5 boating routes to see wildlife

1. See bats in Birmingham

Not all our wildlife havens are rural. While the far-out reaches of the Lancaster and the Peak Forest Canals make for good wildlife homes, you don't always have to travel quite so far to see nature.

In Birmingham, the heart of the nation's canal network, you can find all sorts of waterfowl, birds and bats. If you're lucky, you may see a black redstart or peregrine falcon.

Earlswood Lakes, a stone's throw from the North Stratford Canal, is a nature reserve in Birmingham where you can soak up the beautiful scenery while looking out for bats at dusk. The common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and noctule are the species you're most likely to see emerging around sunset. Daubenton's are also often seen by water.

Birmingham sits at the heart of many canal cruises, from the Warwickshire Ring to the Stourport Ring. But if you only have a week, head down the Birmingham & Fazeley on the Birmingham Ring. This route traces the major canals in the Birmingham Canal Navigations and offers an excellent overview of the city's maze of waterways.

2. Nature on the Monty

The Montgomery Canal is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Boasting a unique ecosystem, the Monty is home to many plants and a variety of animals, like dragonflies, damselflies, aquatic beetles, mussels, clams, bats, and kingfishers. Otters and water voles have also been spotted along its length.

Closed in 1944, the canal remained untouched for decades, with some parts only restored in the 21st century. This isolation meant nature, including rare plants, gained a foothold.

Our ongoing work and extensive winter dredging to remove thick silt and cut back encroaching vegetation will create several hectares of nature reserves. This cleaner, more oxygen-rich canal will be better for fish, which in turn will be better for the plants and allow the insects, birds, and mammals to thrive.

You can reach the Monty from the Llangollen Canal. At Frankton Locks, it's about six miles to Gronwyn Wharf, taking about four hours. Here, you can stop for the night at the visitor moorings before turning back in the morning.

3. Owls on the Aire & Calder

The Aire & Calder Navigation flows from Leeds to the tidal River Ouse at Goole, and it's still a busy freight artery after 300 years, despite competition from road and rail. Despite its industrial nature, you can see wildlife along its 34 miles.

The Aire & Calder Navigation has undergone a 30-year-long project to provide barn owls with nest boxes and rough grassland, where these predators might feast on shrews, voles and mice. Since 1998, these next boxes have fledged over 180 young barn owls.

Making up part of the Two Roses Ring, it takes about two days to cruise the Aire & Calder, and navigation has undergone regular improvements and upgrades. If you're embarking on the whole ring, it takes around a month to travel across Yorkshire and Lancashire on the Calder & Hebble, Leeds & Liverpool, Rochdale and Bridgewater Canals – each boasting majestic scenery and their own wildlife.

4. Creatures at Caen Hill

If you're looking for an abundance of different species on your cruise, a trip down the iconic Caen Hill will bring opportunities for spotting beavers, otters and plenty of other creatures. The infamous lock flight is a great place to search for kingfishers, damselflies and dragonflies.

The strip of woodland between the side pounds and the new Jubilee Wood provides shelter and security for animals like rabbits and hedgehogs. These spiky creatures, along with the earthworms, slugs and other invertebrates found here, provide important food sources for badgers.

Our ecologists and engineers monitor the badger setts within this woodland. If the badgers burrow as far as the edge of the canal, it could cause a potential breach and flood the badger's home.

You can reach the Caen Hill flight at Devizes on the K&A. From Reading, it'll take you about four to five days. After completing all 29 locks and exploring the local wildlife, it's another three-day cruise to Bristol.

5. Caldon to Consall Forge

If you're keen to get away from the busier stretches and cruise a rural route, head to the Caldon Canal. This small, quiet canal branches off from the Trent & Mersey at Etruria and meanders into the rolling hills of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

At Hazelhurst, the Caldon splits again. The Leek Branch continues another two miles to the Leek Tunnel, where there is a winding point to turn around. Along here, you might see kingfishers and herons.

If you take the left branch at Hazelhurst, the canal will follow the River Churnet and steam railway line, taking you through the pretty village of Cheddleton to Consall Forge. This nature park is home to a variety of bird life, like jays and woodpeckers, as well as otters.

Tie up at the visitor moorings outside the Black Lion pub and lace up your boots for plenty of walking routes through the woods. Tread carefully and keep your eyes peeled for signs of wildlife.