Cruising rings

Two weeks should allow you ample time to navigate this route, while still allowing you to appreciate places such as Stratford-on-Avon or Worcester

At 45 miles, this ring takes just one week to complete at your leisure

Also known as the Staffordshire ring, this ten-day loop is made up of a combination of canals, each memorable for different reasons

Featuring the Bridgewater Canal, the Cheshire is one of the original cruising rings and takes around two weeks

The Four Counties Ring is one of the more rural cruising rings and is best savoured slowly across a minimum of a fortnight

Taking just over three weeks, you can experience non-tidal rivers combined with broad and narrow gauge canals

The Mid-Worcestershire, or Droitwich ring, is a 21-mile circular route and the only ring that you can comfortably negotiate in a weekend

Witness breathtaking scenery on this journey, which takes at least two weeks due to many locks along the way

The Stourport Ring takes about two weeks, and visits no fewer than three cities, taking in both urban and countryside scenery

This lengthy loop needs about 35 days to complete, and offers an eclectic combination of narrow canal, broad canal, tidal and non-tidal river waters

Lancashire and Yorkshire are brought together over 27 days of canal and river cruising centering on the Pennines

Despite how close it comes to Birmingham, the Warwickshire ring manages to carve a surprisingly rural route over two weeks