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Home Introduction Waterways Map Links Books Video Articles Boats Photo Gallery Photo List Features Contact Me Glossary A - D Glossary E - L Glossary M - R Glossary S - Z Help

If you are taking your first trip on the canals you will want to go on the best one first, but what is the best one? There is no clear answer. There are many very popular waterways: the Oxford Canal (Southern Section), the Shropshire Union - Llangollen Canal, the Stratford upon Avon Canal and the Macclesfield Canal. There are canals just as scenic and enjoyable that are not so well visited: the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Grand Union Leicester Section, the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Caldon Branch - Trent and Mersey Canal all come to mind. Not that I'm suggesting that these are a list of my favourite canals - no that would be far longer - its just a few thoughts to get you started. Have a look at some articles and photographs on the web, in books and magazines or at the descriptions in the hire boat brochures and see what you fancy.

 Think about what you want from your holiday. Do you want to be boating most of the time or do you want visit places of interest on the way? Will you have an enthusiastic and active crew who will relish a flight of locks or do you want to keep locking to a minimum? One of the most important factors is the time you have available which will determine how far you can travel. The first thing to do is to work out how many cruising hours you have available, remembering that your first and last days of your holiday will probably not be full days. How many hours do you want to cruise each day? Don't forget that if you cruise early or late in the year you will have fewer daylight hours.

The classic way to calculate a canal journey time is to use lock-miles. The assumption behind this calculation is that it takes about the same time to do a mile on the canal as it does to go through a lock. Suppose that we will be travelling the narrow canals and therefore expect to average about three miles per hour. If we have 7 days and plan to travel 7 hours each day then the total journey we can make is 7 times 7, or 49 hours multiplied by our 3 lock-miles per hour gives a total of 147 lock-miles. Suppose we decide to go down the southern Oxford Canal from Napton, how far can we get before we have to turn to bring the boat back (assuming we must bring the boat back to Napton for the end of the holiday)? The answer is 73½ lock miles which brings us to Baker's Lock which is 40.8 miles and 33 locks from Napton. If we travel on rivers our speed will increase to 4 or even 5 miles per hour.

 Cruising Rings

One of the advantages of the waterways system is the many "circular" routes, or rings, that are available for cruising. A look at the map of the Inland Waterways of England and Wales will show the large number of these that are available. Here are some of the rings you could consider:-

The Avon Ring The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, River Severn, River Avon (Warwick) and Stratford upon Avon Canal. 109 miles 132 locks.

The Birmingham Ring The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, Coventry Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and BCN Main Line Canals. 76 miles 79 locks

The Cheshire Ring The Bridgewater Canal, Rochdale Canal, Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals and Trent and Mersey Canal.95 miles 92 locks.

The Four Counties Ring The Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, Shropshire Union Main Lineand Shropshire Union - Middlewich Branch. 110 miles 94 locks.

The London Ring The Grand Union Main Line, Grand Union Paddington Branch and Grand Union Regents Canal then back to Brentford on the River Thames. 44 miles 25 locks.

The Leicestershire Ring The Grand Union Main Line, Grand Union Leicester Section, the River Trent, Trent and Mersey Canal, Coventry Canal and Oxford Canal (Northern Section). 154 miles 101 locks.

The Midland Countryside Ring This is not one of the normally recognised rings but is one that takes in the cream of the rural Midlands. The Grand Union Main Line from Braunston and Stratford upon Avon Canal, River Avon (Warwick), River Severn, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal, Coventry Canal and Oxford Canal (Northern Section). 226 miles 166 locks.

The Outer Pennine Ring Another cruising ring made possible by the restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 2001. It also includes the Ashton Canal, the Huddersfield Broad Canal, part of the Calder and Hebble Navigation, Aire & Calder Navigation : Wakefield Section, Aire & Calder Main Line, Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Bridgewater Canal, and Rochdale Canal,. 175 miles 220 locks.

