Drifters’ reveal Top 7 canal boat holiday destinations for October Half Term 2024
Narrowboats are like floating holiday cottages, with everything holiday-makers need for a self-catering family adventure afloat. Essential home comforts on board include central heating, hot water, TV, showers, flushing toilets, and most now have WiFi too.
Drifters offers the choice of over 500 narrowboats available to hire from 40 bases across England, Wales and Scotland. Narrowboats range in size from boats for two and up to 12 people. Discounted October Half Term hire prices start at £706 for a short break (three or four nights) on a boat for up to four people, £952 for a week.
The canal network offers hundreds of waterside family-friendly destinations to choose from. Here’s Drifters’ Top 7 canal boat holiday destinations for October Half Term 2024:
1. Navigate to Market Drayton, home of the gingerbread man
On a week’s break from Drifters’ base on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal at Gailey, boaters can cruise to the historic market town of Market Drayton and back. The route passes through the historic village of Brewood with its choice of pubs, Belvide Reservoir and a series of deep wooded cuttings. At Market Drayton there’s a Wednesday market and a great choice of places to eat and drink, many offering the town’s famous gingerbread. The journey to Market Drayton and back cruises 68 miles, passes through 14 locks and takes around 30 hours.
***The 66ft ‘Common Gull’ narrowboat for up to six people is available to hire for a week 25 Oct to 1 Nov for £1,145, saving £254. Price includes boat hire, damage waiver, gas, car parking, tuition on arrival, buoyancy aids, bedding, towels and two pets. Fuel is extra – a £50 deposit is taken for short breaks (three or four nights), £90 for a week. Charge based on use, circa £15 per day. Second pet is charged at £30.
2. Navigate to King’s Lock in Middlewich
On a short break from Anderton, next to the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire, boaters can cruise to the ancient town of Middlewich. The journey there and back travels 19 miles, passes through eight locks (four each way) and takes around 9.5 hours. The journey takes boaters south along the Trent & Mersey Canal, passing through Marston, home to the Lion Salt Works Museum and Salt Barge pub. There’s choice of places to eat and shop in Middlewich, including the popular canalside King’s Lock Inn.
***The 47ft ‘Reed Bunting’ narrowboat for up to five people is currently available for a mid-week break from Anderton 28 Oct to 1 Nov 2024 for £765, saving £134. Price includes a non-refundable damage waiver, bed linen, towels, car parking, two pets, buoyancy aids and tuition. A fuel deposit of £60 for a short break is payable with the balance of hire. Fuel costs are approx. £15 per day.
3. Cruise to the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
On a week’s holiday from Drifters’ Braunston base on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, boaters can explore the beautiful Ashby Canal. With no locks, and mile-upon-mile of countryside to enjoy, this peaceful 22-mile long waterway passes the pretty town of Market Bosworth and the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field. Here the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre tells the story of the dramatic historic events of 1485 when King Richard III lost his crown to Henry Tudor. The return journey to Shakerstone travels 95 miles, passes through eight locks (four each way) and takes around 37 hours.
***The 41ft ‘Clee’ narrowboat for up to four people is available from Braunston for a week 25 Oct to 1 Nov for £952, £168. Price includes diesel, gas, damage waiver, cancellation protection, parking, tuition and first pet. Second pet is charged at £25 per week.
4. Drift through the Calder Valley to the old mill town of Hebden Bridge
On a weekend break from Drifters’ canal boat rental base at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, boaters can travel along the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation through the Calder Valley to the old mill town of Hebden Bridge. Climbing through woods, fields and small stone towns, the journey to Hebden Bridge, covers seven miles, passes through 10 locks and takes around five-and-a-half hours. Once at Hebden, boaters can moor in the centre of town to enjoy a good choice of independent places to eat and shop, as well as walks up to Heptonstall or Hardcastle Crags.
The 56ft ‘Hereford 4’ narrowboat for up to four people is available 25-28 October for £860, saving £95. Price includes damage waiver, pre-holiday information, comprehensive instruction, fuel, gas, parking, buoyancy aids and bed linen.
5. Glide through the Usk Valley to Brecon Canal Basin
On a week’s break from Drifters’ base on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at Goytre Wharf near Abergavenny, boaters can navigate through the wooded Usk Valley to Brecon, in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. Along the way, boaters can stop off at Llanfoist to take the old tramway into the Black Mountains, visit the 13th century castle at Crickhowell and walk to the Blaen y Glyn waterfalls at Talybont-on-Usk. The total journey there and back travels 51 miles, passing through 12 locks (six each way) and takes around 25 hours.
***The 47ft ‘Red Throated Swallow’ narrowboat for up to eight people is available to hire for a week 25 Oct to 1 Nov for £1,530, saving £269. Price includes boat hire, damage waiver, gas, car parking, tuition on arrival, buoyancy aids, bedding, towels and two pets. Fuel is extra – a £50 deposit is taken for short breaks (three or four nights), £90 for a week. Charge based on use, circa £15 per day. Second pet is charged at £30.
6. Visit UNESCO World Heritage Bath afloat
On a four-night mid-week break from Drifters’ Devizes base on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire, boaters can travel to the World Heritage City of Bath and back. The journey takes around 10 hours, travelling across two magnificent aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas, and passing through 10 locks. There’s a choice of canalside pubs along the way, including the Barge Inn at Seend and the Cross Guns at Avoncliff. Once in Bath, boaters can moor up at Sydney Gardens, a short walk away from the centre of Bath, with world class attractions including the Roman Baths Museum.
***The 58ft ‘Tibetan Fox’ narrowboat for up to six people is available for a mid-week break 28 Oct to 1 Nov for £830. Price includes diesel, gas, damage waiver, bed linen, towels, canal map, life jackets, parking and tuition. Pets are extra, charged at £30 each.
7. Glide across ‘The Stream in the Sky’
On a short break from Drifters’ base at Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, boaters can reach the historic Shropshire town of Ellesmere, in the heart of the Shropshire Lake District. The route takes boaters across the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, also known as ‘The Stream in the Sky’, carrying the Llangollen Canal 38 metres high above the Dee Valley. In Ellesmere, boaters can moor up and spend time exploring the Mere with its Victorian gardens, woodland paths and historic castle. The return journey to Ellesmere takes around 14 hours and passes through four locks (two each way).
***The 67ft ‘Askrigg’ narrowboat for up to six people, is currently available from Trevor for a mid-week break 29 Oct to 2 Nov for £692, saving £173. Price includes boat hire, gas, parking, tuition on arrival, buoyancy aids, towels, bedding and first pet. There’s a compulsory £50 damage waiver and fuel is extra: a £50 deposit is taken for a short break, £90 for a week. Cost based on fuel used, circa £15 per day.
A licence isn’t required to steer a canal boat and all Drifters operators provide hirers with boat steering tuition as part of their holiday packages.
For more information about Drifters boating holidays call 0344 984 0322 or visit www.drifters.co.uk.
For more information about visiting the canal network go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
