For everyone
14 or 21 Day Trip
In 10/11 days or a
fortnight, you can do one of these longer routes, or simply
take more time to enjoy one of our
One-Week Routes.
And for experienced boaters, we
have the most fantastic
Rings, or our
Adventure Holidays.
Rochdale and Brighouse
51 miles 120 locks 55 hours
Go to Hebden Bridge - see above. Carry on 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). Keep going, with high hills on either
side, to the summit, the second highest (just) in
England at 600'. Now you start the steep drop into
Littleborough, 12 locks in 2 miles. Visit the secondhand
bookshop, then carry on past Clegg Hall (a Grade 1
listed ruin) and through the edge of Rochdale -
surprisingly sylvan - and to its centre. Carry on to
Lock No. 50, and turn just below.
Return to Sowerby
Bridge and on down the Calder Valley through the woods
to Brighouse. Good shopping, including a Sainsbury's
with its own moorings, plentiful pubs and time to relax.
Finally, make your way back to base.
Navigation notes
This journey needs an active, committed crew - it has a lot of locks!
Hebden Bridge and Dewsbury
46 miles 66 locks 32 hours
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. Turn above Lock 14, and enjoy the steep walk up to Stoodley Pike, a memorial to the Napoleonic Wars.
Return to Sowerby
Bridge and on down the Calder Valley through the woods
to Brighouse. Good shopping, including a Sainsbury's
with its own moorings, and plentiful pubs.
Carry on through wide river sections and narrow cuttings to Dewsbury, where you will find the Leggers Arms in the canal basin.
Finally, make your way back to base.
Navigation notes
This is a straightforward journey suitable for beginners and experienced crews.
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 holidays
Skipton
136 miles 128 locks 70 hours
Go to Bingley - see above.
Carry on along the
hillside, with wide views of Airedale to one side, and
the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the
other. Pretty villages and lots of swing bridges - much
easier these days - take you through to Skipton, Gateway
to the Dales. Don't miss the castle! This return journey
needs long days and good timing.