Fancy doing something different for your family holiday this summer? A holiday on board a narrowboat is a wonderful way to bring the family together as it offers a varied and exciting experience with something for every age group to enjoy. With constantly changing scenery and the chance to explore a new destination daily, holidays on the canals offer an amazing range of sights, attractions and activities. With the help of our friendly Bookings Team, you can shape your canal boat holiday to suit your needs and desires – from the style and size of narrowboat you hire, which location you set out from and your desired destination(s).
A Narrowboat Holiday For All the Family
Children
Any parent will tell you – kids are easily bored. An active, exciting holiday on the canals in which they are regularly on the move, seeing and experiencing new things every day, is the perfect choice to keep your little ones entertained.
With miles of canal towpaths and open countryside along the waterways, narrowboat holidays offer plenty of outdoor space for kids to run around and play in the fresh country air so that they collapse in bed and sleep soundlessly at the end of each day.
Most children love the novelty of staying on the water and the workings of the narrowboat, so life on the canals can be a great excitement. Helping to navigate the boat through a tunnel or working a lock offers a brand-new activity to get involved in that is far different from their day-to-day.
As well as the open countryside, canal boat holidays can also offer the opportunity to visit countless attractions that will appeal to your little ones, from the sweet allure of Cadbury World which sits right next to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal in Bournville, to the thrills of Alton Towers, accessible from the Caldon Canal, and the excitement of Chester Zoo, not far from our hire base at Bunbury.
Teenagers
Teenagers commonly seek independence and freedom to roam, which can make it difficult to satisfy their needs on a family getaway. Narrowboat holidays offer the chance for teenagers to take themselves off for walks, runs or bike rides along the traffic-free towpaths. Towpaths also make it almost impossible to get lost, easing the minds of worried parents!
There are also lots of water-based activities on offer along the canals. Kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and fishing may appeal to teenagers in the family – and may even convince them to look away from their mobile phones!
Teenagers are also prone to boredom, so the constant movement and change of scenery that comes with a narrowboat holiday will satisfy their need for new surroundings. A canal boat holiday that combines both urban and rural surroundings is likely to appeal most teenagers – although this will depend upon the individual and their interests.
Our narrowboats are built to provide ample space for all crew members, so teenagers can enjoy the privacy of their own cabin – and if they do need a social media fix, they can connect to the WiFi available on all our barges. Hopefully though, there will be enough distraction and excitement to make this unnecessary!
Young adults
Narrowboat getaways are ideal for groups of friends or for couples wanting a unique romantic break. Our canal boats, built for the comfort and enjoyment of all our guests, range from cosy two-berth barges perfect for couples, to 12-berth ‘floating hotels’ ideal for large group holidays. There are a variety of city break destinations on offer along the canals such as Bath, Oxford, Birmingham and Chester, all of which offer the perfect blend of beauty, history and culture – as well as great places to eat and drink.
For group holidays, the choice of activities and destinations available along the canals works perfectly. Some crew members might wish to head off and explore the sights, while others choose to relax on board, or moor up by a canalside pub to enjoy a well-deserved pint. A canal boat holiday can take in historic towns and cities, rural loveliness, famous sights and a huge selection of activities that will keep even the most diverse group of people happy.
With fully equipped galley kitchens, our narrowboats are well set up for cooking delicious meals onboard. There are also countless tempting spots to go out for dinner and drinks along the waterways, if you want to treat yourself to a meal out.
Parents
For parents, a canal boat holiday is the ideal getaway to cater to both their children and themselves. As we’ve already mentioned, there is so much on offer along the canals to keep children occupied which will afford parents time to relax and enjoy themselves. It’s almost impossible not to be enchanted by the picturesque charm of the waterways. For parents who spend much of their lives racing around trying to balance their family, work and social lives, slowing down to the serene pace of 4mph can offer much-needed peace and tranquillity. By trading the whirlwind of day-to-day life for the calm of the canals, they can escape any anxieties, breathe deeper and destress.
