of Saltaire for his mill workers.
6. Travel round the Four Counties Ring
On a week’s break from our canal barge hire base on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great Haywood, you can travel round the Four Counties Ring. The journey, which travels 110 miles and passes through 94 locks, takes around 55 cruising hours. The four counties you’ll pass through are Cheshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Shropshire. Highlights include: the 2,670-metre long Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal; the flight of 15 locks at Audlem on the Shropshire Union Canal; and the tranquil waters at Tixall Wide on the Stafforshire & Worcestershire Canal.
7. Cruise through the Worcestershire countryside to Lapworth
From our narrowboat hire base at Tardebigge near Bromsgrove, it takes around seven hours to cruise along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to the village of Lapworth. With two tunnels but no locks along the way, it’s a great short break for beginners. Once moored up in Lapworth, you can visit the magnificent gardens at the National Trust’s Packwood House, and follow guided walks to explore the beautiful Warwickshire countryside surrounding it.
8. Travel through the Avon Valley to Devizes
On a short break from our canal boat rental base at Sydney Wharf on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Bath, you can cruise to the edge of Devizes. It takes around 10 hours to cruise the 18 miles to Foxhanger Wharf, passing through eight locks and over two magnificent Bath stone aqueducts along the way. There are overnight moorings available here at the base of the Caen Hill Flight of locks, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.
Most of our holiday canal boats here at Anglo Welsh are narrowboats – based on the traditional barges designed specifically to navigate the narrow canals of England and Wales. Though we also offer widebeam boat hire from our Silsden base on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
Our rental narrowboats have been built with the comfort and convenience of our guests as the primary focus so while the exteriors are that of a traditional narrowboat, all our barges are fitted out with contemporary luxuries and appliances.
Narrowboats are an evocative sight, harking back to Britain’s industrial past. Just as most of the canals have changed little since their construction in the 18th century, the basic design of narrowboats has also remained largely the same for more than 200 years.
Here we thought we would offer a brief history of the narrowboat as well as looking at what the future may hold for canal boats
But first, to clarify, purists tend to refer to the old working boats as ‘narrow boats’ and the leisure craft that are now such a common sight on the canals as ‘narrowboats’. For simplification, we will refer to narrowboats throughout.
Origins of the narrowboat
The term narrowboat referred to the working boats built since the 18th century when the canals became the primary method for transporting large or bulky goods to and from factors to key ports or markets as industrialisation took hold.
It now also describes more modern narrowboats which are more often used as pleasure boats or homes but whose structure follows the same design.
The narrowboats were designed to ensure they could fit through the locks and under bridges with a minimum width of seven feet (2.1 metres).
Until the second half of the 18th century inland waterway craft design and size varied widely according to where in the country they were travelling. The concept of a standardised boat about 7-ft wide and 70-ft long is attributed to famous canal engineer James Brindley.
He agreed a deal with the Trent & Mersey Canal Company to build the locks on their canal to take boats of those dimensions. This was much too narrow to allow most boats then using the rivers the canal linked to. It set a precedent becoming the standard lock size for the rest of the Midlands canals meaning all boats wishing to use the canal network then had to meet these criteria.
The evolution of the narrowboat
During the canals’ heydays from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, hundreds of companies were operating narrowboats to transport goods all over England and Wales. All the original wooden narrowboats were horse drawn, hence all canals having a towpath running their entire length.
Originally boatmen would leave their families at home onshore while they went and worked the waterways for several weeks at a time. As the 19th century progressed and canal companies were squeezed by competition from the railways, real wages fell and that became financially impossible. This meant boatmen’s families often travelled with them on the boats working as unpaid crew living in very cramped conditions.
More fortunate were the independent self-employed boatmen who owned their own vessel and were known as ‘Number Ones’.
Steam engine powered narrowboats began to appear in the latter part of the 19th century, mostly used for the longer distance journeys between London and the east and west Midlands. Steamers often worked non-stop day and night to meet their strict schedules.
The problem with steam power was the engine and coal took up a lot of space reducing the cargo capacity and they required a much bigger crew – seven men for a steam and tow barge.
One of the leading narrowboat companies Fellows Morton & Clayton Ltd (FMC) began experimenting with gas engines in the early 1900s and in 1912 fitted a Bolinder engine onto a narrowboat called ‘Linda’.
When this proved a success all future narrowboats were fitted with Bolinder engines, some of which are still used today.
The inland waterways were nationalised in 1948 and carrying companies including FMC and the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd transferred their fleets over to the newly formed British Transport Commission which later became the British Waterways Board, now the Canal and River Trust.
During World War Two and the years that followed it, the canals were allowed to fall into disrepair with many becoming impassable. In the 1960s the British Waterways Board ceased most of its narrowboat carrying work and many vessels were left abandoned.
But it was around this time that work to restore the canals began to gain momentum. Since the 1960s hundreds of miles of canals as well as many historic engineering features have been repaired and are now enjoyed by people up and down the country as a wonderful recreational resource. The inland waterways are now used by more boats than at any other time in their history with most used as leisure vessels for canal boat holidays and day trips. But there are also many boats that provide floating homes, offices and there are still working boats carrying goods from place to place.
Many of the earliest pleasure boats were converted former working narrowboats but over time most boat building yards diversified into purpose building pleasure craft with sturdy steel hulls. This is the model of our wonderful fleet of narrowboat hire boats at Anglo Welsh.
The future of canal boats
The canals now host a colourful variety of vessels, from former lifeboats to fibreglass motorboats of all shapes and sizes. Enthusiasm for our historic waterways as a beautiful resource for boats, runners, cyclists, kayakers, nature lovers and more, shows no signs of abating. There are ongoing projects to restore and open up new stretches of the canals with volunteer groups up and down the country who give up their free time to maintain and clear these historic routes.
The popularity of narrowboats and other canal vessels as floating homes has soared in the last decade as rising rents have encouraged people to look for more creative living options. This shows no signs of abating – nor does the popularity of narrowboat holidays. Our holiday narrowboats vary greatly in size to suit different groups with some sleeping just two people while others have berths for up to 12 as well as different levels of luxury and style according to guests needs.
The key change we are likely to see in coming years is the move towards ‘greener’ narrowboats, in terms of the materials used to build and maintain them, the appliances used onboard and the fuel used to power them. We’re likely to see the diesel engines that currently dominate replaced by greener fuels. Electric engines, solar panels and wind turbines will become the norm. That way we can all continue to enjoy the canals for many more years to come while at the same time, protecting the environment.
