Where Shall We Go?

As the days start to lengthen and thoughts turn to holiday boating, we’ve got a selection of suggestions for routes to cruise this summer.

---

So where is it to be in 2025? Are you new to the waterways, looking forward to your first hireboat holiday, and trying to make your mind up where to go? Or are you a boat owner or regular holiday hirer looking for somewhere different to cruise this year? Do you want to see glorious scenery, fascinating canal heritage, or just a really quiet place to get away from it all? Whatever you’re after, we’ve got some ideas to help you choose your cruise…

Favourites
Some of the most popular holiday waterways are the narrow canals of the Midlands and surrounding areas. Built for the traditional 70ft by 7ft working boats, with their small dimensions, winding routes and picturesque brick bridges, they have blended into the countryside over 200 years, and are now among the favourite routes for cruising.

One of the most popular is the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. Opened as long ago as 1772, it crosses the west Midlands, beginning at Great Haywood in Staffordshire, climbing gently through spaced out locks as it skirts the northern fringes of Cannock Chase, before descending the attractive Stour Valley through red sandstone cuttings, tiny tunnels and attractively sited locks as it passes Kinver and Kidderminster on its way to meet the River Severn at the Georgian canal town of Stourport.

Also among the most popular holiday routes are the Llangollen Canal, crossing the Welsh border country on its way to the spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, an icon of the canal system; the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal reaching down from the Midlands to the town made famous by its association with Shakespeare (see our cruise guide on page 47); and the southern Oxford Canal, threading its way down the peaceful Cherwell Valley past picturesque villages on its way to the River Thames and the famous university city.

Trunk routes
These were the motorways of 200 years ago, the great through routes crossing the country and connecting the industrial Midlands and North, the country’s ports and London. But today, these largely rural routes are the preserve of leisure boaters and those who have made the canals their home.

And they don’t come much more major than the Grand Union Canal, whose main line stretches from the River Thames near London via the Chiltern hills, Northamptonshire (home to the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne and the great canal tunnels at Blisworth and Braunston), Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa on its way to Birmingham. Meanwhile, its Leicester Line branches off northwards, climbing to a remote summit in the hills near Market Harborough before descending through Leicester to the River Trent.

Other great trunk routes include the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, traversing the Pennine hills on its journey across the North of England; the Trent & Mersey Canal, reaching across the country from the Cheshire Plain via the ‘Heartbreak hill’ series of locks, the Potteries and rural Staffordshire on its way to the River Trent; and the Kennet & Avon Canal crossing the South of England from the River Thames via the quiet Vale of Pewsey, the great Caen Hill flight of 29 locks at Devizes and the beautiful Georgian city of Bath on its way to historic Bristol Docks; while the Shropshire Union Canal takes a bold course northwards through deep cuttings and across high embankments on its way from the Midlands to Chester and the Mersey.

Rivers
Waterways holidays aren’t just about canals: for a boat holiday with a slightly different feel, try one of our many navigable rivers, from large and popular routes like the Severn to quiet, narrow, winding routes like the River Nene or the River Stort.

The most famous of all our rivers is the Thames, and the popular lower lengths of the Royal River are well-known as it passes famous riverside towns such as Windsor and Henley on its way westward from London. But cruise through Oxford and onto the upper reaches and the Thames takes on a whole different character, with a narrow meandering course through quiet countryside, passing isolated riverside inns and quiet villages on its way towards the Cotswolds.

The Avon winds its way downstream through Warwickshire and Worcestershire countryside and historic towns from Stratford-upon-Avon to Evesham and Tewkesbury where it meets the Severn; the Calder & Hebble Navigation in Yorkshire is a complete contrast, surrounded by old mill buildings and rugged moorland scenery on its route from the Pennines to Wakefield city; and the historic River Wey Navigation reaches southwards from the Thames to Guildford and Godalming.

Quiet getaways
These canals aren’t major routes on the way to anywhere; nor are they popular canals busy with fellow holidaymakers. They’re the quiet, slightly off-the-beaten-track cul-de-sacs that tend to be bypassed by many boaters – but they’re ideal for a really peaceful ‘get away from it all’ holiday where you’ll see just a handful of other boats in a day.

One of the quietest is the Chesterfield Canal, with over 30 miles of route that begins with quiet countryside by the River Trent, stretches across Nottinghamshire with just a smattering of locks and one little tunnel as it passes the old market towns of Retford and Worksop, before climbing through a series of locks on its way to the fringes of the Peak District.

For those wanting the ultimate relaxing getaway the Ashby de la Zouch Canal meanders for over 20 miles without passing through a single lock; the Caldon Canal manages to squeeze in more features than most canals (including locks, tunnels, aqueducts, a steam railway and a working watermill) in just 17 miles of route stretching from the Staffordshire Potteries into the beautiful Churnet Valley. The Lancaster is another lock-free canal, following the Lancashire coastal plain northwards through Lancaster city to the very edge of the Lake District; while for a really different way of going off the beaten track, try the Birmingham Canal Navigations – over 100 miles of fascinating formerly industrial canals spreading all across the Birmingham and Black Country area.

Something completely different
All the routes we’ve mentioned so far are part of the main network of waterways; but if you’re hiring a boat you needn’t be tied to the canals that can easily be reached – here are a few that are a little more ‘out on a limb’.
The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal provides over 30 miles of spectacular South Wales scenery and industrial heritage as it clings to the side of the stunning Usk Valley on its way down from Brecon town past Abergavenny to Pontypool.

In Scotland there are two separate holiday cruising areas: the Caledonian Canal is a waterway on a big scale, combining lengths of canal with lochs (including the famous Loch Ness, over 20 miles long) and providing views of Ben Nevis as it cuts through the Highlands from east to west; meanwhile the Lowland Canals (the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal) link Scotland’s east and west coasts, its two greatest cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the iconic Kelpies (giant horses’ head statues either side of the canal) in Falkirk and the unique Falkirk Wheel rotating boat lift. Finally on the east side of the country are the Fenland waterways: two river systems (The River Great Ouse and its tributaries and the River Nene) linked together by the fascinating Middle Level Navigations, a little-frequented network of old river channels and canals cut for land drainage, running through flat Fenland country and through towns and villages, some with a slightly Dutch feel to them.

---

As featured in the March 2025 issue of Canal Boat. Buy the issue here