Cruises 2023
Bywater Hotelboat Cruise Schedule 2023
Choosing your hotelboat cruise
There is so much to see and so many possible routes on the inland waterways, it is understandably difficult to decide which particular hotelboat cruise you think you would enjoy the most. In this booklet we try and outline the character of each route, its highlights and points of interest. It is impossible to cover everything, but we hope that, combined with your own personal choice criteria (time of year, heritage, towns and cities etc) you will be able to pick the one for you. If you have any queries regarding any aspect of the hotelboat holidays, please do not hesitate to call, and we will try and advise in anyway we can.
FULL HOTELBOAT CHARTER
Kerala and Karnataka are available for charter, offering full and exclusive use of the boats, services of the crew and full-board catering. With the advantage of a sizeable reduction in price, this represents excellent value.
As well as the scheduled cruises given here, we can provide tailor made itineraries at either end of the season to suit your individual needs or preferences. Please contact us on 07380 941042 or email to discuss.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS
Single occupancy of the twin/double cabin carries a supplement of 50%. There is no single supplement for a single guest in a single cabin.
PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS
A ‘Previous Customer’ discount of 5% applies to all guests who have traveled with us since 2019. Any discounts shall be accounted for in the balance payment and noted in the confirmation letter.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TO YOUR HOTELBOAT CRUISE
When planning our schedule we endeavour to include locations which have good travel connections, although this is not possible on some canals. We also avoid weekend arrivals in locations where we feel there may be disturbance from town centres on first or last evenings. This helps our guests to avoid engineering works on rail lines. and to enable them to take advantage of cheaper weekday travel on public transport. For those arriving by car, we make every effort to arrange secure car parking facilities at most of our locations. If we do not have a current secure location there are now websites which offer private spaces on driveways, such as www.parkopedia.co.uk or www.justpark.com
We hope that your travel to and from your hotelboat cruise will be easy and convenient. Should you require any assistance in planning your travel, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
| Cruise | From | To | Highlights | Nights | Start Date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rugby | Market Harborough | 46 Miles, 28 Locks and 3 Tunnels North Oxford Canal, Braunston Tunnel, Watford Staircase, Crick Tunnel, Husband Bosworth Tunnel, Foxton Locks, Market Harborough Arm A short spring cruise taking in some highlights of the Grand Union canal | 6 | Tue. 18th April | £975 |
| 2 | Market Harborough | Fenny Stratford | 62 Miles, 32 Locks and 3 Tunnels Market Harborough Arm, Foxton Locks, Husband Bosworth Tunnel, Crick Tunnel, Watford Staircase, Weedon Bec, Stoke Bruerne, Blisworth Tunnel A second taster cruise taking in the impressive Foxton and Watford flights then whizzing up the Grand Union! | 6 | Wed. 26th April | £975 |
| 3 | Fenny Stratford | Brentford | 55 Miles and 79 Locks Soulbury Locks, Marsworth Locks, Tring Summit, Berkhampstead, Rickmansworth, Bull’s Bridge Junction, Brentford Thames Lock A real lock wheelers cruise, lock after lock after lock! | 8 | Thu. 4th May | £1245 |
| 4 | Brentford | Paddington | 37 Miles, 34 Locks and 4 Tunnels Hanwell Locks, Regent’s Canal, London Zoo, Camden, Battlebridge Canal Museum, Islington Tunnel, Olympic Park, Limehouse Basin, Little Venice The complete London experience, West to East and back again! | 5 | Mon 15th May | £845 |
| 5 | Paddington | Tring | 61 Miles, 69 Locks and 4 Tunnels Little Venice, Regent’s Canal, London Zoo, Camden, Battlebridge Canal Museum, Olympic Park, Limehouse Basin, Rickmansworth, Tring Summit The East End of London and back again, before tackling the many broad locks of the Grand Union canal. | 9 | Mon 22nd May | £1365 |
