Seven of the UK's most idyllic canal boat holidays
There are more than 2,000 miles of waterways to navigate in the UK — equivalent to sailing from London to Lisbon and back again. Spending time out on the water is salve for the soul and Britain's rivers and canals occupy a special place in our national psyche, from stately rivers such as the Thames and the Avon to the web of canals built during the Industrial Revolution.
Most choose to explore the water on a narrowboat, and while basic tuition is typically included at the start of a hire, first-timers should aim for a route that's light on locks and get up to speed on what's included; mooring fees and fuel may be extra, depending on where you go.
The waterways are at their quietest in spring and autumn so we've chosen packages from reputable companies that operate in those seasons. For background and planning, there are two great organisations to consult: the Inland Waterways Association (waterways.org.uk) and the Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk). Happy boating.
This pastoral corner of East Anglia is a maze of waterways bordered by reedbeds, fens, meadows and ponds, perfect for lazy days of picnics, puttering and paddling. Four nights is enough time to explore: from the base in Martham, you could sail up to Hickling Broad National Nature Reserve, renowned for its birdwatching, visit Horsey Mill and its National Trust-owned windpump, or head for the peaceful Bure Marshes, where you might spot great crested grebes, marsh harriers and many a wading bird. It's worth making time too for the less-frequented backwaters of the Great Ouse or the Nene, which receive much less boat traffic than the Broads. Martham Boats has a fleet of elegant, traditional motor launches, mostly built during the 1950s, which have between two and nine berths.Details Four nights' self-catering for four from £788 (marthamboats.com)
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Spanning southern England from the Bristol Channel to the Thames, the Kennet and Avon is one of England's most impressive feats of canal engineering. Boaters can look out for structures including the 459m-long Bruce Tunnel and the series of 29 locks at Caen Hill, which rise 72m over two miles. Classic English scenery unravels as you glide along: Georgian architecture around Bath, chalk plains and neolithic remains in Wiltshire, the medieval towns of Bradford-on-Avon and Pewsey –— with plenty of riverside pubs at which to stop along the way. You'd need a couple of weeks to navigate all 86 miles, but shorter journeys, Bath to Bradford-on-Avon say, or Reading to Newbury, are doable in a few days. Foxhangers in Devizes, a great midway base, has three classes of narrowboat, so you can choose your level of luxury.Details Four nights' self-catering for four from £1,095 (foxhangers.co.uk)
First-time narrowboaters can enjoy 41 miles of lock-free cruising on the Lancaster between Preston and Kendal, the longest such stretch in the UK. It was once known as the Black and White Canal, a reference to the products it was built to transport — coal from Lancashire and limestone from Cumbria. Its most impressive piece of architecture is the five-arched Lune Aqueduct, a grade I listed masterpiece by the Scottish engineer John Rennie, which sails gracefully over the River Lune at a height of 18m. Garstang is the home base for Duck Island Boat Company, which steps up the swank level on its four boats, squeezing in a Chesterfield sofa, breakfast bar, wood-burner and proper showers. They look handsome too, in purple and cream livery, with traditional hand-painted signs. They're booked up for much of the summer, but have good availability from September onwards, perfect for autumn sailings.Details Seven nights' self-catering for two from £1,095 (lancastercanalboathire.com)
• Discover our full guide to the UK
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal slices through the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) from Brecon to the Five Locks in Cwmbran. Chug through the patchwork countryside of central Wales as the tawny slopes of the Brecon Beacons loom in the distance and while away days spotting kingfishers, exploring market towns such as Abergavenny and Crickhowell, or hopping off for hikes of Sugar Loaf or Pen Y Fan. You'll need a week to do it all, but with only six locks to navigate (five at Llangynidr and one at Brynich), it's a good bet for beginners. Unusually, it doesn't intersect with any other canal, so opt for a local company such as Brecon Park Boats, based near Crickhowell, which has a fleet of narrowboats named after birds. Go for Drake or Grouse for their luxurious dining rooms and wood-burners, or Coot, the company's first diesel-electric hybrid.Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £2,277 (beaconparkboats.com)
