Experience wellness on the waterways

A canal boat holiday offers the perfect antidote to the rush and bustle of daily life

It’s well documented that stress is bad for the health – both mental and physical. Stress has been linked to high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, heart disease, depression and much more. Yet many aspects of our busy modern lives contribute to feelings of stress and anxiety. This makes it all the more important to take time out to relax and decompress away from your usual responsibilities and pressures.

Few things can be as soothing as slowing your pace of life down to a steady three miles an hour and travelling back in time on waterways built in an age before the train or motorcar. Our historic canals will take you through stunning countryside, past welcoming waterside pubs and majestic stately homes into the heart of some of Britain’s most fascinating and beautiful cities.

So if you are feeling in need of some tranquility and calm, book yourself a narrowboat holiday from any one of our 10 canal boat hire bases dotted across England and Wales.

All our canal barges are designed with your comfort and enjoyment in mind. We have a wide range of rental narrowboats of differing styles and sizes so you can choose the barge best suited to your canal holiday wishes.

But it’s not just boating on the waterways that is good for your health, there are many other canal based activities that promote mental and physical wellbeing. These activities link to the five key steps to enhancing wellbeing according to research by the New Economic Foundation:

Human connections

A mounting body of evidence shows that human connection is a vital component of wellbeing. Canals are wonderfully sociable places with everyone, whether on the water or the towpath, giving one another a wave and a smile as they pass. So, whether you go out walking, cycling or boating along the canals, you will quickly be welcomed into a friendly community of people who share a love of these beautiful inland waterways.

You can also get involved with the Canal and River Trust volunteers who give up their time to help care for and maintain the canals from painting and planting to litter picking and wildlife surveying. Alternatively, head along to one of the many wonderful events that take place along the canals with everything from group walks to photo exhibitions, special cruises and behind the scenes heritage days.

If you are on a canal boat holiday you are likely to find yourself mooring up alongside or in close proximity to other narrowboats and sharing locks. One of the joys of a narrowboat trip is making friends with fellow boaters. There is a great camaraderie on the canals so enjoy being part of it.

Get active

Most of us are far too sedentary in our daily lives due to office based jobs, cars and of course, the lure of television. While it may seem more relaxing to lounge on a sofa than get outside for a walk, the opposite is true. There is lots of research to show that exercise is one of the best ways to tackle stress, promote good sleep and boost mental wellbeing in addition to the countless physical benefits it brings.

The canals offer ideal routes for walking, running or cycling away from the noise and fumes of the roads, with more than 2,000 miles of well laid towpaths snaking through green and luscious countryside.

During your canal boat holiday, step ashore and walk alongside the narrowboat for a while to stretch your legs. Since the boats cruise at walking pace, you can easily keep pace. Alternatively moor up and head off exploring on foot as there are many lovely circular walking routes to be enjoyed all the way along the waterways. With so many great pubs, historic sights, villages and towns dotted along the canals you can almost always incorporate a drink or lunch stop into your walk, run or cycle.

Exercise in virtually any circumstances will always promote good health but exercise in gorgeous tranquil surroundings is even more rejuvenating to mind, body and soul.

Take notice

The new trend for mindfulness is all about being present in the moment and aware of your surroundings rather than being constantly distracted by your mobile or anything else. Mobile technology has meant we spend a worrying proportion of our lives with our minds fixed on a small screen rather than taking in our surroundings while the pressures of work mean we are often running through future or past to do lists rather than simply living in the moment.

A canal boat holiday is a chance to put on your out of office, switch off that phone, ignore those emails, sit back and admire the wonders of the British countryside and some of our finest towns and cities, including Oxford, Bath, Chester and Birmingham.

One of the joys of a canal holiday is that you are constantly on the move so there is always something new to look at, rare wildlife to spot, another lock to navigate, a swing bridge that needs working, a night-time mooring to locate, a pub with local ale to sample and more. With changing surroundings and a narrowboat to navigate, you will find yourself completely absorbed in the moment.

The same applies to any other canal based activities from walking to kayaking – they all offer an opportunity to disconnect from your inbox and absorb what is before you giving your mind a much needed refresh.

Learn

Continued learning keeps the mind sharp and boosts self-esteem, according to wellbeing studies.

One of the joys of the canals is that aside from their beauty, they are part of our national heritage and thus offer a wealth of learning opportunities for those who are interested. The canals provide insight into the transformation of Britain into the world’s first industrialised nation, they are integral to the history of many of the towns and villages they pass through and they showcase historic feats of engineering which represented the cutting edge of innovation in their time.

Nowadays the canals also offer wildlife enthusiasts ample opportunity to learn about the many rare plants and animals which grace their waters and banks.

The Canal & River Trust hosts dozens of events throughout the year such as talks, guided tours and exhibitions where you can learn all sorts of amazing facts about the inland waterways, their history and their present upkeep. If this is not enough, get yourself along to one of the National Waterways Museums in Ellesmere Port and Gloucester Docks, the Canal Museum or the visitor centres at the Anderton Boat Lift, the Standedge Tunnel or the soaring Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Away from the waterways themselves, there are also endless fascinating places to visit all along their routes so you’ll never be bored, there’s always something to learn along the canals.

Give

Altruism and generosity gives us a great sense of wellbeing. Research shows people who help others are more likely to feel happy themselves. So why not contribute towards looking after these amazing waterways which bring such joy to so many people.

The canals are actually busier today than at any other time in their history with around 34,000 boats gracing their waters, providing homes, workplaces or simply holiday escapes like our own narrowboats. If you are able to give any time towards helping look after these much used and loved resources, you will be helping enhance the lives of millions of people who enjoy them every year. Most of the volunteering is also great fun, involving getting outdoors and active with likeminded people doing their bit to keep the canals in good working order.

At Anglo Welsh we are hugely grateful to all the people who contribute to these waterways so all our guests to enjoy magical canal boat holidays year after year.