5 Wonderful Waterways

Explore tranquil scenery on board a canal boat cruising the UK’s historic waterways

- Chris Morley

LAPWORTH

Worcestershire ✣ Birmingham Canal

Why? This is a lock-free seven-hour cruise through the Worcestershire and Warwickshire countryside to the desirable village of Lapworth, which boasts a historic church and two National Trust homes and gardens (Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House). It also passes through a couple of tunnels, including the Wast Hills, one of the longest in the country at 2,493m, starting in the city suburbs and finishing in open fields.

The route Beginning at Tardebigge, near Bromsgrove, and ending in Lapworth. ✣ Don’t leave without enjoying lunch at the Navigation Inn, which has a canal-side beer garden, top-notch food and is the only pub in the country to offer Guinness on handpull.

VALE OF PEWSEY

Kennet ✣ Avon Canal

Why? This week-long journey passes through English countryside dotted with thatched cottages. The route takes in the prehistoric Vale of Pewsey, passing near Avebury and along the edge of the ancient Savernake Forest. There are 53 locks to navigate on the way, including the flight of 16 locks in a row at Caen Hill, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.

The route Starting at Devizes in Wiltshire and finishing in Hungerford, this trip takes around 20 hours.