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The UK has several canal rings, which enable you to make a loop without having to backtrack. The Cheshire Ring is a classic, traversing six canals on its 97-mile course: the Bridgewater, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey, Rochdale, Peak Forest and Ashton canals. The route's blend of urban scenery, industrial history and wide-open views makes it a joy, travelling from the Peak District and the Pennines all the way into central Manchester. Several museums along the way explore England's industrial past, including Macclesfield's Silk Museum, Northwich's Lion Salt Works Museum, and Manchester's Science and Industry Museum. A week is enough and Floating Holidays, in Middlewich, north of Crewe, has some lovely canal boats to pick from: the crimson Casanova sleeps four.Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,048 (floating-holidays.co.uk)
Officially the longest canal in the UK at 137 miles, the Grand Union runs all the way from Birmingham to London. The southern end of the canal links up with the Thames and Regent's Canal, offering capital views without an obscene price tag, while the starting point in the north, at Market Harborough, is close to the fabulous grade II listed Foxton Locks, overseen by friendly keepers who are a boon for beginners. The Leicestershire countryside rolls by, offering ample opportunities for biking and hiking, and there are plenty of waterside pubs at which to moor up en route. Boutique Narrowboats has traditional boats as well as three contemporary beauties, complete with rainfall showers, coffee machines, wine fridges and antique French stoves.Details Four nights' self-catering for two from £552 (boutiquenarrowboats.co.uk)
• 15 of the most beautiful places in England
Running from Glasgow to Edinburgh, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal — jointly known as the Scottish Lowland Canals — were restored at a cost of nearly £80 million in 2001, the largest project of its kind in the UK. They're now a brilliant way to explore Scotland's biggest cities, taking you past the 35m Falkirk Wheel, the world's first rotating boat lift, and the Kelpies, the striking 30m-high horse-head sculptures by Andy Scott. From its Falkirk base, Marine Cruises' boats look the part, and for added canal kudos, featured on Great Canal Journeys. Maia is its most affordable boat, painted in royal blue, and suitable for four: there's wi-fi for the kids, a proper shower and pocket-sprung beds for a good night's sleep.Details Seven nights' self-catering for two from £1,514 (marinecruises.co.uk)
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Times
29-04-2025
- Times
Seven of the UK's most idyllic canal boat holidays
There are more than 2,000 miles of waterways to navigate in the UK — equivalent to sailing from London to Lisbon and back again. Spending time out on the water is salve for the soul and Britain's rivers and canals occupy a special place in our national psyche, from stately rivers such as the Thames and the Avon to the web of canals built during the Industrial Revolution. Most choose to explore the water on a narrowboat, and while basic tuition is typically included at the start of a hire, first-timers should aim for a route that's light on locks and get up to speed on what's included; mooring fees and fuel may be extra, depending on where you go. The waterways are at their quietest in spring and autumn so we've chosen packages from reputable companies that operate in those seasons. For background and planning, there are two great organisations to consult: the Inland Waterways Association ( and the Canal & River Trust ( Happy boating. This pastoral corner of East Anglia is a maze of waterways bordered by reedbeds, fens, meadows and ponds, perfect for lazy days of picnics, puttering and paddling. Four nights is enough time to explore: from the base in Martham, you could sail up to Hickling Broad National Nature Reserve, renowned for its birdwatching, visit Horsey Mill and its National Trust-owned windpump, or head for the peaceful Bure Marshes, where you might spot great crested grebes, marsh harriers and many a wading bird. It's worth making time too for the less-frequented backwaters of the Great Ouse or the Nene, which receive much less boat traffic than the Broads. Martham Boats has a fleet of elegant, traditional motor launches, mostly built during the 1950s, which have between two and nine Four nights' self-catering for four from £788 ( • Seven of the best National Trust properties to visit Spanning southern England from the Bristol Channel to the Thames, the Kennet and Avon is one of England's most impressive feats of canal engineering. Boaters