Your Floating Hotel

on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our cruises for 2011.

1 - Quick Canal Fix. Warwick to Birmingham.

Saturday 9th April to Wednesday 13th April. 4 nights for £435 per berth.

Spend your first night in Warwick, why not arrive early, leave your cases on the boat and go and visit historic Warwick. We climb up Hatton broad 21 locks, then out through a tunnel before arriving at the start of the Stratford canal. On the second day we carry on up locks, this time narrow ones, working the butty the way horse boats have been handled since the 18th century. We then cruise out into the country for the night passing through two lift bridges as we do so. On the final day we make our way towards Birmingham, passing through another lift bridge and two more tunnels. We then enter Birmingham passing the University and Botanical Gardens on the way, before mooring right in the busy centre of Birmingham by the NIA, Seaworld and Symphony Hall. .

Saturday night at Warwick; ; Sunday Lapworth; Monday Hockley Heath; Tuesday Birmingham;

Highlights.

> Hatton 21 Broad locks.

> Lapworth 19 narrow locks set in the Warwickshire countryside.

>A unique Guillotine lock.

> Three short tunnels, one with a tunnel for the horse,

> Three lift bridges.

> Cruising right into the centre of Birmingham, which has more miles of canals than Venice!

Return to the list of all our cruises.

2 - Busy City to Rural Peace. Birmingham to Nantwich.

Wednesday 13th April to Wednesday 20th April. 7 nights for £665 per berth.

Our first day we travel on the canals which brought life to the area, passing by traces of the once great industry. Aqueducts, tunnels and three of the oldest locks on the system add to it. The second day we spend slowly going down the Wolverhampton 21, narrow locks which lead us under great railway viaducts out from the city into the country. The rest of the cruise takes us through the Shropshire Countryside. We travel over two great embankments high over the trees and several lesser embankments. We pass through a number of cuttings two quite deep and in places cut out of the rock, one of which leads to a rock cut tunnel.. Towards the end of the cruise we travel down three narrow lock flights, before finishing with another embankment and an aqueduct at Nantwich.

Wednesday night at Birmingham; Thursday Wolverhampton; Friday Autherley; Saturday Norbury; Sunday Market Drayton; Monday Audlem; Tuesday Nantwich.

Highlights.

> See the Black Country from an unusual viewpoint and appreciate the key role the canals played in its growth.

> Spectacular tree lined cuttings

> High embankments.

> Two great lock flights, and two shorter ones.

> Miles of unbroken countryside.

> Two short tunnels, one of them cut out of the sandstone.

4 - A Very Special Easter Weekend. Nantwich to LLangollen.

Thursday 21st April to Wednesday 27th April. 6 nights for £575 per berth.

The Llangollen is justly described as one of the most attractive canals in the UK and is very popular with visitors from throughout the world. Starting in Nantwich we climb slowly up into the hills of Wales. Charm lies around every corner. Variety is a key note of this canal.

Thursday night at Nantwich; Friday Wrenbury; Saturday Grindley Brook; Sunday Ellersmere; Monday Chirk; Tuesday Llangollen.

Highlights.

> Two tremendous aqueducts, one world famous. There will be time not only to travel over but also to explore the area, (and walk over them if you have a good head for heights.)

> Miles of canal clinging to the mountains which soar above us. Narrow, shallow, rock cut canal which we slowly wind our way along.

> Three short tunnels, all have towpaths in them if you wish to walk through.

> Eleven lift bridges, with the chance to help work some of them if you wish and hold up the cars as we pass through!

> The 'lakes' of the Ellesmere region add a charm to the scenery of that area.

> Lunchtime mooring on a great peat bog, now a Nature Reserve with the chance to explore it a little.

> Grindley Brook staircase locks. People drive over to look at them, you become part of them as we climb up them.

5 - Spring Life on the Monty. Llangollen to Nantwich via the Montgommery Canal.- This cruise is now fully booked.

Wednesday 27th April to Thursday 5th May. 8 nights. £755 per berth.

The Llangollen is justly described as one of the most attractive canals in the UK and is very popular with visitors from throughout the world. As an extra bonus on this cruise we explore the section of the Montgommery Canal which has been restored and re-connected to the main line. Charm lies around every corner. Variety is a key note of both of these canals.

Wednesday night at Llangollen; Thursday New Marton; Friday Queens Head; Saturday Frankton; Sunday Blake Mere; Monday Grindley Brook; Tuesday Wrenbury; Wednesday Nantwich.

Highlights.

> Two tremendous aqueducts, one world famous. There will be time not only to travel over but also to explore the area, (and walk over them if you have a good head for heights.)

> Miles of canal clinging to the mountains which soar above us. Narrow, shallow, rock cut canal which we slowly wind our way along.

> Three short tunnels, all have towpaths in them if you wish to walk through.

> Eleven lift bridges, with the chance to help work some of them if you wish, and hold up the cars as we pass through!

> The 'lakes' of the Ellesmere region add a charm to the scenery of that area.

> Lunchtime mooring on a great peat bog, now a Nature Reserve, with the chance to explore it a little.

> Grindley Brook staircase locks. People drive over to look at them, you become part of them as we climb up them.

> The staircase locks at Frankton which we will travel through both ways, up and down .

> The beautiful quiet of the Montgommery Canal.

> A chance at lunchtime to explore the current restoration work which is extending the Montgommery Canal.