This holiday has quickly become a favourite with our guests, and we are running two holidays that include the Basingstoke Canal in 2023. Starting at Godalming at the top of the Wey Navigations we will travel through delightful countryside and flood meadows as we meander downstream, through the market town of Guildford, and onwards through Send and Pyrford towards the junction with the Basingstoke Canal. This often-forgotten canal opened in 1794 and passes through a variety of countryside; sometimes wooded, sometimes open meadows, but always full of nature which can be a surprise when you consider how close we are to suburbia for much of the time. With 40 locks there is plenty of time to learn the dark art of lock wheeling and if you fancy a little exercise on your holiday – just ask a crew member, I am sure they will be happy to accept your help! There will be plenty of opportunities to wander along the towpath during the day and to explore the beautiful parkland in the afternoons after we reach our moorings at the end of the day

We start this cruise from Mytchett on the Basingstoke Canal where we will be moored beside the small Visitors Centre. An early start sees us begin our descent of the 14 locks in the Deepcut flight to moor in Brookwood Country Park, a lovely area to explore before our evening meal. The following day will take us down a further 14 locks, passing through Woking until we arrive at the junction with the Wey Navigations at Woodham Junction. Turning left we continue downstream on the Wey as we pass Coxes Mill and enter Weybridge. Here we leave the River Wey and join the much grander River Thames. But first we turn downstream to moor outside Hampton Court, where the Royal Palace and gardens here are well worth a visit. We shall then turn Tranquil Rose upstream and head back past Runnymede and the site of the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. Passing through Old Windsor Lock, we begin to see Royal Home Park on our left before reaching our mooring in Windsor itself, within sight of the famous castle.

This cruise gives a wonderful contrast between the beautiful open views along the Thames, the surprising green approaches into London and the excellent warehouse conversions and new architecture around the Kings Cross area. We leave Windsor and travel around Royal Home Park with the castle in the distance, to moor at Runnymede, site of the signing of the Magna Carta. Continuing past Staines and Shepperton, we arrive at Hampton Court. A further four miles downstream we pass through Teddington Lock onto the tidal river and start to approach the outskirts of London through Richmond. As we pass the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, we look for the junction with the Grand Union Canal at Brentford. Here we lock up into the canal basin and make our way via the Hanwell flight of locks, Cowley, Uxbridge and Denham Deep Lock – so named because, well, its deep! From Denham Deep it’s a half day cruise to our final destination in Rickmansworth.

Our cruise starts from Rickmansworth, and we begin by travelling down the valley of the River Colne. The locks along this stretch have stories to tell; Black Jack’s, Widewater and Denham Deep (which surprise, surprise, is the deepest on the Grand Union canal!). We continue past Cowley and the junction with the Paddington Arm at Bulls Bridge, and descend the eight locks of the Hanwell flight towards Brentford and the River Thames. If you need any exercise, please feel free to join in with the lock wheeling, the crew are not too proud to accept your help! At Brentford, having confirmed the local high tide times, we head upstream to the limit of the tidal Thames at Teddington. From Teddington we continue upstream, passing Hampton Court and Shepperton to moor at Runnymede, the site of the signing of the Magna Carta. Keep a look out for Laura Croft, Shrek, a sinister man in black (not sure who he is), an alligator, a fox and an 8’ topiary head in the riverside gardens we pass on the way! On our last full day, we will complete our journey to Windsor and moor within sight of the castle in time to spend a few hours sightseeing.

This fine cruise offers a combination of the ever-popular River Thames with the peace and tranquillity of the Kennet & Avon Canal. We leave our mooring within sight of the magnificent castle at Windsor and journey gently up stream on the great river, passing Marlow, Cookham, Henley and Sonning, with open countryside, wooded stretches, and fine houses. A couple of miles below Sonning lock, we leave the river and join the Kennet & Avon canal, which weaves its way through the centre of Reading to County lock. Back into the countryside, the navigation continues through lovely water meadows, two unusual turf sided locks, and many swing bridges. Highlights of this section of canal include Aldermaston with its large lift bridge and scalloped sided lock, and Woolhampton lock, where the River Kennet re-joins the navigation – often at great speed! Occasional locks and water meadows then take us through open countryside to the bustling market town of Newbury where we moor at the end of our cruise.