can look out for structures including the 459m-long Bruce Tunnel and the series of 29 locks at Caen Hill, which rise 72m over two miles. Classic English scenery unravels as you glide along: Georgian architecture around Bath, chalk plains and neolithic remains in Wiltshire, the medieval towns of Bradford-on-Avon and Pewsey –— with plenty of riverside pubs at which to stop along the way. You'd need a couple of weeks to navigate all 86 miles, but shorter journeys, Bath to Bradford-on-Avon say, or Reading to Newbury, are doable in a few days. Foxhangers in Devizes, a great midway base, has three classes of narrowboat, so you can choose your level of Four nights' self-catering for four from £1,095 ( First-time narrowboaters can enjoy 41 miles of lock-free cruising on the Lancaster between Preston and Kendal, the longest such stretch in the UK. It was once known as the Black and White Canal, a reference to the products it was built to transport — coal from Lancashire and limestone from Cumbria. Its most impressive piece of architecture is the five-arched Lune Aqueduct, a grade I listed masterpiece by the Scottish engineer John Rennie, which sails gracefully over the River Lune at a height of 18m. Garstang is the home base for Duck Island Boat Company, which steps up the swank level on its four boats, squeezing in a Chesterfield sofa, breakfast bar, wood-burner and proper showers. They look handsome too, in purple and cream livery, with traditional hand-painted signs. They're booked up for much of the summer, but have good availability from September onwards, perfect for autumn Seven nights' self-catering for two from £1,095 ( • Discover our full guide to the UK The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal slices through the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) from Brecon to the Five Locks in Cwmbran. Chug through the patchwork countryside of central Wales as the tawny slopes of the Brecon Beacons loom in the distance and while away days spotting kingfishers, exploring market towns such as Abergavenny and Crickhowell, or hopping off for hikes of Sugar Loaf or Pen Y Fan. You'll need a week to do it all, but with only six locks to navigate (five at Llangynidr and one at Brynich), it's a good bet for beginners. Unusually, it doesn't intersect with any other canal, so opt for a local company such as Brecon Park Boats, based near Crickhowell, which has a fleet of narrowboats named after birds. Go for Drake or Grouse for their luxurious dining rooms and wood-burners, or Coot, the company's first diesel-electric Seven nights' self-catering for four from £2,277 ( • 100 of the Best Places to Stay in the UK The UK has several canal rings, which enable you to make a loop without having to backtrack. The Cheshire Ring is a classic, traversing six canals on its 97-mile course: the Bridgewater, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey, Rochdale, Peak Forest and Ashton canals. The route's blend of urban scenery, industrial history and wide-open views makes it a joy, travelling from the Peak District and the Pennines all the way into central Manchester. Several museums along the way explore England's industrial past, including Macclesfield's Silk Museum, Northwich's Lion Salt Works Museum, and Manchester's Science and Industry Museum. A week is enough and Floating Holidays, in Middlewich, north of Crewe, has some lovely canal boats to pick from: the crimson Casanova sleeps Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,048 ( Officially the longest canal in the UK at 137 miles, the Grand Union runs all the way from Birmingham to London. The southern end of the canal links up with the Thames and Regent's Canal, offering capital views without an obscene price tag, while the starting point in the north, at Market Harborough, is close to the fabulous grade II listed Foxton Locks, overseen by friendly keepers who are a boon for beginners. The Leicestershire countryside rolls by, offering ample opportunities for biking and hiking, and there are plenty of waterside pubs at which to moor up en route. Boutique Narrowboats has traditional boats as well as three contemporary beauties, complete with rainfall showers, coffee machines, wine fridges and antique French Four nights' self-catering for two from £552 ( • 15 of the most beautiful places in England Running from Glasgow to Edinburgh, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal — jointly known as the Scottish Lowland Canals — were restored at a cost of nearly £80 million in 2001, the largest project of its kind in the UK. They're now a brilliant way to explore Scotland's biggest cities, taking you past the 35m Falkirk Wheel, the world's first rotating boat lift, and the Kelpies, the striking 30m-high horse-head sculptures by Andy Scott. From its Falkirk base, Marine Cruises' boats look the part, and for added canal kudos, featured on Great Canal Journeys. Maia is its most affordable boat, painted in royal blue, and suitable for four: there's wi-fi for the kids, a proper shower and pocket-sprung beds for a good night's Seven nights' self-catering for two from £1,514 ( • I love Scotland more than anywhere else. These are my 25 top stays Have we missed your favourite waterway? Share your tips in the comments
