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Never steered a narrowboat before, worked a canal lock or navigated though a tunnel? A canal boat holiday is an opportunity to learn something new, completing the task as a team and bonding as you do. Complete beginners welcome
A chance to experience going over, through and around multiple impressive feats of engineering on the British waterways. From Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (a World Heritage Site) and other wonders of the waterways to countless other Aqueducts, Tunnels, Cuttings and Embankmants.
Relax in the countryside or slowly wind your way along the canals. With a maximum speed of 4mph it's the perfect chance to switch off, slow down and just enjoy this slow way to travel.
With miles and miles of towpath and multiple options to explore, your dog will love our canal boat holidays. Read more about our Dog Friendly Canal Boat Holidays here.
Turn the key, engage the throttle and off you go. There are multiple places to explore within walking distance of the canals... Next stop Warwick?
Our narrowboats and widebeams come with all the essentials of home. Heating, Shower(s), Hot Water, Flushing toilet(s) and all the crockery and utensils you need to make a lovely homemade meal. Gilwern Countess features in the video
A canal boat holiday is not just cosy narrowboat accomodation in the beautiful British countryside it's much more than that: a unique way to experience of everything England and Wales have to offer. Slowly travel the historic inland waterways, stop and go wherever you want to and experience a holiday off the beaten track.
You can set your own pace, choose your canal boat hire route and stop and explore the places that interest you. All of this while bringing the comfort of your floating holiday home with you
Wake up to the sound of birdsong and the first morning light. Enjoy your morning coffee while watching the water rippling. Start up the engine when ready, untie your mooring lines, and set off on your adventure. Come together as a team as you tackle the locks, swingbridges, or liftbridges. Stop wherever you fancy and explore the Great British countryside, towns and cities at your own pace. After a home-cooked meal or heading to the canalside pub, you can look forward to another day of fun, bonding and adventure.
Wherever the day takes you - you'll have the peace of mind of knowing you have everything you need on your canal boat hire boat - accommodation and entertainment - all in one affordable holiday.
But don't take our word for it; check out what your fellow hirers had to say on the right.
How much is a canal boat holiday? Read an overview here
With thanks to Liam & Janine for the footage from their canal holiday onboard narrowboat Goldberry. Watch their full video here.
You don't need any previous experience to enjoy a holiday on the canals, and the friendly staff at your chosen canal boat hire base will show you the ropes. All our hire bases will take you through a thorough handover on the day, and this will include the following:
Want to know more upfront? Read our tips for beginners here.
Ultimately, there are many ways to do this; you could start with a particular travel time from your home, e.g. within 2 hours drive or a particular place you want to visit or one specific area of the country, or you might not mind on the location and prefer to go for the most affordable or indeed the most picturesque.
Once you’ve chosen a location you'll need to select a canal boat. You could of-course simply go choose the narrowboat you like the look or that is best priced for your crew size. However you'll need to decide if you want the best price or would prefer a little extra comfort e.g not needing to turn the saloon into a bed area, another thing to consider is access if you have limited mobility a Cruiser Stern may be advisable.
Please get in contact if you would like us to help you choose a canal boat or location.
More about types of boat: Trad Stern, Cruiser Stern, Narrow boat, Wide beam, Barge
Which are the best canal boat holidays in the UK?
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Where will your narrow boat or widebeam take you? There are many canal boat hire options in the UK, all slightly different, in different parts of the country, with access to different waterways and canal-side pubs and attractions. We are confident that whichever of our partners you choose to hire with, you’ll have a great canal boat holiday; however, by visiting our routes page, you can easily see an overview of available hire routes.
At Roam&Roost Canal Boat Holidays we have 88 narrowboats and 2 widebeams to choose from across 11 independently run hire bases across the UK. Below find a small selection of featured boats, to show the wide variety of boat hire on offer:
We are confident prices shown are the best available price. If you find the same accommodation available at a lower price on an alternative website for the same boat, same location and same number of people we will match that price. Terms
Support from boaters. After hiring initially, we've now been travelling the UK by narrowboat as a live-aboard family for multiple years, from beginner questions such as "Do you need a license?" to more involved questions such as Where would we recommend for a hire party such as yours we believe we well placed to help.
Get rewards for shopping with us. If you shop with us, we will reward you for supporting our independent partners and for helping spread the word about our fantastic canal boating holidays. By working with you, our customers, we can reduce our advertising costs and pass along those savings to anybody who would like to hire more than once from ANY of our partners.
One of the reasons we love holidays by boat so much is their ability to get people out and immersed in nature. We are committed to doing our bit for nature and the environment. We are donating 5% of our revenue to the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
Support small businesses. We've chosen to partner with multiple independent or family-run canal boat hire bases up and down the UK; when shopping with us, you'll be supporting small businesses that help keep our canals alive.
"As boaters 'Roam&Roost Canal Holidays' have an in-depth knowledge of the canal system and are well placed to help customers make an informed choice. We've been happy to partner with them - their simple and easy-to-use website helps us reach more people who otherwise may not have discovered about our family-run narrowboat holidays ideal for the Llangollen and surrounding canals."
Lindsay - Chas Hardern Narrowboats, our hire partners in Cheshire ideal for the Llangollen and surrounding canals
"The team at 'Roam&Roost Canal Boat Holidays' are very helpful and ensure you always get the most suitable boat for your canal holiday on whichever canal you wish to cruise."
James - Wyvern Shipping, our hire partners near London ideal to escape the city for a cruise in the heart of the English countryside
"At The Boat Co North I work with 'Roam and Roost Holidays' as a booking agency. They are great partners in trying to find the best experience and advice for our customers. They are genuine, they are boaters like myself, and James and Sabina share a passion with us about the waterways and delivering memories for hirers that will last a lifetime. This is a genuine business ran by genuine people I'm proud to partner with."
John - The Boat Co North, our hire partners in Yorkshire ideal to explore the Yorkshire waterways.
James (Boater & Support Operative) is online
