Top 6 Easter family canal boat holidays
Take to the water this Easter to enjoy a family boating adventure
You can cruise slowly through the spring countryside aboard your own floating holiday home and stop off at exciting waterside destinations along the way.
From medieval fortresses, battles and jousting, to the Worlds biggest Cadbury shop, here’s a guide to our top 6 family canal boat holiday destinations this Easter:
- Explore the medieval fortress at Chirk – from our base at Trevor on the Llangollen Canal in North Wales, it takes just over an hour to reach Chirk. On the way you’ll cross the incredible UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Once moored-up, it’s a half-hour walk up to the National Trust’s Chirk Castle, with dungeons and murder holes, and a wild play area to explore.
- Watch live-action jousting at the Royal Armouries Museum – on a week’s break from Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal you can travel to Leeds and back. The journey to Leds takes 17 hours and passes through 29 locks. Over the Easter weekend (29 March to 1 April) the waterside Royal Armouries Museum will be hosting its spectacular International Jousting Tournament, with teams from the UK, France and Italy.
- Tour the Roman Baths – from Monkton Combe on the Kennet & Avon Canal it takes around four hours, passing through six locks to reach Bath City Centre. From there it’s a short walk to the Roman Baths Museum, where you can see the remarkably preserved remains of one of the greatest religious spas of the ancient world.
- Join the annual Easter Boat Gathering at Ellesmere Port – over the Easter Weekend (29 March to 1 April), the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire celebrates the start of the boating season with a large boat gathering, live music and family activities. From our canal boat hire base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, it takes 10 hours to reach Ellesmere Port. You’ll travel 21 miles through 12 locks, passing through the ancient City of Chester along the way.
- Visit the Butterfly Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon – from our base at Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal, it takes around six hours to reach Bancroft Basin in Shakespeare’s Stratford. From there, it’s a short walk to the Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm, home to the UK’s largest tropical butterfly paradise. You can see hundreds of the world’s most beautiful butterflies flying in an exotic environmental of tropical blossom, waterfalls and fish filled pools.
- Explore the Trentham Monkey Forest – from our boatyard at Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stafford, it takes around 10 hours to reach Stoke bottom lock No. 36. From there it’s a short walk to the Trentham Monkey Forest, where there are 140 fascinating Barary macaques to see. The journey travels 13 miles and passes through 13 locks.