Times
26-04-2025
- Times
Kate Humble: What I learnt about Wales on this untamed trail
I step out into the golden light of the morning, walking past the clocktower and up Knighton's steep, silent high street to a network of narrow paths that lead me out of town. I follow a track through oak woods, scattering rabbits and squirrels, then out into more open country where my path rises and falls with the gentle contours of the green hills. There are sheep, horses and cattle, all plump from sweet summer grass. The rowan trees are vibrant with orange-red berries, verges bright with harebells and rosebay willowherb, and blackberries are ripening in the hedgerows. I walk through the village of Llangunllo where a solitary dog walker and I exchange greetings before I once again leave the tarmac and follow the route up onto Beacon Hill Common. It is bleaker up here. Tussocky heather, dark, boggy soil and ponds of inky water. The sky is huge, a panorama of greys, yellows and blues. I feel both insignificant and uplifted by this splendid, wild isolation. This is Glyndwr's Way, a long-distance walking trail in mid-Wales named after Owain Glyndwr, who, in 1399, led a campaign against the English Crown for an independent Wales. His guerrilla tactics were so successful that by 1404 he controlled most of the country. But his heartland was here in central Wales, and this route celebrates a part of the country that fought hard for its sovereignty. Even today it retains the frisson of a place untamed. The route heads southwest from the Powys border town of Knighton, where Glyndwr's men overthrew the English garrison, as far west as Machynlleth inland from the coast where he held his first parliament. From there it turns northeast to skirt Lake Vyrnwy and finishes in Welshpool, a distance of 135 miles covered comfortably in nine days of walking. But at Welshpool I joined the Offa's Dyke Path, which turns the walk into a satisfying loop, returning walkers to Knighton, victorious, after 160 miles. This is the third long-distance trail I've walked in my home country of Wales, but this is the first time I am walking between B&Bs, my luggage transferred for me each day, rather than camping. I have always enjoyed the sensation of being completely self-sufficient, of carrying everything I need on my back, but in the coming days I discover that the luxuries of warm showers, comfortable beds, home-cooked meals and cold beer are all eclipsed by the greatest luxury of all — walking unburdened by anything more weighty than a small day pack. Coming down from Beacon Hill Common, I reach the small village of Felindre. My map tells me there's a pub, but it has the desolate look of a building that has not been open for some time and I press on, munching nuts and trying not to think about cider. At the top of a hill, beneath whirring wind turbines, I phone Ray, my host for the evening. We meet on the valley road and he drives me to the village of Llanbister, where he and his wife run the Lion Hotel, my home for the night. I've covered 22 miles today. I've seen a couple of farmers out with their sheep, the dog walker and a man stacking wood outside his garage, and no one else. Yet this is August bank holiday Monday — a day forecast to be dry, with a gentle breeze and temperatures in the high teens. Perfect walking weather. And this is a national trail — a status it shares with the Pennine Way, the South Downs Way and others — for the beauty of the landscapes it passes through. • Read our full guide to Wales And it really is beautiful. I'm now in the heart of the Radnor hills, which roll and fold like a big, lazy ocean swell. Steady climbs bring me onto ridges golden with flowering gorse before I descend through woods and over chattering streams to the remnants of a 12th-century Cistercian monastery. Red kites whistle and soar overhead. Further on, as I walk through the small settlement of Bwlch-y-Sarnau, I spot the Glyndwr Café, which proves to be a kettle, instant coffee and teabags in the porch of the community centre where, for a donation, walkers can make themselves a hot drink. I reach the small town of Llanidloes with its distinctive 17th-century timber-framed market hall, bakeries and bookshop, and cross the River Severn to follow forest tracks