LOCK LOWDOWN
JANE MEMMLER DIPS A TOE INTO THE BEST TRANQUIL CANAL TRIPS BRITAIN HAS TO OFFER
WE’RE all looking forward to getting a break this year and a canal holiday is one for all the family. You can navigate vast swathes of Britain’s countryside on an inland waterway, stopping at some great attractions along the way.
Try one of these...
WARWICKSHIRE
Historic Stratford-uponAvon is a lovely stop as you sail from Wootton Wawen. Take a leisurely six-hour cruise through Warwickshire before mooring in Bancroft
Basin, after you’ve navigated 17 locks.
Stratford has Shakespeare’s birthplace to see, and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. You can meander along the narrow streets of the Tudor town, checking out the Mechanical Art and Design Museum or getting up close to butterflies at the Butterfly Farm.
Or, visit historic Warwick Castle from Stockton, on the Grand Union Canal. You can moor right up close to the castle itself, thought to be
Britain’s greatest medieval experience. The round trip takes about 14 hours and passes through 40 locks.
STAFFORDSHIRE
Tour the Black Country Ring starting on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Great Haywood in Staffordshire. This leisurely 72-mile route will take you through 79 locks in around 43 hours. In Birmingham, Gas Street Basin is buzzing with bars and restaurants where you can take a breather before tackling the 21 locks at Wolverhampton and plying the gentle waters at Tixall Wide, which look more like a lake than a canal.
OXFORDSHIRE
Oxford never disappoints and this lovely nine-hour trip along the Thames takes you through 11 locks on your way to Wallingford.
You’ll see Oxford’s glorious meadows and pastures in all their glory, and can explore museums before moving on to the market town of Abingdon for a pint at the popular Nag’s Head.
WORCESTERSHIRE
A trip around the Stourport Ring travelling through the Worcestershire countryside is a lovely seven-day adventure. The 114 lock, 84-mile trip takes around 56 hours.
You’ll also take in Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin, dramatic Kinver Edge with its cave houses, the Cathedral of Worcester and the River Severn.
AVON VALLEY
Travel through the spectacular Avon Valley and up the Caen Hill
Flight from Monkton Combe on the Kennet and Avon Canal.
There are locks galore to navigate – 37 each way – as you make your way to Pewsey Wharf.
Caen Hill Flight, at Devizes, is utterly spectacular with 29 continuous locks – almost as far as the eye can see.
You’ll also sail over fabulously dramatic Bath stone aqueducts at Dundas (designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument) and Avoncliff, and explore the beautiful historic market town of Bradford on Avon.
WEST YORKSHIRE
Cruise across the Pennines to Foulridge Tunnel. Pick up your boat at Anglo Welsh’s canal boat hire base at Silsden on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and drift along for 13 hours, through 15 locks to Foulridge Tunnel.
You’ll pass a series of historic towns and villages, but make sure you hop off at Skipton with its medieval fortress and East Marton, where you can stop by one of the many pubs.
WALES
Here’s the chance to sail across the magnificent Unesco World Heritage Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts which offer expansive views across the Welsh mountains.
Over seven days you can journey to the historic town of Llangollen and back. Along the way to the edge of the Berwyn mountains you’ll sail through the Shropshire Lake District.
CHESHIRE
Collect your boat at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal to cruise to the Anderton Boat Lift.
The trip takes nine hours, passing through 20 locks. The lift looks like a giant spider and moves boats 50ft up and down between the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal.