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Making life better by water
Each year hundreds of people take to the water on a canal boat holiday for the first time. But where's the best place to go if you're a boating beginner?
There are many beautiful places on our canal and river network. Here are some ideas for canal boat holiday routes that should give novice boaters a gentle introduction to life afloat.
This article first appeared in the Drifters Waterway Holidays blog and is reproduced with their kind permission. Drifters have hire boat bases at each of these locations.
A holiday on the Shropshire Union Canal from Brewood takes you through a series of wooded cuttings and past popular canalside pubs, including the Hartley at Wheaton Ashton and the Junction Inn at Norbury.
It's a peaceful 6 hour cruise to Shebdon, passing through just one lock along the way.
A sedate journey along the 22-mile, lock-free Ashby Canal is perfect for canal boat holiday novices. Boaters can amble quietly past the historic town of Market Bosworth and the site of the Battle of Bosworth, where in 1485 Richard III lost his crown to Henry Tudor.
With no locks between Alvechurch on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal near Bromsgrove, and city centre moorings at Gas Street Basin, just a stone's throw from Brindley Place, a trip to Birmingham is great for newcomers.
It takes five hours to reach Gas Street Basin, passing through four tunnels along the way and past popular waterside pubs, like the Hopwood House at Hopwood.
From Chirk on the Llangollen Canal, the peaceful journey to the Eisteddfod town of Llangollen and back offers a fantastic short break for beginners.
As well as the magnificent World Heritage site of Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts to pass over, there are just four locks to go through and views that amaze.
A holiday on the Trent & Mersey Canal from Great Haywood takes you through the beautiful Staffordshire countryside, including Cannock Chase.
It’s a gentle 12-hour cruise to Fradley Junction and back, passing through five locks each way – a perfect short break for beginners.
From Bradford on Avon on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire, in the southern foothills of the Cotswolds, Georgian Bath is a six-hour, one-lock cruise away.
The route passes over two stunning Bath-stone aqueducts and past a series of historic waterside pubs, including The Cross Guns at Avoncliffe.
Once there, holiday-makers can use their boat as a base to enjoy all that Bath has to offer, including the Roman Baths, the Holburne Museum, eateries and shops.
From Stretton, on the North Oxford Canal near Rugby, the pretty canal village of Braunston is a peaceful 15-mile cruise away. There are only three locks on this route so it's an easy short break for first-timers.
The journey meanders through scenic wooded countryside and a series of quiet villages with rural pubs, including the Barley Mow at Newbold and Royal Oak at Hillmorton.
Find a boating holiday with hire boat companies at these locations and elsewhere on our canal and river network.
Last Edited: 24 March 2025
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