This cruise takes us from the River Kennet to the lovely Avon Valley. Our gradual climb starts past the picturesque village of Kintbury and on to sleepy Hungerford, known for its many antique shops. We continue to ascend, passing Crofton pump house as the locks take us to the summit of the canal. The short Bruce Tunnel at Savernake is followed by the old wharf at Burbage with its preserved crane. Beyond the summit we start our descent via four locks to Wootton Rivers, a charming village of thatched buildings that is well worth a visit. The canal now winds for 12 lock free miles of open countryside past Pewsey and Stowell Park with its pretty suspension bridge. The canal continues along the Long Pound, passing Honey Street before arriving at Devizes. As we leave Devizes, we tackle the incredible Caen Hill flight of 29 locks. This takes all day and is great fun … by all means join with the lockwheeling or just sit back and watch the crew at work, they love that! After a busy day lockwheeling we allow ourselves a quick pint at the end of our exertions when we moor at the bottom of the garden of the Barge Inn at Seend. Our guests of course are welcome to join us! Once we’re back on the level again, we continue passed Seend and Semington before arriving at the picturesque small town of Bradford on Avon. The impressive tithe barn right by the canal is not to be missed, and the town itself exudes a charming atmosphere of a past age.

This cruise includes a visit to the floating harbour in Bristol, as well as sampling some of the finer parts of the Kennet & Avon canal. Starting from the lovely town of Bradford on Avon, we journey down the valley of the River Avon, crossing over the river at two points on fine old stone aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas. At Claverton, we pass the pumping house with its water wheel which once supplied the canal with water pumped up from the Avon. Cruising through Bathampton, we begin to glimpse views of Bath, set on the hillside ahead of us. We travel through this lovely city by first descending its flight of locks (including Bath Deep Lock, at 19’ the deepest lock of our season) to join and continue downstream on the River Avon. The river meanders through the wooded valley past Saltford and Keynsham before we arrive in Bristol, where there should be plenty of time to enjoy the many delights of this famous city, including Brunel’s iron steamship – the Great Britain. We then head back upstream to Bath, where we re-join the Kennet & Avon canal and moor for our final night.

During this cruise along the west and central sections of the Kennet & Avon Canal we will pass through beautiful countryside as well as visiting Bath, Bradford-on-Avon, and Devizes, and of course, ascending the Caen Hill flight of 29 locks. As we leave Bath through charming Sydney Gardens and catch glimpses of the magnificent crescents of grand houses (all constructed from local Bath Stone) we move along the Avon Valley where the canal clings to the valley sides, before crossing and recrossing the Avon on magnificent stone aqueducts at Dundas and Avoncliff. We soon approach Bradford on Avon, with its huge old tithe barn and wonderful local shops. We will journey on through isolated locks and rolling countryside past Semington and Seend, and then prepare for the incredible Caen Hill flight of 29 locks to Devizes. If you would like to take a little exercise, this his would be a great opportunity to learn the dark art of lockwheeling, and your crew would gratefully accept any offers of help! At the top of the flight, we will moor to explore the canal centre and maybe visit the wharf side pub to celebrate our day’s exertions! Beyond Devizes, we cruise the 12-mile Long Pound, winding our way through unspoilt countryside in the valley of the White Horse until we reach our destination at Pewsey.

