Narrowboating can be one of the most relaxing holidays as you slowly meander along the canal systems of Europe or Britain.  If you wish to be a little more energetic, choosing canals with a series of locks is great fun. You can also walk or bike on the pathways beside the canals. There are many interesting sights to see along the way.  Every area has unique scenery, history and activities.  At anytime, the boat can be tied up and left for a mini excursion. Canal boats vary in style and size, depending on where you go and how many people you go with.  Boats can accommodate from two to ten people with a kitchen and washroom facilities.

Canal barging on the Leeds - Liverpool canal

Yorkshire (the land of Jane Austen) and Lancastershire have beautiful scenery and their canals offer a variety of both urban and rural vistas.  The Leeds - Liverpool canal winds through the Pennines floating through farmland and passing small villages. If working the locks are of interest, there are small ones to work on your own or the famous Bingley Five Rise which has lock keepers to assist.  There is also a tunnel and span bridges to be opened along the way.  Skipton has England’s best preserved medieval castle and Saltaire was created during the industrial revolution for factory workers living in poor conditions in Bradford.  Titus Salt opened a mill to process alpaca fibre, and he built housing, a church, a school, a hospital and a community hall to go with it. It is now a living heritage site.  Right on the canal is Salterforth pub with an abandoned tunnel beneath it which has formed fine stalactites from ceiling to floor. It can be visited through the pub.

These are just a few sites accessible on this canal, and as you travel along, you not only get the sense of history in this area, but you see how it is evolving with the rehabilitation of old factories and warehouses into modern housing.  There is also plenty of bird and animal life to watch.  Swans come to visit, herons watch from afar, and many different farm animals come to the canal for a drink.

Judy Carswell had a fabulous holiday this summer on the canals of England. See the photo gallery.

Penichettes

From the Canal de Bourgogne to the Canal du Midi; from the Reichstag to Venice: explore the canals of France, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Germany, and Poland. Penichettes are built by craftsmen in Brittany and designed specifically for cruising on canals and inland waterways. Having sourced the best cruising areas in Europe Locaboat gives you the greatest choice of regions and landscapes to explore. They have a fleet of comfortable and easily handled craft which undergo a continual program of maintenance and improvement. Whether it’s for a couple, for a family or a group of friends, there is always a Pénichette model to take you in comfort wherever you may wish.to go. This is the ultimate in slow travel.

As each holiday is developed to suit your particular needs please do not hesitate to contact us for details.  1-888-703-0163.