Parents may wish to mix things up by experiencing a taste of city life afloat as well as some rural cruising, or simply stick to serene countryside routes. Some canal routes are renowned for their fascinating historic sights, museums and feats of engineering, while others boast abundant wildlife or incredible dramatic scenery. But what all canals provide is the opportunity to get outside and get active. Essentially, parents can customise their narrowboat holiday to ensure that all members of the family are kept happy throughout, including themselves. Our boats are all pet-friendly, so you can even bring along a maximum of two furry friends to join the adventure.
Grandparents
Now more than ever, we are appreciating the importance of spending quality time with extended family members, and it is lovely for grandparents to be able to join their children and grandchildren on family holidays. Spending time with extended family also benefits everyone that little bit more, as it enables parents to share the childcare while granny or grandpa spends some quality time with the little ones.
A narrowboat holiday is a fantastic way to bring everyone together as it can be as active or relaxing as the crew members wish. Grandparents who are still super fit and active will love the outdoorsy element, while those who may be less mobile can still enjoy the calm and serenity of life on the water from the comforts of our well-furnished narrowboats. Towpaths offer secure and relatively flat walking routes, with most being tarmacked or paved for ease of access.
Grandparents, like parents, are sure to love the rich range of destinations along the waterways. There are bustling cities like Birmingham and Bristol, historic destinations like Bath and Chester or cultural treasures such as Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford. Away from the cities, there are an abundance of stately homes, castles, parks and gardens in addition to the natural beauty of the British countryside.
Everyone
Most importantly, everyone onboard is required to help out on and off the boat, from steering and mooring up, to working the locks. A narrowboat holiday is all about teamwork and coming together. It brings everyone closer, united by a shared goal to get to their desired destination as efficiently as possible, all while having lots of fun and enjoying time together as a family along the way.
Top October half term canal boat holiday destinations
Set off for a family adventure afloat together this October half term.
You’ll be cosy aboard your very own floating holiday cottage, with all the key comforts of home, including hot water, central heating, well-equipped kitchens, showers, flushing toilets and WiFi.
Tuition is included in our hire boat rental and our holidays are pet friendly.
We’ve put together a guide to our top 7 narrowboat holiday destinations this October half term:
1. Take a Ghost Walk in Shakespeare’s Stratford
From our boat yard on the Stratford Canal at Wootton Wawen, it takes around six hours to reach Bancroft Basin in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon. There, every Saturday at 7.30pm the award-winning Ghost Walk takes visitors on a tour around the haunted streets of Stratford-upon-Avon. The journey to Stratford and back from Wootton Wawen passes through 34 locks (17 each way) and takes around 12 hours.
2. Cruise to Llangollen to visit the magnificent Horseshoe Falls
Setting off from our base on the Llangollen Canal at Trevor in North Wales, it takes just two hours to reach moorings at Llangollen Basin. From there, you can explore this historic town nestled in the Berwyn Mountains, including the magnificent Horseshoe Falls. This 140 metre long weir structure was designed by Thomas Telford to feed water from the River Dee to the Llangollen Canal.
3. Navigate to Alrewas and the National Memorial Aboretum
On a 4-night break from Great Haywood you can cruise along the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal to Alrewas and back. There you can moor up and walk to the National Memorial Aboretum, home to more than 400 memorials. Along the way, you’ll pass the beautiful Tixall Wide lake, Penkridge and Gailey with canalside pubs to enjoy. The journey from Great Haywood to Alrewas and back travels 26 miles, passes through 22 locks (11 each way) and takes around 15 hours.
4. Visit ‘The Cathedral of the Canals’
On a 4-night break from Bunbury in Cheshire, you can cruise to the Anderton Boat Lift and back. Also known as ‘The Cathedral of the Canals’, Anderton Boat Lift celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. The journey begins on the Shropshire Union Canal, transferring onto the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge Junction. Cruising through the Cheshire countryside, you’ll connect with the Trent & Mersey Canal at Middlewich. You’ll pass through the village of Marston before reaching Anderton. There you can visit the Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre explains how this amazing structure works. The journey from Bunbury to Anderton and back travels 46 miles, passes through 20 locks (10 each way) and takes around 18 hours.