This cruise offers a fine contrast between the pretty Kennet & Avon canal and the winding River Kennet at the easterly end of our cruise to Reading. After passing through three locks, we reach the summit of the K&A and pass through the 459mtr Bruce Tunnel before beginning a decent which will ultimately take us all of the way to Reading and the junction with the River Thames. The Crofton Flight comprising six locks takes us down to the bottom pound, from where we get a great view of the magnificent Crofton Pumping House. We continue “downhill” through Great and Little Bedwyn to the town of Hungerford, famous for its antique shops. Beyond Hungerford we are back in open countryside as the canal takes us past Kintbury and through parkland to the market town of Newbury. Returning to the countryside once more we are in open countryside again and pass through Monkey Marsh and Garston locks, the last turf sided locks on the K&A and listed as Ancient Monuments by English Heritage. Continuing eastwards, we pass Aldermaston, through wooded fields as a winding River Kennet takes us towards our final destination in Reading.

Leaving Reading, we start our journey heading downstream, passing through Sonning with its lovely 18th century bridge to arrive and moor at Henley. We will have time to visit the town or excellent Rowing Museum, before continuing our journey. Further down river, we work through Hurley and Temple Locks and on to Marlow with its fine suspension bridge and large curved weir. Three miles below Marlow we arrive at Cookham, a pretty village with its Norman church and the Stanley Spencer Art Gallery. Cookham is a very popular mooring, but we will try to moor within walking distance of the village. Beyond Cookham, we come to Cliveden Reach, a long deep wooded valley leading to the well photographed Boulter’s Lock. After marvelling at Brunel’s railway bridge at Maidenhead, we arrive at Windsor with time to explore the town. We will skirt round The Home Park, (best seen from the river), before winding our way past Runnymede, Staines, Chertsey, Weybridge and Shepperton to arrive at Hampton Court. Dependant on tide times we should have time to sample the palace, gardens or even tackle the famous maze. At Teddington, we join the tidal stretch of the Thames for five miles before turning onto the Grand Union Canal at Brentford. We ascend the eight locks of the Hanwell flight (plenty of opportunity to learn the dark art of locking here!) to Bulls Bridge Junction, where we turn onto the Paddington Arm. There follows a 13-mile lock free pound as we pass through a surprisingly green West London before arriving at our destination, the tranquil Browning’s Pool at Paddington, also known as Little Venice.

This cruise takes in the lower section of the Grand Union Canal with constant reminders of the last days of working boats on the canals between London and Birmingham. Leaving Little Venice, we soon reach the junction at Bulls Bridge, once the main layby for working boats awaiting orders from the Thames at Brentford or Limehouse, to be taken to the Midlands. At this point we join the main line of the GU, travelling northwards as we start to climb up the Colne valley and the Chilterns Hills. After reaching Uxbridge Lock with its turnover bridge, we begin to leave the outer suburbs of London. Continuing up the Colne Valley we pass Denham Deep, Black Jacks, and Copper Mill locks before reaching Rickmansworth. After passing through the beautifully wooded Cassiobury Park, with its ornate bridge and (hopefully) kingfishers, a multitude of locks follow through Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted (Hemel and Berko to the working boatmen), before we reach and the summit of the canal at the quaintly named Cowroast Lock. At Bulbourne, if time allows we may take a detour to visit the Wendover Arm for the evening before descending the curling flight of locks at Marsworth, and our final mooring.

If you arrive early for this cruise your time would be – well spent exploring around the Marsworth Reservoir which sits beside the flight of locks and feeds water back into the summit level. Marsworth village is also worth a visit, perhaps rounded off with a pint or glass of wine in the delightful Red Lion, close to the canal. This trip mainly takes us through open countryside, with a day spent traveling around the outskirts of Milton Keynes. It’s over 50 years since this ‘New Town’ was born, and in those intervening years the canal sides have transformed into a green corridor, and you would hardly know the town was there. Whilst in the area and if you have an interest in Bletchley Park, the home to the WW2 codebreakers, this would be a great opportunity to spend a few hours exploring this historical location. As we leave Milton Keynes, we pass the old villages of Simpson and Great Linford and the old railway town of Wolverton before reaching Cosgrove, which is a delightful place with its hidden horse tunnel under the canal and ornate Solomon’s bridge. After an overnight stop we will travel to Stoke Bruerne and have time to wander around this canal village and visit its excellent canal museum. After an early start we pass through the Blisworth tunnel and spend much of the rest of the day meandering along a lockless pound before ascending the Buckby Locks flight beside the motorway and railway line (as all modes of transport squeeze together through the infamous Watford Gap). Our final morning will see another early start as we travel through Braunston Tunnel and descend the Braunston Flight to reach our destination around 10/11am.

