Yorkshire canal adventure holidays
Below we show some examples of routes which our customers enjoy. Distances and times shown are for the return trip. You can vary the distance to suit you, because there are plenty of turning points ('winding holes') marked in the guides on your boat. Information we provide about specific waterways or suggested routes is for general reference only. Please see more about route availability.
For experienced boaters

14 or 21 Day Trip
If you like
serious boating, long hours and have lots of experience,
then we have some challenges for you.
Our
One Way trip via Wigan is specially demanding, as is the
Cheshire Question Mark.
Have a look also at some
of these:
7 night adventure trips
Rochdale


42 miles 98 locks 45 hours
This enables you to cross the summit, the second highest (just)
in England at 600’.
Leaving our historic canal basin, your journey begins with the
excitement of a new tunnel and the deepest lock in the country.
The canal gradually climbs through woods, fields and small stone
towns to Hebden Bridge. This old mill town nestles in a fork in
the hills, houses piled tier upon tier. Hebden has excellent
shops and is full of surprises - everything from horsey clothing
to hand-made pottery. Untie, and go on up the valley, its sides
closing in with crags and trees and views of the moors high
above. A stream runs alongside, and the locks are set among
woods or stone cottages. The Pennine Way crosses at Callis.
So to Todmorden, completely untouristy yet with much to enjoy -
fine Victorian buildings, especially the Town Hall, a lively
market and many places to eat and drink, all dominated by a
curving railway viaduct.
From here the going gets serious –
more Alpine than Pennine. Pass the Great Wall of Todmorden, go
under a splendidly overdone Gothic railway bridge, then stop at
the Cross Keys (much recommended). Go
on to the summit, a spectacular gap in the hills. Pause at the Summit Inn, your first in
Lancashire, before making the steep drop into Littleborough, 12
locks in 2 miles. Turn near the railway station, or possibly go
on past Clegg Hall (a Grade 1 listed restored ruin) and through the edge
of Rochdale - already surprisingly sylvan - and to its centre.
Turn just below Lock 50.
Navigation notes
This journey is recommended for experienced crews only. The western half of the Rochdale Canal is not yet in as good condition as other canals and you may experience difficulty or delays. Some of the locks can be hard work. We will give further details in the Route Companion posted to you in good time before your holiday. Lock 50 is the practical limit for an out and back trip of a week.
Bingley


110 miles 118 locks 55 hours
Sail down the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation past Brighouse,
and through wide river sections and narrow cuttings to
Wakefield, where there are good moorings not too far from the
bright lights. Then on to Stanley Ferry to see the famous
aqueducts and two very convenient and contrasting pubs.
You are now on the Aire & Calder, which is still a thriving
commercial waterway, though there are now many more pleasure
boats than barges. Electric locks and a wide channel help you
speed (relatively) round to Leeds, where you sail past the
regenerated waterfront.
Then join the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which quickly escapes
along its own way through fields and woods, with spectacular
views of old West Riding industry - particularly Sir Titus
Salt's Italianate mills and model town at Saltaire, with its
Hockney museum. There are several staircase locks along the way,
which culminate in the Five Rise Locks at Bingley, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Waterways.
14 night adventure trips
Sheffield


158 miles 114 locks 70 hours
Not an obvious holiday destination, but a fascinating canal journey through a rapidly rejuvenating area to the newly restored basin near the city centre. Enthusiasts enthuse; try it. Not so many locks, and many of them are electric, but still quite a long return journey.
Goole


105 miles 70 locks 50 hours
This takes you to Goole Docks, where you can take a guided boat tour to see the ships.
Travel down the Calder & Hebble Navigation to Wakefield, and take time to visit the Hepworth. Then on to Stanley Ferry and down the Wakefield DYke (properly 'Branch') of the Aire & Calder Navigation to join its main line at Castleford. Stop to see the curving Millennium Bridge across the river, and visit the flour mill museum. Keep on through Ferrybridge, where so much coal used to come by boats to feed the mighty power stations. Through Knottingley, and the canal becomes astonishingly remote, with enormous skies stretching over the flat, rural landscape. Eventually you arrive in Goole, and moor near the Sobriety Project, a waterways museum run by and for people being helped to overcome challenges in their lives.
Goole is a canal town, built from nothing by the Aire & Calder to make a port at the furthest inland point where ships could come up the tidal Aire, one of the three great rivers which combine to form the Humber Estuary. You can see many buildings from that period, and examples of the fixed and (astonishingly) floating cranes which lifted the Tom Puddings (square barges or 'pans') which brought coal in long snaking trains to be lifted into ships, for coastwise transport to the power stations of London. You are not allowed to take your boat into the docks, but hitch a lift on one of the museum's excellent guided boat trips. You may see ships unloading, and if you're lucky see one coming through Ocean Lock, or catch Exol Pride bringing oil from the refineries at Immingham to Rotherham.
Navigation notes
You need to be sure not to cross the invisible line into ABP's dock. Stop by the Sobriety Project or Goole Boathouse.
Liverpool


From Barnoldswick base: 164 miles 104 locks 80 hours, plus 14 miles 14 locks 8 hours for Rufford Branch
See the western side of the Leeds & Liverpool, culminating in the magnificence of Albert Dock. Quiet moorings here are a short walk from the city centre with shops, culture and more shops. Tate North and the Maritime Museum are actually in the dock where you moor. On the way back, take time to see the Rufford Branch.
Navigation notes
Your passage into Liverpool is supervised, and must be booked well in advance (Canal & River Trust, Wigan 03030 404040). You will need additional information from us about your boat. Only certain days of the week are available in each direction.
This holiday is only available on boats based at Barnoldswick.
York and Ripon


189 miles 82 locks 70 hours
Sail down the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation past Brighouse,
and through wide river sections and narrow cuttings to
Wakefield, where there are good moorings not too far from the
bright lights. Then on to Stanley Ferry to see the famous
aqueducts and two very convenient and contrasting pubs.
You are now on the Aire & Calder, which is still a thriving
commercial waterway, though there are now many more pleasure
boats than barges. Electric locks and a wide channel help you
speed to Castleford; keep on the main line of the Aire & Calder
Navigation towards Knottingley. This section briefly passes
through an industrial hinterland, but is full of interest
because much water-borne freight comes through - in barges,
push-tows and tankers. At Bank Dole you leave the main line and
its electric locks, to drop into the Aire as it winds through
farmland, stopping occasionally at pretty brick-built villages.
And so to Selby, where you can explore the ancient Abbey and
market.
Then enter the tidal Ouse, and go up to Naburn, where you leave
the tidal section. Go on up the river to moor in the very centre
of York. Having seen all you can of the city, go on to Ripon,
newly restored and the northernmost point on the waterways.
Navigation notes
Necessitating a passage on the tidal Ouse, this trip is available only to very experienced crews subject to our stringent conditions and consent. Crews should allow a minimum of two weeks for this trip, to cover possible waiting time. Only available May to September and in stable, dry weather. Customers must be prepared to take a different route if in our judgement wet weather makes the Ouse likely to flood. You will require our York Pack for details.