The North Pennine Ring A cruising ring made possible by the full restoration of the Rochdale Canal, in 2002. It also includes the Calder and Hebble Navigation, Aire & Calder Navigation : Wakefield Section, part of the Aire & Calder Main Line, Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Bridgewater Canal. 184 miles 216 locks.

The South Pennine Ring A new cruising ring made possible by the restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 2001 and the Rochdale Canal in 2002. It also includes the Ashton Canal, the Huddersfield Broad Canal and part of the Calder and Hebble Navigation. 69.5 miles 198 locks.

The Stourport Ring The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, River Severn, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and BCN Main Line. 85 miles 116 locks.

The Thames Ring The Grand Union Main Line, the River Thames, and Oxford Canal (Southern Section). 248 miles 175 locks.

The Warwickshire Ring The Grand Union Main Line, Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, Coventry Canal andOxford Canal (Northern Section). 104 miles 100 locks

 As you can see from the above examples and by studying the map there are countless possibilities for making up your own circular cruise.

Introducing Canal History A short account of UK navigations from Roman Britain to the years of Canal Mania.

Introducing the Waterways System A description of UK canals and navigable rivers as they are today.

Introducing Canal Boating How to choose a boat, navigation basics, working locks.

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 1 by Not known , ISBN 0007136641 :170 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 London, Grand Union, Oxford and Rivers Lee & Stort Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 2 by Not known , ISBN 000713665X :170 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 Severn, Avon and Birmingham. Includes the BCN, Gloucester & Sharpness, Severn, Staffordshire & Worcester Canal, Stourbridge, Dudley, Stratford-on-Avon and Worcester & Birmingham canals. Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 3 by Not known , ISBN 0007136668 :170 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 Birmingham and the Heart of England. Includes the Ashby, BCN, Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry, Erewash, GU Leicester Section, GU main line (part), Oxford, Staffordshire & Worcstershire, Worcester & Birmingham Canals and part of the Trent & Mersey. Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 4 by Not known , ISBN 0007136676 :170 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 Four Counties & the Welsh Canals. Includes Caldon, Leek, Llangollen, Monmouthshire & Brecon, Montgomery, Shropshire Union, Staffordshire & Worcestershire (north part), Trent & Mersey canals and the River Weaver. Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 5 by Not known , ISBN 0007136684 :190 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 North West & the Pennines. Includes the Aire & Calder (leeds to Wakefield), Bridgewater, Calder & Hebble, Huddersfield Broad, Lancaster, Leeds & Liverpool, Macclesfield, Peak Forest, Ashton and Rochdale canals plus the Trent & Mersey north of Hardings Wood Junction. Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 6 by Not known , ISBN 0007136692 :190 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 Nottingham, York & the North East. Includes the Aire & Calder, Chesterfield, Pocklington, Derwent, Fossdyke, Witham, Ouse, Ure, Rippon, Selby, Sheffield & South Yorkshire and Trent navigations. Order now from .

• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 7 by Not known , ISBN 0007136706 :190 pages, Published by Nicholson 2003 River Thames and the Southern Waterways. Includes the Basingstoke, Kennet & Avon, Thames and Wey. Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Severn and Avon by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6465 1 :Published by J M Pearson & Son Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Canals of the East Midlands by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6474 0 :Published by J M Pearson & Son 1997 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Cheshire Ring by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 907864 96 1 :80 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 2000 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Four Counties Ring and Trent and Mersey by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0907864686 :72 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1995 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Oxford, Grand Union and Nene by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6473 2 :80 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1997 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Pennine Waters by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6469 4 :80 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1995 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Shropshire Union by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6463 5 :64 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1994 Including the Llangollen and Montgomery Canals. Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: South Midlands/Warwickshire Ring by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6475 9 :80 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1997 Order now from .

• Pearson's Canal and River Companion: Stourport Ring & Black Country by Michael Pearson , ISBN 0 9078 6470 8 :96 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son 1996 Order now from .