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The pleasures of a canal holiday


With a unique mixture of bucolic countryside, industrial heritage, and sprawling urban scenery, it’s no wonder the UK canal network is undergoing something of a renaissance.

The major outcome of this has been the rise of the canal holiday, with thousands flocking to Britain’s waterways every year to experience the charm of holidaying on a boat.

With everyone feeling the pinch this year holidays at home have naturally risen in popularity, but none more so than the humble narrowboat holiday. But what is it that makes a break on a boat so much more endearing? Read what people in the media had to say about their canal holidays to find out...

“There is a human warmth on the canal you never find on the high street. People wave, smile, stop to talk, as if they have got all the time in the world – which, of course, they have.”
Max Davidson, ‘Canal Boat Holiday: Fast Route to Relaxation’, The Daily Telegraph, 5 September 2008

“- the [other] great joy of a canal holiday: it's impossible to maintain the pace of normal life - you are simply compelled to slow down.”
Dixe Wills, ‘Watt Ever Floats Your Boat’, The Guardian, 23 May 2009

“Those who enjoy urban environments get an utterly fresh perspective on towns and cities from a boat; those that prefer a rural idyll can plot a course through some of the finest countryside in Europe.”
Paul Gogarty, ‘The Simple Pleasures of a Canal Boat Holiday’, The Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2008

“If the world is getting on top of you, or you just want to chill out, there really is nothing more relaxing than a few days on the canals.”
Terry Ramsey, ‘Explore England's Pubs by Canal Boat’, Times Online, 26 May 2009

“There is a way that, in the steel tube, windows and side hatches to each side, sky-lights above, sitting below water level, you are immersed in nature. Poke your head outside and you are greeted with a landscape of trees, birds and water.”
Paul Miles, ‘The Straight and Narrow’, Financial Times, 7 March 2009

“I couldn't have returned home more refreshed and longing to go back than if I had jetted away to the Mediterranean.”
Laura Wright, ‘Messing About on the River’, South Wales Echo, 10 November 2007

Read more canal holiday memories

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Last updated: 05/06/2009