beneath towering beech trees. A soft rain falls, stopping as I emerge onto the open hill, and I join the rising mist as it curls its wispy way from the unseen depths of the valley — the breath of a sleeping dragon. The solid heft of a dam wall comes into view and my path follows the bank of the huge reservoir held behind it, sailing boats bobbing on its glassy surface. The landscape is changing. There is slate beneath my feet and the hills are choppier, the climbs and descents steeper, the views more dramatic. I pause at a hide on the edge of the Hafren Forest. Visible through binoculars is a large, unruly bundle of sticks wedged into the top of a pine tree. Two ospreys sit sentinel beside it, guarding the pale-headed chick cocooned in its twiggy nest. This is what I love about travelling through a landscape at walking pace. It is immersive and intimate and visceral. After a long climb I reach a plateau and a lake — a pool of light against its backdrop of dark rock. The sun is bright now, casting deep shadows in the gullies and sharpening the ridges, making all around me seem bigger and more expansive. And I, in turn, feel like a shrinking Alice in my Welsh Wonderland. After a riotous open-mic night at the White Lion Hotel in Machynlleth, I follow corduroy-like ridges and furrows east and north. I stop for coffee and a sandwich at Caffi JoJo, the social hub of Llanbrynmair ( A man writing his journal at another table tells me I'm the first person he's seen walking the Glyndŵr Way since he set off a week before. 'I'm from the East Midlands, which is very flat. It's why I love Wales. I've done the Severn Way and Offa's Dyke, which I really enjoyed, but this route feels really off the beaten track. I can't believe how varied it is, and beautiful, and yet there is no one on it.' The Right to Roam movement criticises the fact that public access to the countryside is restricted and causes honeypots like Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). Yet according to the Ordnance Survey, there are about 140,000 miles of public rights of way in England and Wales — enough to keep even the most energetic of walkers walking for decades. The issue is not the lack of a right to roam, but that we are drawn to places of repute, which in turn sustains the cafés, shops and hotels that add to their appeal. Less well-known areas, like the ones I'm walking through, don't have the necessary footfall to fund the facilities that attract visitors, so they remain — often undeservedly — less visited. Rachel Thomas, the fantastically energetic proprietor of the Cann Office Hotel in the tiny hamlet of Llangadfan, says the problem is confounded by the near impossibility of finding and keeping hospitality staff in rural areas. Her business, like everywhere I stay on route, is entirely run by her and her family. • 12 of the best things to do in Wales An upland path beyond Llanwddyn leads to forest tracks a-flutter with peacock butterflies and a network of quiet lanes which bring me to the village of Meifod. From here it is just ten miles over a series of hills to Welshpool, the official end of Glyndwr's Way. But I head on, out of town along the canal, looking at a great wall of land rising ahead of me — the fortification against the Welsh that King Offa had constructed in the 780s. I pause to catch my breath before reaching the spectacular viewpoint at Beacon Ring, an Iron Age hillfort. From here it is a long descent, passing the village of Montgomery — its ruined castle visible on the horizon, to recharge in the town of Cwm before a final 14 miles of ups and downs bring me, elated, back to Knighton's clocktower. Ultimately Glyndwr couldn't hold onto his dream of an independent Wales, but the trail that bears his name is a rugged, glorious testament to the country he fought so hard Humble was a guest of Celtic Trails, which has five nights' B&B from £615pp ( What's your favourite walking trail? Let us know in the comments
Times
23-04-2025
- Times
Race Across the World review — teen lovebirds, divorced exes … get set, go!
Race Across the World (BBC1) is back, proving once again that reality TV does not have to be fatuous tosh for the hard of thinking. Although I did get the 'Brits abroad embarrassment cringe' 13 minutes in when Caroline dashed around a rural town in China saying loudly: 'Do you speak English? Does anybody speak English?' If Chinese TV contestants ran around a market in, say, Barnstaple, saying, 'Do you speak Mandarin?' I wonder how many people would say, 'Yes, fluently! Over here.' But this is a cut above the usual reality guff, the five pairs of contestants being required to travel 9,000 miles from Huanghuacheng in northeastern China via Nepal to Kanniyakamuri on the southern tip of India without a credit card or a
