Enjoy a Family Canal Holiday on your own
canalboat from a friendly family firm!

Tired of the same old family holiday, sitting on the crowded beach, or trying to find enough things to do to please all the family? Let us show you how easy it is to have your dream family holiday on Britain's Canals.

What activities can we do on a family canal break?
There's no better holiday to occupy the whole family! Kids find canal boating incredibly enjoyable as they are spoilt for choice for things to do. Activities include Fishing, Cycling, Walking, Pony Trekking, Hill Walking, Canoeing.
Older children tend to take over the driving of the boat (of course under adult supervision)  and working the locks where else would they be able to do this and when else would you let them loose with a £100,000 boat? The boating activities are endless for children, from planning the route, pushing off, driving, navigating the locks and generally keeping the boat in shipshape condition. The whole experience of canal boating is one big adventure for the whole family.
For those perhaps not feeling quite so energetic the ever changing scenery and abundant wildlife will never cease to fascinate you. Many canal boaters enjoy painting, sketching and relaxing with a book as the world drifts by or doing absolutely nothing.
Throughout your holiday you will meet people from all walks of life and help your holiday the most memorable for years to come, and most importantly you have no itinerary to keep to, you set the pace, you choose when and where to moor, in fact you do whatever you like!
A canal holiday undoubtedly offers the perfect family holiday, keeping the youngest to the most senior members of the family occupied- and all this with no language barriers to cross and most importantly no flight delays!
What's the cost of a family canal break?
You will be surprised how reasonable canal boat holidays can be. As with any holidays prices vary depending on the type of year obviously being more expensive in the Summer season when a fully catered and organised Hotel Boat week for one person will cost about £600.
A self drive boat will be about £200 per person to which must be added food costs which are unlikely to be more than another £200 giving a total cost per person per week of about £400.
However they obviously compare very favourably with UK hotel prices which can cost between £300ukp and £1000ukp per person per week for average hotel accommodation without food or activities!
What facilities are we going to get on our family canal break?
All canal boats have flush toilets and hot and cold running water. Many have central heating, fridges and microwave cookers and many have televisions. The new boats available for hire now come with DVD players. The boats really do offer the home comforts you need to provide you with comfortable surroundings.
You can find out more detail about canalboats on our sister site Canal Junction. Click here.
What should we pack for our family canal break?
Narrow boat holidays are casual holidays so don't pack your Sunday best! English weather can bring "four seasons in one day" so remember sweaters as well as a waterproof coat and sunny weather wear. Stout shoes, gloves and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty are a good idea if you want to walk and help with locks. Don’t forget torch, camera, sketch book and book to read, but remember storage space is often limited so don’t bring too much.
What happens if the weather is bad on our family canal break?
 As you will know the English weather is changeable but rarely extreme. Rain and winds are fairly common, even in high summer, so pack to be prepared for a bit of everything
Where can we moor whilst on our family canal break?
You can moor almost anywhere on the towpath side of canals, free of charge.
Boats come with mooring ropes for and aft and steel 'mooring pins' and hammer. Don't block the towpath by putting your pins in too far from the canalside. Tie the boat up fairly tightly so that it doesn't move about too much when other boats pass. Many people put something light coloured on top of their pins such as a plastic bag, so walkers can see them in the dark. Some regular moorings have steel rings or bollards to tie to.
Mooring on the opposite side of the canal is not usually allowed since the land is often privately owned. Any towpath area where mooring is not allowed will usually be signed. However don’t moor on tight bends, by turning places or close to locks where you will get in the way of other boats using the locks.
How do we book our family break?
With the help of the internet you can now deal directly with the family firms who tend to offer a more personal service and cut out the middleman.
You can view online the boats that they have, the routes that you can cruise and even book online. If you need any help and assistance with you holiday booking at any time then there is always someone at the end of the phone to help.

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