Top 5 places to celebrate Halloween on a canal boat holiday

Canal boat holidays offer the chance to enjoy a family staycation afloat this October Half Term

You can spend time together exploring the waterways and visit waterside destinations hosting spooky Halloween events.

Your floating holiday cottage will be equipped with the key comforts of home, including central heating and hot water, so it’s always nice and cosy on board.

All our boats also have fully equipped kitchens, so you can enjoy a self-catering holiday afloat.

To celebrate the October Half Term holiday, we’ve put together a guide to our top 5 narrowboat holiday destinations hosting Halloween events*:

1. Take The ‘Sinister Side of Shakespeare Walking Tour’ in Stratford-upon-Avon

From Wootton Wawen, it takes around six hours to reach moorings in the centre of Shakespeare’s Stratford.  You can book online to experience ‘The Sinister Side of Shakespeare’s Stratford Walking Tour’ where you’ll learn about the town’s infamous witches, and discover the real-life tragedies that inspired Shakespeare.  The journey to Stratford and back takes around 12 hours and passes through 34 locks (17 each way).

2. Enjoy Halloween activities at Chirk Castle

From Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, you can reach Chirk Bank in around one-and-a-half hours.  From there it takes around 30 minutes to walk up to the National Trust’s Chirk Castle, hosting special Halloween activities, including the Medieval Monster Activity Sheet, 26-31 October.  The journey from Trevor to Chirk and back takes around three hours, and passes over the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct along the way.

3. Follow the Halloween Trail at Chester Zoo

On a short break from Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal, you can reach Chester, home of the award-winning Chester Zoo.  Home to over 27,000 animals, this October half term Chester Zoo is hosting a Super Natural Trail Challenge across its 128 acres of zoological gardens.  The journey from Bunbury to Chester and back takes around 14 hours and passes through 18 locks (nine each way).

4. See ‘The Lost Boys’ at the Shugborough Estate

Our base on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great Haywood is less than an hour’s cruise away from the National Trust’s Shugborough Estate.  At 6pm on Tuesday 29 October, the Estate is hosting an outdoor screening of the vampire classic ‘The Lost Boys’, starring Kiefer Sutherland.

5. Visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath

On a short break from Monkton Combe, Bradford on Avon and Bath, you can reach moorings in or close to Bath City Centre. There you can visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein featuring live actors, games and special effects.

*NB Most of the events listed need to be booked in advance via the venue’s website