5. Explore 1,200 acres at Chirk Castle
On a 4-night break from Whixall, on the Prees Branch of the Llangollen Canal, you can travel to Chirk and back. The journey to Chirk passes through just two locks and takes around eight hours. There you can moor up and walk to the National Trust’s Chirk Castle, which takes around 30 minutes. At Chirk Castle there are murder holes and medieval toilets in the Adam Tower to marvel at, richly decorated state rooms to explore and 1,200 acres to roam.
6. Take a ghost tour in Bath
From Bradford on Avon, it takes around four hours, passing through one lock, to reach moorings at Sydney Gardens in Bath. From there, you can explore this UNESCO World Heritage city and book a Ghost Tour. The tour takes visitors on a thrilling tour of Bath, discovering tales of murder, mayhem, witch burnings, hangings, medieval monks, duels and poltergeists.
7. Experience the Royal Armouries Escape Room in Leeds
On a week’s holiday from Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, you can cruise to Leeds and back. You can moor up in Leeds Dock, home of the Royal Armouries Museum. There you can book an Escape Room experience with Great Escape Game. The journey from Silsden to Leeds and back takes around 34 hours, and passes through 56 locoks (28 each way).
The August bank holiday weekend is a great time to take to the water for a boating break
Our best August bank holiday boating breaks take you through some of Britain’s best-loved countryside. And into the heart of some our most famous waterside towns and cities.
Canal boat holidays are great for families, bringing everyone together for an adventure afloat. From steering the boat and working the locks, to planning the route and watching out for wildlife, there’s plenty to get involved in.
Pets are welcome aboard all our boats, so all the family can enjoy a relaxing staycation together. And there’s everything you need on board for a self-catering holiday afloat if you want to keep your costs down.
There are hundreds of waterside destinations in England and Wales to choose from.
To celebrate the upcoming August bank holiday, we’ve put together a guide to our top 6 August bank holiday weekend boating breaks:
1. Cruise along the Llangollen Canal and into the Shropshire Lake District
On a weekend away from Trevor in North Wales, you can cruise to Ellesmere and back, journeying into the heart of the Shropshire Lake District. The journey takes you across the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, 38 metres high above the Dee valley. At Ellesmere, you can moor up to explore this historic market town and its ancient mere, with woodland walks and places to eat. The journey to Ellesmere takes around 7 hours, crosses 2 aqueducts, and passes through 2 locks and 2 tunnels.
2. Navigate the Stratford Canal to Stratford-upon-Avon
From Wootton Wawen it takes around 6 hours to cruise along the Stratford Canal to Shakespeare’s Stratford and back. The route takes you through the Warwickshire countryside to reach overnight moorings in Bancroft Basin in the heart of Stratford upon Avon. Once there, you can walk to top attractions, including the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Shakespeare’s Birthplace. There are 17 locks to pass through along the way, and you’ll cross the impressive Edstone Aqueduct, the longest aqueduct in England.
3. Travel along the Trent & Mersey Canal to Fradley
From Great Haywood you can head south along the Trent & Mersey Canal to Fradley Junction and back. The journey takes around 5 hours, travelling 12 miles through the Staffordshire countryside. There are just five locks to pass through, and you’ll pass canalside pubs at Wolseley and Rugeley. At Fradley, you can enjoy refreshments at the Canalside Café or The Swan Inn. And you can take a wildlife-spotting walk along the woodland trail and boardwalk at Fradley Pool Nature Reserve.
4. Cruise through the Cheshire countryside to Middlewich
On a weekend away, from Bunbury you can navigate to the ancient town of Middlewich and back. Your journey begins on the Shropshire Union Canal and transfers onto the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge Junction. You’ll cruise on through beautiful Cheshire countryside and the village of Church Minshull, home of the Badger Inn. Once at Middlewich you can moor up to explore this ancient town famous for its salt making. The journey to Middlewich takes around 6 hours and passes through 4 locks.
5. Float along the Kennet & Avon Canal to Bradford on Avon
From our base at Sydney Wharf near Bath, it takes around 3.5 hours to reach the lovely market town of Bradford on Avon. There’s just one lock to pass through and stunning Bath stone aqueducts to glide across at Dundas and Avoncliff. You’ll pass a series of canalside pubs along the way, including The George at Bathampton. Once in Bradford on Avon, you can moor up to visit Historic England’s medieval Tithe Barn. And there’s a great choice of places to eat, including the riverside Timbrell’s Yard.
6. Glide along the Llangollen Canal to Ellesmere
On a 4-night mid-week break from Whixall Marina in Shropshire, you can cruise through the countryside to Ellesmere and back. The journey there and back takes around 7 hours. Along the way, you’ll cruise past Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses is a designated National Nature Reserve and Colemere Country Park. At Ellesmere, you can moor up to explore this historic market town and its famous Mere, with woodland walks, castle, gardens and Boathouse cafe.
Click here to book a holiday, or call our friendly booking team on 0117 304 1122.
If you’re looking to try something new this year, give narrowboating a go
The new year is a great time to take up new hobbies and activities, or to learn a new skill. It is an opportunity for a fresh start.
We don’t think New Year’s resolutions should be about self-denial and restrictions, but about positive fulfilment, expansion, self-discovery and learning. A new hobby is a wonderful way to boost your wellbeing and re-energise life when things are feeling a little stale.
After the overindulgence of Christmas and New Year’s Eve, most of us are seeking some more wholesome interests and activities to nourish our mind, body and soul.
So why not take up narrowboating as your new hobby for 2025! Here some reasons why you should give narrowboating a go:
We provide tuition for beginners
If you book a canal boat holiday with Anglo Welsh, you will be taken through all the basics to set you up for your first ever narrowboat cruise.
Any narrowboat holiday veteran will admit to being a little nervous the first time they found themselves in control of their own canal barge. But our expert instructors will ensure you have all the knowledge you need to quickly become an adept skipper.
Before you set off from our narrowboat hire base, you will be taught how to start the engine, fill up with water, steer, moor up and work the canal locks. You’ll also be told about canal etiquette and rules such as where and when to drive, speeds, how to leave locks behind you and the best places to moor up.
All our narrowboats have manuals on board for guests to check anything, or you can even give our engineering team a ring 24 hours a day for further advice. Since four miles per hour is the top speed on the canals, being at the helm is a relaxing, rather than a stressful experience.
We have lots of information for first-time boaters here on our website, including videos, advice on what to pack, etc.
It’s a sociable and family friendly holiday
Narrowboat holidays are perfect for families or groups of friends of all ages and tastes since the canal barges to hire range from sleeping just two up to 12 people. There’s a lot to see and do on canal boat holidays setting off from any of our nine narrowboat hire bases. They all offer very different styles of narrowboat cruising, meaning there really is something for everyone.
You can enjoy walking, cycling, kayaking, visit stately homes, castles, historic towns and villages, explore parks and gardens or simply relax on board and admire stunning countryside rolling past. If you choose a canal boat holiday with us, you’re also welcome to bring along up to three of your beloved pets on board so even they do not have to miss out on the fun.
You can explore Britain’s idyllic countryside
A canal boat holiday is a perfect way to explore some of the most beautiful areas of Britain, with more than 3,000 miles of navigable waterways snaking their way through unspoilt countryside and historic cities, towns and villages.
How far you explore is dependent on how long you have for your canal boat holiday. We offer short breaks (three or four nights), week-long holidays or longer. As you’re always on the move, mooring in a different spot each day with new places and things to admire and explore, there’s no excuse for getting bored.
Canal boat holidays are great for wellbeing
It is a very calming and mindful experience being on the water, focused on the present moment, whether steering the narrowboat or taking in the gorgeous surroundings. With so many people now suffering from stress, a canal boat holiday is the perfect way to unwind away from the rush and bustle of your day-to-day existence.
The canals crisscross miles of idyllic countryside and are teeming with wildlife so a narrowboat holiday allows you to get outside, connect with nature and breathe in the clean air. Choose one of our more rural canal routes for a truly tranquil narrowboat holiday experience. A canal boat holiday in 2025 may be just the thing you need to boost your mental and physical wellbeing.
You’ll be floating through history
The canals are a key part of our nation’s industrial heritage, with the vast majority built 250 years ago. They were originally constructed as the most efficient method of transporting large bulky goods prior to the advent of the railways. That is why there is such a high concentration of canals in the old industrial heartlands around the West Midlands and North West. This makes a canal boat holiday a history lover’s dream come true as you are quite literally floating through history.
