Enjoy wildlife in the slow lane on a canal boat break

Canal boat holidays in Britain offer the joy of life in the slow lane as you take in the countryside and towns at a sedate 4mph. Besides glorious scenery and historic canalside buildings, there are opportunities to spot wildlife ranging from swans, ducks and moorhens to dragonflies, kingfishers and otters, with numerous stretches of the waterways designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or conservation zone.

We’ve teamed up with UK-wide hire firm Drifters to look at the best routes to spot wildlife on a 2022 narrowboat break.