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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 DetailsOn 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

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