ROUTE CANAL
From darling buds to a ‘divorce ditch’, Joanna Booth has some great choices for going with the flow
A HIGHLAND FLING AFLOAT
Twelve years overdue when it opened in 1822, Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford’s Caledonian Canal was already industrially redundant — and what a blessing that was, because the epic natural beauty of the Great Glen remains unblemished to this day. Passengers on the barge Fingal of Caledonia experience warm Highland hospitality as they cruise from tree-lined canals to beautiful, expansive waters — Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy — hopping off for hikes or some cycling, or staying on board to spot cormorants, herons and maybe a fabled monster or two.
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(caledonian-discovery.co.uk).
THE CANALS OF CANADA
See the contrasts of eastern Canada under your own steam aboard a roomy cruiser with a rooftop sundeck as it negotiates the Rideau Canal. North America’s oldest canal flows through the heart of cosmopolitan Ottawa and winds its way through the countryside — passing Canada’s prettiest village — to Smith Falls, famed for its fishing.
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(leboat.co.uk).
FROM BARD TO BULLRING
See those darling buds bloom this May along the rural Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Take a traditional narrowboat from Shakespeare’s birthplace past half-timbered houses and barrel-vaulted lock keepers’ cottages, along England’s longest aqueduct and through the model village of Bourneville before cruising into Birmingham itself. The city has more canals than Venice (56km as opposed to 41) and you can moor up in its industrial heart at Gas Street Basin, where the towpaths are lined with tempting cafés and bars.
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(valleycruises.co.uk).
SKY-HIGH IN WALES
You
will definitely need a head for heights on the Llangollen Canal’s “stream in the sky”. As you cross the impressively lofty Pontcysyllte aqueduct, also designed by Telford, your narrowboat will soar high above the River Dee in a steel trough, with no barrier between you and the ground 38m below.
A long weekend is enough to explore the Welsh border country, book-ended by the historic market towns of Llangollen in northeast Wales and Ellesmere in Shropshire. With just four locks en route, this is a great option for first-timers on the canals.
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(black-prince.com).
LANGUID LANGUEDOC
Let a luxury hotel barge dictate the pace on the Canal du Midi, which bisects the sun-dappled medieval villages and vineyards of the Languedoc region in southern France. On the eightpassenger Anjodi, the crew will cater to your every need, from freshly warmed morning baguettes to an evening cognac. Lazy afternoons on the sun deck, with its heated spa pool, are interspersed with some leisurely sightseeing, including a winetasting and a visit to the hilltop fortress town of Carcassonne.
● (hotelbarges.co.uk).
SCANDI SLEEK
In Sweden, the Göta Canal is called the “divorce ditch” because of the marital spats inspired by its 66 locks. Cruise in historic splendour on board the MS Juno — named after the goddess of marriage — and it will prove to be a lovers’ lane instead, as you can leave all that palaver to the crew. Built in 1874, the world’s oldest registered cruise ship makes the journey between Stockholm and Gothenburg through idyllic countryside dotted with castles and palaces. ● (vjv.com).
QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Mark the centenary of the Great War’s end by sailing through Flanders Fields from Bruges to Pont-l’Évêque on the smart 12-passenger hotel barge Panache. On this special World War 1 commemorative cruise, you will visit battlefields, memorials and museums along the Canal du Nord, taking in the Somme, Arras and Ypres and arriving at the Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony.
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(europeanwaterways.com).