Cruising rings
Our canals and rivers offer years of cruising opportunities and with over 2,000 miles of waterway to explore there’s always something new to see. It could take decades to explore the entire network. However, if you don’t have all the time in the world to discover the delights of our waterways, why not consider boating around one of the many well-established cruising rings?
If you’re taking a boating holiday then a cruising ring could be just what you’re looking for. Varying in length and taking anything from two days to three weeks these circular routes mean you’ll never have to re-tread (or even re-cruise) your steps and every day you’ll get to see a new stretch of water.
Taking in the best that our canals and rivers have to offer, many of these cruising rings combine bustling city centres with tranquil countryside.
If you do decide to take on a circular route don’t forget to check for the latest advice notices.
In This Section »
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Avon Cruising Ring
With much of the Avon Ring passing through Shakespeare Country the focus understandably falls on The Bard but the route has many other attractions and the River Severn between Tewkesbury and Worcester demands closer inspection. -
Birmingham Ring
The Birmingham Ring traces the major waterways in the Birmingham Canal Navigations and offers an excellent overview of this fascinating network. -
Black Country Ring
The Black Country Cruising Ring comprises a combination of canals each memorable for different reasons. -
Cheshire Ring
Featuring the Bridgewater Canal, the first canal to be built in the modern waterways era, the Cheshire Ring was formulated after successful campaigns for the restoration of several key sections around the route and is one of the original cruising rings. -
Four Counties Ring
From the Shropshire Union Canal through the rolling Cheshire Plains to the Trent & Mersey Canal, the Staffordshire & Worcester Canal and back via the Shropshire Union the Four Counties Ring is one of the more rural Cruising Rings and is best savoured slowly. -
Leicester Ring
Non-tidal rivers combined with broad and narrow gauge canals offer a mixture of waterway experiences. -
South Pennine Ring
The South Pennine Ring traverses the rugged Pennines back and forth, taking in the Calder & Hebble Navigation from Sowerby Bridge, the Huddersfield Broad and Narrow Canals and the Ashton Canal before returning via the Rochdale Canal. -
Stourport Ring
The Stourport Ring visits no fewer than three cities of contrasting hues, the newly recognised City of Wolverhampton, industrial Birmingham and the ancient City of Worcester taking in both urban and countryside scenes. -
Thames Ring
The Thames Ring offers an eclectic combination of narrow canal, broad canal, tidal and non-tidal river waters. -
Two Roses Ring
Lancashire and Yorkshire are brought together in a combination of canal and river navigations centering on the Pennines. -
Warwickshire Ring
Despite the almost constant proximity of conurbation and industry, the Warwickshire Ring manages to carve a surprisingly rural route through manicured fields and ancient meadows for much of its length. -
Mid-Worcestershire Ring
The reopening of the Droitwich canals in 2011, 70 years after they were abandoned, has created a new 21-mile circular route. This route, the only ring on the network that can be comfortably negotiated in a weekend, takes in the River Severn, Droitwich Barge Canal, Droitwich Junction Canal and the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.
