Woke at 7am to a beautiful sunny morning with just a trace of mist over the canal burning off in the sunshine. Got underway by 8:15 – did our first ever staircase lock at Bascote Wharf – (a bit of a muddle, but quickly sorted with help from a more experienced crew). Over a very …

Getting our trip on Patricia Helen underway, after a thorough and entertaining briefing from Colin, and an awesome demo of boat handling by – was it Peter? – we set off. Finally got Gunner the guide dog puppy on board – he wasn’t at all sure! Made it through the Stockton Locks before the light started …

Good boat, all very clean and efficient. Will go again.

Looking for something different that would engage our teenagers and take their focus away from Snap chat streaks and Wifi codes. You receive a friendly welcome from the staff at the yard and your boat ours was Martin is ready and waiting to go. We were narrow boat novices as the poor man drinking his …

We were a group of 12 people with 2 dogs on 2 boats, we had plenty of space for all of us, all the amenities were provided, comfortable beds and clean bedding, the only thing we had to bring were towels! We had around a 30 minute thorough instruction on how to use the boat …

Sections of the Coventry, Oxford, Grand Union and Birmingham and Fazeley Canals are components in the Warwickshire Ring which, despite the almost constant proximity of conurbation and industry, manages to carve a surprisingly rural route through manicured fields and ancient meadows for much of its length. The Saltisford Arm above the two Cape Locks is …

4th May- 18th May Not so much a log as an end of journey report. Yesterday morning, as we worked our way back to the yard was to prove one of the coldest May days for years. It also rained heavily, apart from that we only needed to don wet weather gear for 3 hours …

I hope you will find the following a useful insight to the route down to Stratford Upon Avon, where you should expect to be each night and roughly how long your cruising day will be. Having travelled along the Stratford canal twice in the last few months I have thoroughly enjoyed this route and would …

We’d just spent an hour with John from the boatyard learning how to handle our hired narrowboat and, crucially, the locks. When he asked “Do you feel ready to go off on your own?” we confidently dismissed him. However, when he added: “Where are you going?” and I replied cheerfully “Banbury”, he smiled a wry …

Narrow boat holidays in Shakespeare Country There is something deeply satisfying in cruising, very slowly, through the English countryside following ancient routes that were once the main arteries of communication. Hugh Taylor, Moira McCrossan, Bill Rintoul and Irene Stakounis explore The Grand Union and Stratford and Avon Canals on board a boat called Jim.   …