Braunston could be considered to be at the heart of the canal system where the Grand Junction Canal and the Oxford Canal connected. The village of Braunston on the hill overlooking the canal is worth a visit, especially All Saints’ Church which has a long connection with the working boat community of the last 200 years. We start our journey by heading west and immediately join the Oxford Canal for four miles until Napton Junction where we rejoin the Grand Union Canal towards Warwick and Birmingham. As we descend Calcutt locks and then those at Stockton, canal aficionados will notice that the paddle gear are of a different design and the locks fill pretty quickly. This was the result of this section of canal being rebuilt in the 1930s in an endeavour to improve the efficiency of the canals to counter the improvements in the rail and road systems. Sadly, this only delayed the demise of working canals. The staircase locks at Bascote enable us to pass under two historic roads – the drovers’ Welsh Road and the Romans’ Fosse Way, before we arrive in Royal Leamington Spa. From here it is just a short cruise to Warwick where we will stop for the night. On the following morning we start our return trip, retracing our steps back to Braunston where we will have an early morning start and pass through the 1874 meter Braunston tunnel, which has a wicked kink part way through – hold on tight! The summit pound is at first tree-lined, then opens out to rolling countryside before we reach the Buckby flight of seven locks and descend towards Weedon with its Napoleonic barracks and finally Blisworth.

We begin our journey by heading away from our destination to visit the village of Weedon with the canal on a high raised embankment. There is a great deal of interest in the village and a good place to explore. The following morning we will turn and return to Blisworth via the villages of Nether Heyford and Bugbrooke to moor at the entrance to the Blisworth Tunnel. An early start sees us pass through Blisworth tunnel (straight as a die but it often leaks!) and on to Stoke Bruerne where we can spend a couple of hours wandering around the great Canal Museum. Back on board we continue south and east through Cosgrove to the outskirts of Milton Keynes. Whatever your perceptions of Milton Keynes, you may be surprised how pretty the cut is as we travel through mature parks and woodland and around the Medieval Village of Great Linford. If you do not mind leaving the boat for a few hours, the Code Breaking Museum at Bletchley Park is an interesting visit. We leave Milton Keynes and head south through Leighton Buzzard to our final destination, the delightful village of Marsworth.

This cruise starts from the pretty village of Marsworth, just north of Tring. The first half of this cruise is a lock wheelers paradise. We immediately jump in at the deep end with the 7 lock Marsworth Flight to the Tring Summit, where we begin our decent into London via the wonderfully named Cowroast Lock. The locks come thick and fast as we descend through Berkhamsted with its castle remains and pretty high street. After a few miles we pass through Hemel Hempstead and continue south under the M25 to Cassiobury Park and Rickmansworth. Below Rickmansworth we work through Jacks, Denham Deep, Uxbridge and finally Cowley locks and begin a 19-mile lock free pound into London. At Bulls Bridge we turn off the main line onto the Paddington Arm and continue our journey to moor at the Canal Museum in Battlebridge Basin, Kings Cross. On the final full day, we will take the short trip from Kings Cross via Camden and the Maida Vale Tunnel to finish at Little Venice, where there will be time to explore this oasis of calm in the middle of London.

