Holidays

Lengths can be tailored to your individual requirements, but some examples are listed below.  You can see maps of the canals at the British Waterways web site.

3 Days

Set off north along the Coventry Canal for three miles until Marston Junction, when you move onto the Ashby Canal.  There are no locks on this route, just steady pleasant cruising.  You could take in the Steam Railway Centre, and the more able-bodied could also enjoy the Bosworth Battlefield walk.

5 - 6 Days

Set off south-east along the North Oxford Canal, moving onto the Grand Union Canal at Braunston Turn.  Don't miss the Stoke Bruerne Canal Visitor Centre and Waterways Museum.  On this trip you will pass through the counties of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, and also through the Braunston Tunnel and the famous Blisworth Tunnel.  16 locks.

8 Days

The Warwickshire Ring - taking in the North Oxford, the Grand Union, the Stratford, the Birmingham & Fazeley and the Coventry Canals.  You pass through Coventry, Warwick, Birmingham, Tamworth, Atherstone and back to Coventry.  101 miles and 101 locks - extremely hard work, not for the faint-hearted!  You can call at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham for a rest.  You can of course do the ring either clockwise or anti-clockwise, and both directions have their committed supporters;  however, if you choose anti-clockwise, then the longer lock-free section comes at the end of the cruise, when you can relax a bit!

North and South Oxford Canals - Coventry to Banbury via Cropredy.  Very scenic, and if you spend a day in Banbury you can see the Banbury Cross from the nursery rhyme. Set off south-east along the North Oxford Canal, moving onto the Grand Union Canal at Braunston Turn, and then onto the South Oxford Canal at Napton Junction.  20 locks.

Coventry and Trent & Mersey Canals - setting off north-west on the Coventry Canal, moving onto the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal at Fazeley Junction, and then onto the Trent & Mersey Canal at Fradley Junction.  Visit Shugborough Hall (National Trust), seat of the Earl of Lichfield, at Haywood Lock No. 22.  At the end of May and in early June you can see the rhododendrons in all their glory.  18 locks.

Mid-Week Breaks

From Coventry south-east along the North Oxford Canal to Braunston and return, with time to wander around the pretty village of Braunston.

And don't forget that if you haven't the time for a holiday, you can book a day trip on "Lady Godiva"!