| 6 | Tring | Banbury | 83 Miles, 73 Locks and 2 Tunnels Marsworth Locks, Blisworth Tunnel, Stoke Bruerne, Braunstone Tunnel, Braunstone, Napton Flight, The Oxford Summit, Claydon Locks, Banbury A mix of the new(ish) and old! The quick and broad Grand Union contrasts with the narrow and winding Oxford Canal. | 9 | Fri 2nd Jun | £1365 |
| 7 | Banbury | Reading | 27 Miles and 17 Locks of Canal. 39 Miles and 13 Locks on the Thames Somerton Deep Lock, Thames Valley, The Isis, Thrupp, The Spires of Oxford, Abingdon, Wallingford, Reading Taking the old route to London. A lovely mix of canal and river cruising | 7 | Tue 13th June | £1095 |
| 8 | Reading | Devizes | 55 Miles, 78 Locks and 1 Tunnel Reading, The River Kennet, Newbury, Hungerford, Crofton Flight, Devizes, Caen Hill Flight Dipping in and out of the River Kennet with many quirky locks! | 8 | Thu 22nd June | £1245 |
| 9 | Devizes | Devizes (via Bath) | 43 Miles, 57 Locks and 2 magnificent aqueducts Bradford-on-Avon, Avoncliffe and Dundas Aqueducts, Avon Valley, Bath and back again for the Caen Hill Flight Up and down the Avon Valley. Beautiful towns and spectacular aqueducts. | 7 | Tue 4th July | £1095 |
| 10 | Devizes | Newbury | 33 Miles, 35 Locks and 1 Tunnel Devizes, Crofton Flight, The Kennet and Avon Summit, Hungerford, Newbury A Kennet and Avon taster cruise, sampling both lovely river valleys. | 5 | Thu 13th July | £845 |
| 11 | Newbury | Oxford | 58 Miles and 35 Locks Newbury, the River Kennet, Reading, The Thames, Wallingford, Abingdon, Oxford’s Spires The best of the lower Thames. | 7 | Thu 20th July | £1095 |
| 12 | Oxford | Warwick | 63 Miles and 63 Locks Oxford city, Thrupp Turn, Cherwell valley, Somerton Deep Lock, Cropredy, The Oxford Summit, Napton Locks, Bascote Staircase, Warwick From the back roads of the Oxford Canal to the turnpike of the Grand Union. A study of contrasts. | 8 | Mon 31st July | £1245 |
| 13 | Warwick | Stourbridge | 47 Miles, 65 Locks and 5 Tunnels Hatton Locks, Kingswood Junction, Lapworth Flight, Stratford Canal, King’s Norton Junction, Gas Street Basin, Birmingham Main Line, Netherton Tunnel, Delph Locks, Stourbridge Basin A trip through the heart of the English canal network
| 7 | Thu 10th August | £1095 |
| 14 | Stourbridge | Nantwich | 55 Miles, 51 Locks and 1 Tunnel Bratch Locks, Aldersley Junction, The Shropshire Union, Woodeaves Cutting, Tyrley Locks, Adderly Locks, Nantwich Embankment From the industrial heartlands to Elizabethan Nantwich through the beautiful Shropshire countryside | 7 | Sat 19 August | £1095 |
| 15 | Nantwich | Llangollen | 46 Miles, 21 Locks, 3 Tunnels and 2 Spectacular Aqueducts Hurleston Locks, Wrenbury, Grindley Brook Staircase, Ellesmere, Chirk Tunnel and Aqueduct, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Llangollen. Dramatic engineering and peaceful countryside on this journey from England to Wales | 7 | Tue 29th August | £1095 |
| 16 | Llangollen | Nantwich | 46 Miles, 21 Locks, 3 Tunnels and 2 Spectacular Aqueducts Llangollen, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Chirk Tunnel and Aqueduct, Ellesmere, Grindley Brook Staircase, Wrenbury, Hurleston Locks Dramatic engineering and peaceful countryside on this journey from Wales to England | 7 | Thu 7th September | £1095 |
| 17 | Nantwich | Whaley Bridge | 59 Miles and 49 Locks The Shropshire Union Canal, Middlewich Branch, Cheshire Paired locks, Hardings Wood Junction, Macclesfield Canal, Bosley Locks, Marple Junction, Peak Forest canal, Bugsworth Basin From the Cheshire plains to the Peak District on five unique canals | 8 | Mon18th Sep | £1245 |
| 18 | Whaley Bridge | Stoke (via Froghall) | 65 Miles, 37 Locks and 2 Tunnels Bugsworth Basin, Peak Forest Canal, Marple Junction, Bosley Locks, Macclesfield Canal, Hardings Wood Junction, Caldon Canal, Churnet Valley, Froghall Basin, Leek Branch Peaks, valleys and industrial heritage on this four canal cruise | 9 | Thu 28th Sep | £1365 |
| 19 | Stoke on Trent | Coventry | 70 Miles and 31 Locks Etruria, Meaford Flight, Stone, Great Haywood Junction, Trent and Mersey Canal, Fradley Junction, Atherstone Locks, Hawkesbury Junction, Coventry Canal, Coventry Arm Lively canal junctions, rural seclusion and plenty of good old English pubs! | 9 | Mon 9th Oct | £1365 |