This cruise gives a wonderful contrast between the buzz and sights of London on the canal and the beautiful tranquillity and open views along the River Thames. But before we head out of the Capital, we will spend a day cruising through Maidavale Tunnel, Regents Park Zoo, Camden and Kings Cross. After a second night at Little Venice, we leave our mooring and head out along the Paddington Arm, along the 13 mile lock free pound to Bulls Bridge Junction, once the main layby for working boats awaiting orders from the Thames at Brentford or Limehouse to be taken to the Midlands. Here we join the main line of the canal and descend via Hanwell Locks to join the River Thames at Brentford. Once out on to the tidal section of the river, we pass the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and Richmond to arrive at Teddington Lock and the beginning of the non-tidal Thames. Continuing upstream and passing Hampton Court, Shepperton, and Staines, we will moor at Runnymede with time to visit the Magna Carta and Kennedy memorials. For those with a little more energy to use up, a trip up the nearby Coopers Hill will give wonderful views as well as the chance to see the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial. Our final day of cruising will take us to Windsor and a mooring close to the Royal Castle, with time to explore both in the afternoon.

This cruise features two very different waterways – the majestic River Thames, and the peaceful Wey Navigations which are in the ownership of the National Trust. As we leave Windsor we skirt round Home Park with the castle in the background, and pass Romney and Old Windsor Locks on our way to our first mooring at Runnymede, and the Magna Carta and Kennedy Memorials, both of which are worth visiting. Continuing downstream we arrive below Shepperton Lock and find the entrance to the Wey Navigations, somewhat hidden in trees. Locking on to the Wey Navigations at Thames Lock we wind around the outskirts of Weybridge with its grand houses and large gardens. Leaving Weybridge the navigation passes the imposing Coxes Mill, the sleepy hamlet of Pyrford, and the lovely countryside and manicured golf courses close to the RHS gardens at Wisley. As we follow the twists and turns of the river, we ascend several pretty locks including an unusual turf sided lock at Walsham Gates, the deserted priory at Newark, and Papercourt lock, perhaps one of the best locks on the navigation. Finally, we will arrive at the busy market town of Guildford, and moor at Dapdune Wharf, once a bustling wharf and now a visitor centre for the National Trust.

This cruise features the Wey Navigation, a little-travelled jewel of a waterway and in the ownership of the National Trust, and the River Thames, also known as the Royal River. Despite its closeness to London, the Wey is a picturesque and rural waterway that should be on everyone’s canal bucket list. Leaving Dapdune Wharf we travel downstream through flood meadows and open countryside and pass the pretty locks of Bowers, Triggs and Papercourt, before reaching Newark Lock where the remains of the priory can be seen in the distance. Passing through Walsham Gates, a rare turf sided lock, we enter the last 5 miles of cut before re-joining the Wey and locking down onto the River Thames at Weybridge. The second part of our journey reads like a list of ‘must see’ locations on the Royal River; Runnemede – the sight of the signing of the Magna Carta, Windsor – with its castle, Maidenhead and the picturesque Cliveden Reach, Cookham – home of the Stanley Spencer Art Gallery, Marlow and its fine suspension bridge, Hurley, Henley, Sonning …… and on it goes until our final destination of Reading. We may not be able to stop at all of these locations, but fingers crossed we can moor at many of them at the end of each day.

This relaxing cruise features the Royal River and takes us upstream to Lechlade within ½ mile of the head of the navigable river. From the start in Reading, we are greeted by a particularly attractive stretch of the river taking us upstream past Mapledurham and Goring and on to Wallingford. We continue through open countryside to moor for the night at the historic town of Abingdon. From here, the river becomes narrower as we pass Sandford, the boat houses at Christ Church Meadow and The Head of the River pub at Folly Bridge, before arriving in Oxford, the city of Dreaming Spires. After a short stay in Oxford, we leave the city and the river changes character, becoming totally rural. We are now on the quiet upper reaches of the Thames, which are quite unlike the more familiar downstream parts of the river. This is an idyll of woodland, water meadows, and sleepy waterside villages and inns. The river twists and turns passing the old manor at Kelmscot (once the home of William Morris), and Buscot lock, which is adjacent to the National Trust’s Buscot Park. At St John’s Lock, the last lock on the Thames, there is a fine statue of Old Father Thames, and beyond we approach our final mooring on the meadows Ha’penny Bridge at Lechlade.