You can admire many historic feats of engineering, including the soaring grandeur of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the quirky Victorian engineering of the Anderton Boat Lift.
Beyond the canals themselves, are the historic villages, towns and cities through which they pass. As well as stately homes, castles and museums, all easily accessible from the waterways. If you have an interest in the UK’s heritage, then a narrowboat holiday will be perfect for you.
Top 5 places to celebrate Halloween on a canal boat holiday
Canal boat holidays offer the chance to enjoy a family staycation afloat this October Half Term
You can spend time together exploring the waterways and visit waterside destinations hosting spooky Halloween events.
Your floating holiday cottage will be equipped with the key comforts of home, including central heating and hot water, so it’s always nice and cosy on board.
All our boats also have fully equipped kitchens, so you can enjoy a self-catering holiday afloat.
To celebrate the October Half Term holiday, we’ve put together a guide to our top 5 narrowboat holiday destinations hosting Halloween events*:
1. Take The ‘Sinister Side of Shakespeare Walking Tour’ in Stratford-upon-Avon
From Wootton Wawen, it takes around six hours to reach moorings in the centre of Shakespeare’s Stratford. You can book online to experience ‘The Sinister Side of Shakespeare’s Stratford Walking Tour’ where you’ll learn about the town’s infamous witches, and discover the real-life tragedies that inspired Shakespeare. The journey to Stratford and back takes around 12 hours and passes through 34 locks (17 each way).
2. Enjoy Halloween activities at Chirk Castle
From Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, you can reach Chirk Bank in around one-and-a-half hours. From there it takes around 30 minutes to walk up to the National Trust’s Chirk Castle, hosting special Halloween activities, including the Medieval Monster Activity Sheet, 26-31 October. The journey from Trevor to Chirk and back takes around three hours, and passes over the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct along the way.
3. Follow the Halloween Trail at Chester Zoo
On a short break from Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal, you can reach Chester, home of the award-winning Chester Zoo. Home to over 27,000 animals, this October half term Chester Zoo is hosting a Super Natural Trail Challenge across its 128 acres of zoological gardens. The journey from Bunbury to Chester and back takes around 14 hours and passes through 18 locks (nine each way).
4. See ‘The Lost Boys’ at the Shugborough Estate
Our base on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great Haywood is less than an hour’s cruise away from the National Trust’s Shugborough Estate. At 6pm on Tuesday 29 October, the Estate is hosting an outdoor screening of the vampire classic ‘The Lost Boys’, starring Kiefer Sutherland.
5. Visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath
Best February half term canal boat holiday destinations
There’s a great choice of exciting family destinations to visit on a half term boating breaks on the canals
All our boats have central heating, and some also have multi-fuel stoves, so it’s always nice and cosy on board.
Here’s a guide to our top four destinations on a family canal boat holiday this February half term:
Visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon – from our base at on the Stratford Canal at Wootton Wawen, near Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire, it’s a picturesque six-hour cruise through the Warwickshire countryside to Shakespeare’s Stratford. Once there, you can moor up in Bancroft Basin and visit Stratford’s museums, theatres, restaurants and shops, including the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Swap the water forthe Steam Railway at Llangollen – from Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, it takes just two hours to cruise to the beautiful town of Llangollen, on the edge of the Berwyn Mountains. Once there, you can moor up and take time to explore this pretty town which offers plenty of places to eat and visit, including the Llangollen Steam Railway.
Discover Britain’s Secret Nuclear Bunker – from Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, it takes around three-and-a-half hours, travelling nine miles and passing through just two locks, to reach moorings close to the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker Museum. This fascinating blast-proof underground bunker was once one of the nation’s most secret defence sites.
Cruise to Waterworld for Tropical Aqua Park – heading north from Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stafford, you can reach the Festival Park in Stoke on Trent in around 13 hours. From there it’s a 10-minute walk to Waterworld, where you can enjoy 30 thrill seeking rides, including the legendary Thunderbolt.
Kevin Yarwood, Anglo Welsh’s canal boat hire base manager at Great Haywood in Staffordshire, describes the winter wildlife he sees on the canals and Christmas canal boat holiday options.
