Admiral Class cruise from Great Haywood to Wootton Wawen

As the Operations Director of Anglo Welsh, it’s always great to take one of our boats out on a family break, looking at it from a customer’s point of view.  So, with Christmas Day enjoyed, myself, my partner Claire, my two boys Jacob and Daniel, plus our two dogs George and Cooper, set off on one of the brand-new Admiral Class boats from Great Haywood the day after Boxing Day.

With the boat packed up with everything we needed for our planned three-day cruise to Wootton Wawen, we headed off at 8am.  All of us were excited to see what the next few days brought, although the weather forecast did not look like it was going to be kind to us.  I’d instructed all to pack warm clothes, waterproofs and suitable footwear.

We headed down the Trent & Mersey Canal, which took us up towards Fradley Junction to join the Coventry Canal as our plan of action was to moor in Fazeley for the night.  We arrived there at 5pm having had a great day cruising along, chatting, eating turkey sandwiches, Christmas cake and plenty of hot drinks along the way.  The boys and the dogs also love the quiet pace of life and it was great to see them all enjoying the fresh air.

Once moored at Fazeley, in the well-equipped kitchen Claire was able to make us all a lovely two-course dinner and a very enjoyable game of Monopoly was had.  The kitchen facilities on board are excellent and have all the items needed to cook throughout the trip, with Claire commenting that the only thing missing was a dishwasher!

After a great night’s sleep by all in the comfortable beds, we set off again at 7.30am and headed through Birmingham.  It’s fair to say that this part of Birmingham is not necessarily the prettiest, and Daniel hoped it would take us via the nicer side of Brindleyplace, but that was unfortunately not possible on this route.  It was interesting to cruise under the M6 though, as you get to see a very different side to Birmingham by boat as opposed to by car. We cruised all day, enjoying the scenery and wildlife with Jacob fishing along the way, then we were able to moor at Catherine de Barnes when we arrived about 5pm.

While I sorted out the boat and popped to the local shop, Claire and Daniel walked the dogs.  Then back to the boat for another hot meal and a second round of Monopoly and Jenga.  It was so warm on the boat during the evening with the central heating on board, we didn’t even need to light the multi-fuel stove during the trip!  The Admiral Class four-berths have two bathrooms and the hot showers are excellent, just what you need after a day of cruising along.

On our final day, we were all up early and headed off in the rain at 7.30am towards Knowle Locks.  Such a beautiful location which made for some great photos, it was a shame it was raining so hard and we did all get quite wet, but we just had to see the funny side of this! It’s definitely somewhere I’d like to visit again in the dry.

The scenery on the third day was stunning as we joined the Stratford Canal, and with all the pretty locks, it made for a really special day. Jacob and Claire were mainly on lock duty, perfected after going through over 40 during the 3 days, whilst Daniel kept the dogs entertained on the boat.  We arrived at Wootton Wawen around 4pm and so were bang on our original plan.

After such a busy year, it was a brilliant way to unwind and relax before seeing the New Year in.  We had lots of fun, relaxation, games, ate very well and had all the fresh air that we needed.  Everyone, including the dogs, came away from this break feeling refreshed and ready to see what 2022 brings us all.

Our brand-new four-berth Admiral Class boats ‘Duncan’ and ‘Curzon’ are joining our fleet at Wootton Wawen and Great Haywood this March, and ‘Codrington’ will join the fleet at Bath in mid-April.

Our Reservations Team are taking bookings for these boats now, so if you’d like to come aboard, please give them a call on 0117 304 1122.