Here’s one way of avoiding your mother-in-law at Christmas – hire a canal boat. If you like her, you can always take her with you as there are boats for two to 10 people. It’s a holiday you always think of taking during the summer but the boats are heated and you can call in at waterside pubs with roaring log fires!
Boats are available for Christmas and New Year to destinations like Bath, Birmingham and Warwick. All boats have central heating and hot water and you don’t even have to miss the Queen’s Speech – there’s a TV and DVD player. Some also have multi-fuel stoves. So, whatever the weather, it’s always nice and cosy on board.
Travel to Bath along the Kennet & Avon Canal…Drifters’ base in the historic town of Bradford on Avon offers the chance to cruise to the World Heritage Status City of Bath and back. Cosy country pubs to enjoy along the way include the George Inn at Bathampton, once a 12th-century monastery, and the Cross Guns at Avoncliffe, with panoramic views of the foothills of the Cotswolds. Christmas and New Year prices from Bradford on Avon start at £480 for short break (three or four nights) and £675 for a week on a boat for four.
Take a lock free journey to Birmingham…Birmingham is just a five-hour cruise away from Drifters’ base at Tardebigge on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal – with no locks to negotiate. City centre moorings are available at Gas Street Basin, close to the bars, restaurants, shops and museums at Brindley Place and the Mailbox and Bullring shopping centres. Christmas and New Year prices from Tardebigge start at £555 for a short break (three or four nights), and £790 for a week on a boat for four.
Navigate ‘The Stream in the Sky’…the awesome 300-metre long World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, carries the Llangollen Canal 40 metres above the rushing waters of the River Dee. From Drifters’ base at Trevor, right next to the aqueduct, the village of Llangollen is a two-hour cruise to the west and to the east, Ellesmere is a seven-hour journey through the beautiful Vale of Llangollen. Christmas and New Year prices from Trevor start at £555 for a short break (three or four nights), and £790 for a week on a boat for four.
Explore the Potteries in Staffordshire…Drifters’ base at Great Haywood, at the junction of the Staffs & Worcs and Trent & Mersey canals in Staffordshire, offers a variety of routes. On a week’s cruise boaters can head up the Trent & Mersey Canal to the Caldon Canal, and travel through the beautiful Churnet Valley. On a short break, you can head to the town of Fazeley, via the pretty canal village of Fradley on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Christmas and New Year prices from Great Haywood start at £555 for a short break (three or four nights), and £790 for a week on a boat for four.
Chug through rural Warwickshire…On a short break from Drifters’ base at Stretton-under-Fosse near Rugby, you can head south along the beautiful Oxford Canal to Braunston, winding through classic scenery, much of which hasn’t changed for centuries. On a week’s holiday, you can continue south to Banbury via Napton and Fenny Compton. Christmas and New Year prices from Stretton start at £505 for a short break (three or four nights) and £755 for a week on a boat for four.