Here at Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal, we offer canal boat hire all year round, including Christmas and New Year.
The canals are much quieter in the winter months and there are lots of historic canalside pubs with roaring log fires to enjoy along the way.
Popular canal barge holiday destinations from Great Haywood
The most popular winter cruise destination from Great Haywood is to travel south along the Trent & Mersey Canal to Fradley Junction. This peaceful 12-mile cruise through the Staffordshire countryside takes around five hours, passing through five locks.
Pubs to visit along the way the Wolseley Arms at Wolseley Bridge and The Old Peculiar in the village of Handsacre.
Once at Fradley, you can find refreshments at the Canalside Café or The Swan Inn.
Alternatively you can travel north along the Trent & Mersey Canal to the market town of Stone. Along the way you’ll pass The Saracens Head at Weston and The Greyhound at Burston.
Local attractions to visit
We are lucky to have a number of great attractions close to us at Great Haywood.
For example the National Trust’s Shugborough Estate, where the gardens lead right down to the canal, has some lovely Christmas events. Their Winter Light Trail takes visitors through the historic grounds with light displays set to music.
Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, once a royal hunting forest is also nearby. As well as the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust’s Wolseley Centre.
Both are wonderful havens for wildlife, with lots to see and do even in the winter months.
Winter wildlife on the waterways
We also still see plenty of wildlife on the canal here over the winter, especially woodland and hedgerow birds such as chaffinch, robins, blue and coal tits, jays, nuthatch, woodpeckers and our resident pair of swans. We feed the birds all year round, but of course it’s over the winter months that it’s most vital to do so. We provide nutritious wild bird seed, peanuts, fat balls and sesame seeds.
We are sometimes lucky enough to see otters from the River Trent coming up onto the canal to feed at night.
Canal boats available to hire this Christmas
We offer a range of canal boats for hire over the winter, from a cosy narrowboat for two to a family canal boat for 12. They all have central heating, hot water showers, comfortable beds, fully equipped kitchens, WiFi, TV and DVD players, so it’s always nice and warm on board. Our luxury boats ‘Curzon’ for four people and ‘Pegasus’ for six, also have multi-fuel stoves.
Over the Christmas week, we have an 11-night break starting on 22 December and a three-week hire starting on 16 December. And we have another week hire over New Year, starting on 27 December.
Cooking Christmas lunch on board a narrowboat
This year my wife and I will be cooking Christmas lunch aboard our narrowboat for our two children and two Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
Cooking Christmas dinner on a canal boat isn’t that different to a normal kitchen, except you don’t have a huge amount of worktop space. And you need to be careful not to buy too big a turkey, as most ovens are slightly smaller on boats.
Gardens are great places to visit on a canal boat holiday, offering beautiful vistas, cafes serving dishes made with produce grown on site, and places for quiet contemplation and inspiration.
There are dozens of beautiful gardens to visit within easy reach of our canals and rivers.
Here’s Our Top 9 Gardens to Enjoy on a Canal Boat Holiday in 2024:
Enjoy spectacular views of Snowdonia from the gardens of Plas Newydd, close to the Llangollen Canal in North Wales
The gardens at Plas Newydd House in Llangollen are set within 169 acres of woodland and parkland, where the setting, geology and climate allow extraordinary plants to flourish. Tender exotics grow in the Menai Courtyard, alpines and dwarf shrubs in the sun room terrace, dahlias and agapanthas in the Italianate Terrace, magnolia in the Rhododendron Garden, aromatic eucalypts in the Australasian arboretum and spring flowers alongside the cascades of Rill Garden. From our narrowboat hire base at Trevor on the Llangollen Canal, it takes just two hours to reach Llangollen.
Find the oldest botanic garden in Britain, close to the Oxford Canal in Oxford
Founded in 1621 as a garden growing plants for medicinal research, the University of Oxford Botanic Garden now contains over 8,000 plant species in a 1.8 hectare site at Rose Lane, close to the City Centre. The Garden offers family friendly trails and ‘Botanic Backpacks’ full of activities and equipment to help visitors get more from their walk around the Garden and its Glasshouses. From our Oxford boat yard on the River Thames at Eynsham, Oxford can be reached in three-and-a-half hours, travelling through four locks.
