2025 Cruise Guide - CRUISE DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Cruise 1 - Llangollen to Stoke on Trent (Via Middleport Pottery)
Date - 8th - 15th April
Route Details:
Miles - 74
Locks - 56
Movable Bridges - 10
Aqueducts - 16
Tunnels - 4
Canals/Rivers:
Llangollen Canal
Shropshire Union Canal (Inc Middlewich Branch)
Trent and Mersey Canal
Highlights:
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel
Heartbreak Hill
Middleport Pottery
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details - Leaving Llangollen Basin we travel to Trevor following the River Dee to our right. This section of canal has many tight sections where only one boat can pass at a time. On reaching Trevor this is where we approach the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct ‘The stream in the sky’ and the longest aqueduct in the UK. Having crossed this impressive UNESCO structure we continue to meander through the country side where we pass under our first tunnel and our shortest. Soon after we approach Chirk but before we will travel through Chirk tunnel and immediately cross Chirk Aqueduct, equally as impressive as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The remaining journey of the Llangollen canal is without question one of the prettiest canals in the country. We do pass a few little town/villages including Ellesmere and Whitchurch before our decent of Grindley Brook staircase locks, some of the busiest locks on the whole canal network. We continue our journey until we reach the end of the Llangollen Canal at Hurleston Junction. We can also see the Hurleston Reservoir which is filled by water being passed from the River Dee at Llangollen into the canal and the canal being the vehicle to transport it the 40+ miles, this is why there is a flow on the Llangollen canal. We join the Shropshire Union Canal (main line) and head North towards Chester, sadly we only experience a few miles on the main line, however, we turn right heading East and join the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. We stay on this section of canal for 10 miles till we reach Middlewich (Kings Junction). But before we turn onto the Trent and Mersey Canal we must first pass the shortest canal in the country, the Wardle Lock Branch. We will learn the reasoning of this section on board. At Kings Junction we turn right and our final canal till we reach Stoke on Trent. This is also where our climb begins as up to now we have only descended in the locks. This section to Harecastle Tunnel is 13 miles with 31 locks, a stretch commonly referred to as ‘Heartbreak Hill’ – the reason being the locks are spread out evenly so most people, rather than getting back on the boat between locks, walk ahead to set the locks for the entire stretch. Reaching the summit we reach the Northern entrance of the Harecastle Tunnel. This is one of the longest tunnels on the canal network and the longest of our cruise to Stoke on Trent. The tunnel is one way traffic so we are given permission to enter when clear and should be underground for up to 40 minutes, if not longer. On leaving the tunnel it’s just a short cruise to Stoke on Trent but before we finish our cruise we will moor at the Middleport Pottery where you are welcome to explore at your leisure. We will most likely finish in Festival Park Marina.
Cruise 2 - Stoke on Trent to Hinckley (via Shackerstone)
Date - 17th - 25th Apr
Route Details:
97 Miles
36 Locks.
Movable Bridges - 1
Aqueducts - 24
Tunnels - 1?
Canals/Rivers:
Trent and Mersey Canal
Coventry Canal
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Ashby Canal
Highlights:
Stone
Great Haywood
Armitage Tunnel
Fradley Junction
Fazeley Junction
Ashby Canal
Duration - 8 Nights
Cruise Details - On leaving our mooring in Stoke on Trent we head south on the Trent and Mersey Canal. We will see lots of evidence of potteries from Stokes past including cruising past the original site of the Wedgwood factory. We also pass the junction of the Caldon Canal; this canal was build to transport the limestone to feed the iron industry and flint to support the potteries. At this junction (Etruria) we can also see the factory that would crush bone, also to support the pottery industry. Leaving the industrial Stoke behind we enter the countryside for some time before we reach Stone, which was an old market town. Stone was also the original home of the Trent and Mersey Headquarters. We pass Stone and continue South through more countryside and out next point of interest being Great Haywood. Great Haywood is home of the Shugborough Estate, we will get a great view from the canal of this stunning house and we may even get glimpse of the 'ha ha' wall. The junction here joins the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal, however, we continue south. Our next two towns be pass are Rugeley and Armitage, the latter being famous for producing toilets. At Armitage we also pass through, what was the Armitage tunnel, our only 'tunnel' for this cruise. The room has since been removed and remains narrow, enough for one boat. Continuing we reach Fradley Junction, this is where we leave the Trent and Mersey Canal and join the small section of the Coventry Canal which then becomes the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, we will learn on board the history behind the canal ownership of this section. Now we reach Fazeley Junction, here we once again join the Coventry Canal. We remain on the Coventry Canal where we will pass through some larger towns including Tamworth, Polesworth, Atherstone and Nuneaton - not to worry there is plenty of countryside in between. Passing Nuneaton we reach the junction of the Ashby Canal where we turn left. 18 miles of lock free cruising is ahead of us before we turn around and head back to Hinckley where our journey finishes. The Ashby Canal is a contour canal was built to transport coal. The original can was due to end at Ashby--de-la-Zouch, hence the name, however this was never achieved.
Cruise 3 - Hinckley to Nottingham
Date - 26th Apr - 3rd May
Route Details:
74 Miles
35 Locks.
Movable Bridges - 1
Aqueducts - 15
Tunnels - 0
Canals/Rivers:
Ashby Canal
Coventry Canal
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
River Trent
Nottingham Canal
Highlights:
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 4 - Nottingham to Braunston
Date - 9th - 16th June
Route Details:
79 Miles
68 Locks.
Aqueducts
Tunnel
Museum
Canals/Rivers:
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 5 - Braunston to Lechlane
Date - 17th - 24th June
Route Details:
79 Miles
47 Locks
Moveable Bridge
Aqueducts
Museum
Canals/Rivers:
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 6 - Lechlade to Warwick
Date - 25th June - 3rd July
Route Details:
87 Miles
72 Locks
Moveable Bridge
Aqueducts
Tunnels
Canals/Rivers:
River Thames
Oxford Canal (South)
Grand Union Canal
Duration - 8 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 7 - Warwick to Gloucester
Date - 14th - 21st August
Route Details:
77 Miles
75 Locks
Moveable Bridge
Aqueducts
Tunnels
Canals/Rivers:
Grand Union Canal
Stratford Canal (South)
River Avon
River Thames
Gloucester & Sharpness Canal
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 8 - Gloucester to Stourbridge
Date - 27th Aug- 3rd Sept
Route Details:
88 Miles
25 Locks
Aqueducts
Tunnels
Museum
Canals/Rivers:
Gloucester & Sharpness Canal
River Thames
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 9 - Stourbridge to Market Drayton
Date - 5th - 12th Sept
Route Details:
51 Miles
56 Locks
Moveable Bridges
Aqueducts
Tunnels
1 Arboretum
Canals/Rivers:
Droitwich Canal
Birmingham Canal Navigation (Main Line)
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -
Cruise 10 - Market Drayton to Llangollen
Date - 15th - 22nd Sept
Route Details:
70 Miles
59 Locks
Aqueducts
Tunnels
Canals/Rivers:
Shropshire Union Canal
Llangollen Canal
Montgomery Canal
Duration - 7 Nights
Cruise Details -