Featured Routes - 7+ nights

Market Harborough & Return

7 nights • 48 locks • Cruising time per day: 6 hrs • Total: 40 hrs

• Popular with those seeking something different- if you don’t mind a bit of exercise.
• Cruise up the Grand Union Canal to Norton, then up the Leicester section for a short while towards Leicester.
• On the way to Market Harborough, you will encounter two tunnels, two sets of staircase locks and mile after mile of open countryside.

Aylesbury & Return

7-10 nights • 84 locks • Cruising time per day: 6 hrs • Total: 46 hrs

• Through delightful countryside, taking in the Great Ouse Aqueduct at Cosgrove, Milton Keynes.
• Then arriving at Aylesbury, with the attractive old town centre just a short walk from the canal basin.

The Warwickshire Ring

10-11 nights • 120 locks • Cruising time per day: 7 hrs • Total: 76 hrs

• Another popular route with the option to moor at the heart of Birmingham.
• It includes the spectacular Hatton Locks and takes in the rural areas of the Grand Union Canal.
• Why not stop off at Coventry and go to the war-torn cathedral?
• The areas around Tamworth have Drayton Manor and the Snow Dome.
• How could you come to Warwickshire without visiting Warwick Castle?
• On a two week cruise, you can include a trip along the Ashby Canal.

Leicester / East Midlands Ring

14 nights • 115 locks • Cruising time per day: 6.5 hrs • Total: 88 hrs

• A pleasant two-week cruise through parts of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
• This route takes you up the Grand Union Canal to the Foxton flight of locks, then onto Leicester itself where you join the River Soar.
• Continue along the Soar to Trent Junction where you briefly join the River Trent which takes you up to Sawley. At this point, you rejoin the canal system to complete the ring.

Coventry / Snarestone & Return

7 nights • 34 locks • Cruising time per day: 6-8 hrs • Total: 40 hrs (Coventry), 54 hrs (Snarestone)

• With only 17 locks each way between Gayton and Coventry, this is one of the easiest one-week routes.
• The remote and rural Ashby Canal for Snarestone offers 23 miles of lock-free cruising after Marston.
• Moor at Shenton for Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre.

Banbury & Return

7 nights • 70 locks • Cruising time per day: 7 hrs • Total: 43 hrs

• This is a good cruise for first-timers and takes you through the Cotswold countryside.
• Takes you down the North Oxford Canal via Braunston and Napton Junctions.
• Onto the South Oxford Canal, renowned for its meandering route to the Thames.

Oxford & Return

10-11 nights • 104 locks • Cruising time per day: 6.5 hrs • Total: 74 hrs

• Continue on past Banbury to Oxford, the "City of Dreaming Spires".
• Oxford has lots to offer- historical places such as Blenheim Palace, Christ Church College, you could go shopping or dining out.
• An extremely popular choice for those who want to stretch their holiday to more than a week.

The Grand Ring (canal boat experience must be provided)

14-21 nights • 175 locks • Cruising time per day: 6-9 hrs • Total: 126 hrs

• This ring takes a minimum of 2 weeks to complete or longer if you want to take in the sights along the way.
• The Thames River Licence price is included in your hire charge from Aldermaston but will need to be paid if starting from Gayton Marina (please contact the marina directly).
• Take in the delights of the southern waterways including Oxford, Banbury, Leighton Buzzard, but then follow a similar route to Limehouse and return for another aspect.

Warwick & Return

7 nights • 72 locks • Cruising time per day: 6 hrs • Total: 38 hrs

• A popular 10-night cruise from Union Wharf or it can be completed in a week from Gayton and Rugby.
• From Union Wharf you will travel down to Norton Junction and then through to Warwick.
• Warwick has an ever-growing reputation for the variety of its cafes, restaurants and other eateries with the Market Square playing host to events throughout the year.
• Places of interest include Warwick Castle, St John’s Museum and The Mill Garden.

Short Breaks - 3/4 nights

Great Linford / Fenny Stratford & Return

3-4 nights • 16 locks • Cruising time per day: 6.5/8 hrs • Total: 14 hrs (Great Linford) / 18 hrs (Fenny Stratford)

Heading south towards Aylesbury, this route has a taste of everything. The two destinations are separated by the "new town" of Milton Keynes, where the Grand Union Canal forms the centrepiece of the linear park.

Crick & Return

4 nights • 28 hrs • Cruising time per day: 6.5 hrs • Total: 17 hrs

Crick and back, along the Grand Union Canal (Leicester Section).

Welford & Return

4 nights • 30 locks • Cruising time per day: 8,5 hrs • Total: 26 hrs

Welford has plenty of overnight mooring places, with a reservoir and village to explore.

Braunston / Napton & Return

3 nights • 26 locks • Cruising time per day: 8 hrs • Total: 15 hrs (Braunston) / 19 hrs (Napton)

Heading north from Gayton through Weedon and Norton takes the Grand Union to the busy junction with the Oxford Canal. Onwards to Napton is peaceful, lock-free and rural.