See the ancient topiary at Packwood House, close to the Stratford Canal at Lapworth
According to legend, the 350-year old trees in Packwood’s iconic Yew Garden represent the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Packwood’s beautiful gardens also boast stunning herbaceous borders, with a wide variety of colourful plants, including its unusual North African Cabbage Trees, as well as a bountiful Kitchen Garden, wildflower meadows, an orchard and a gorgeous rose walk leading to the cafe. From our canal boat hire base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal near Henley-in-Arden, it’s a 7-mile, 31-lock and 10-hour journey to Lapworth Lock No 6, half-a-mile’s walk from Packwood.
Stroll around the award-winning Trentham Gardens, close to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stoke on Trent
The make-over of the Italian Gardens at Trentham was led by renowned garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith. And the Rivers of Grass and Floral Labyrinth gardens were designed by the eminent Dutch plantsman, Piet Oudolf. As well as a series of themed gardens, visitors to Trentham can enjoy a walk around the Capability Brown designed central mile-long lake and the vast new wildflower meadows, as well as taking the Fairy Trail through woodland, a maze and gardens where the fairies live. There’s also an adventure playground, trip boat and miniature train. From our boatyard at Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stafford, it takes approximately 10 hours to reach Stoke bottom lock No. 36, travelling 13 miles, through 13 locks.
Relax in the Walled Garden at Churches Mansion, close to the Shropshire Union Canal at Nantwich
The immaculately maintained Walled Garden at the stunning Elizabethan timber-framed Churches Mansion is mainly laid to lawn. It has well stocked borders of cottage garden flowers and shrubs, as well as specimen fruit trees, including mulberry, walnut, pear, cherry and plum. There is also an oak tree, magnificent magnolia tree and trailing wisteria wrapped around a first floor balcony. From our boatyard at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal, Nantwich is just six miles away.
Explore the Grade I listed Italianate garden at Iford Manor, close to the Kennet & Avon Canal at Bradford on Avon
The romantic terraced hillside garden at Iford Manor, with stunning views across the Iford valley, was designed by architect and landscape gardener Harold Ainsworth Peto, who lived there from 1899 to 1933. Peto was particularly attracted to the charm of old Italian gardens, characterized by cypresses, broad walks, statues and pools. The garden’s striking features include a Loggia, Great Terrace, Casita and Cloisters. Our canal boat hire base at Monkton Combe is three miles from Avoncliff, where footpaths lead to Iford Manor.
Visit the Rose Garden at Rode Hall, near the Macclesfield Canal at Hall Green
Set in a beautiful landscape designed by Humphry Repton in 1790, Rode Hall’s extensive grounds include a formal rose garden designed by Nesfield in 1860, terraced rock garden, woodland garden and a two-acre walled kitchen garden. Drifts of snowdrops grace the estate at the beginning of the year and spring boasts a large variety of rhododendrons and azaleas, followed by a stunning display of ancient bluebells. From our canal boat hire base on at Great Haywood near Stafford, it’s a two-day journey, cruising 25 miles, through 18 locks to reach Hall Green Lock on the Macclesfield Canal, where a footpath leads to Rode Hall & Garden.
Visit the magnificent Walled Kitchen Garden at RHS Bridgewater, close to the Bridgewater Canal near Worsley
The Royal Horticultural Society’s 154-acre garden at the Worsley New Hall estate in Salford, Greater Manchester, opened in May 2021. Said to be the biggest hands-on agricultural project undertaken in Europe since planning permission was granted in 2017, highlights include the restored Walled Kitchen Garden, with forest, herbal and formal vegetable gardens all linked by wall-trained fruit trees which wrap around the walls. From our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire it takes around 23 hours, travelling 56 miles and passing through 9 locks to reach moorings on the Bridgewater Canal, close to RHS Garden Bridgewater. It’s less than a mile’s walk from the canal to the garden, and you can claim a 30% discount on the entry price for not using a car to get there.
To book one of Anglo Welsh’s superbly equipped canal boats, click here or call our Booking Team on 0117 304 1122.
