The Avon Ring

  • Length – 108 miles
  • Locks – 131

Waterways – Worcester and Birmingham canal, Stratford upon Avon canal, River Avon, River Severn

At Kings Norton you join the Stratford on Avon canal which takes you through the leafy green of Warwickshire all the way to the famous town of Shakespeare’s birth. Here you lock onto the River Severn and follow its meandering course as far as Tewkesbury where you join the Severn. Digis basin is your entrance back onto the Worcestershire and Birmingham canal which brings you round again to Kings Norton.

Avon Ring Highlights

Tewkesbury:  The town contains no less than 400 listed buildings, many of them in the half timbered style so redolent of middle England. If you’re a fan of all things mediaeval, this is the place for you: the 12th century Abbey is well worth a visit, if only to see the wonderful stained glass knights in the windows of the chancel, and if you manage to arrange your trip for July you will be able to enjoy the Mediaeval Fayre in which the Battle of Tewkesbury, one of the most decisive encounters in the War of the Roses, is enacted.

Worcester –  famous well beyond the shores of Britain for being the home of Worcestershire sauce, a condiment which was invented by John Lee and William Perrins in 1837. If you moor here after a day’s vigorous boating you could toast their achievement a Bloody Mary served as it should be with a dash of Worcester sauce. With the recent pandemic having heightened people’s awareness of all things medical, the George Marshall Medical Museum might just take your fancy – it has a comprehensive account of 250 years of medicine and includes reproductions of a Victorian operating theatre and an apothecary’s shop.

The Birmingham Ring

  • Length – 45 miles
  • Locks – 49

Waterways – Birmingham Canal Old Main Line, Wyrley and Essington, Tame Valley and Birmingham and Fazeley

This route around the old industrial heartlands of Birmingham and Wolverhampton is far prettier than you might think. Starting in the Gas St Basin now the beating heart of the city’s  nightlife, you head off along the old mainline canal and then take the Wyrley and Essington towards Wolverhampton, before looping back along the Tame Valley and the Birmingham and Fazeley – girding your loins for an 11 lock flight at Aston and a 13 lock flight at Farmer’s Bridge.

Birmingham Ring Highlights

Birmingham – for eclectic shopping, vintage shops and an unbeatable buzz, head for the Custard Factory in Digbeth. Once home to the legendary Birds Custard it is now a destination in its own right. One of the best nights out is to be had at The Jam House in the fabled jewellery quarter, a music venue once owned by popular British jazz artist Jools Holland.

Wolverhampton – after the hurly burly of Birmingham you might be ready for some down  time and Wightwick Manor is the perfect spot to enjoy some piece and quiet, lose yourself in the beautiful gardens and admire the fabulous collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. A good contrast to this is the Banks Park Brewery, where you can learn about how their fine ales are made and sample a pint – or two.

The Black Country Ring, also known as the Staffordshire Ring

  • Length –  68 miles
  • Locks – 71

Waterways – Birmingham Old Mainline Canal, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Trent and Mersey Coventry, Birmingham and Fazeley.

The Black Country ring provides an enticing counterpoint between the industrial past associated with Britain’s age of Empire, and an irresistible rural idyll. Traces of Britain’s manufacturing heritage are evident in the occasional bricked up furnace you may notice as you cruise from Birmingham to Wolverhampton along Thomas Telford’s Old Main Canal but the 21 lock flight beyond Wolverhampton delivers you into peaceful and pretty countryside which will delight you as you cruise along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire and beyond.  You only really return to the grind of the city when you have looped around the Trent and Mersey and along the Coventry and are back at Salford junction beneath the notorious M6 motorway interchange rightly known as Spaghetti Junction.

Black Country Ring Highlights

Do take time out to visit the Black Country Living Museum which consists of a representative selection of rebuilt houses and workplaces, staffed by people wearing Victorian costumes. It really does do what it says on the tin – it brings the history of this area to life: you can ride on a vintage trolley bus or go to a Victorian fun fair and if you have kids in tow there’s an old fashioned sweet shop that’s bound to be popular.

A lesser-known fact: UNESCO has declared the Black Country a Global Geopark, recognising that it has geological heritage of international significance, on account of the rich mineral deposits which incidentally helped to fuel the industrial revolution. Wren’s Nest Local Nature Reserve forms part of the Geopark and is said to be the most abundant fossil site in the whole of the British Isles.

The Cheshire Ring

  • Length – 97 miles
  • Locks –  92

Waterways – the Ashton Canal, the Macclesfield Canal, the Peak Forest Canal, the Rochdale Canal, the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Bridgewater Canal.

The Cheshire ring was one of the earliest rings to be renovated and linked together and it begins with the Bridgewater canal, then curves onto a section of the Rochdale, passing through central Manchester including Piccadilly and Chinatown and then onto the Peak Forest, where there’s a pretty rural stretch as far as Macclesfield. Once on the Trent and Mersey, the canal drops steeply down to the Cheshire plain via Heartbreak Hill. This gets its name from the 31 locks between Kidsgrove and Middlewich – you have been warned. As a bonus, you do get to pass through the Anderton lift, one of the seven wonders of the waterways, before you find yourself back on the Bridgewater more or less where you started.

Cheshire Ring Highlights

Dunham Massey Hall provides a bit of an oasis after the bright lights of Manchester. It’s close to Altrincham and there’s a winter garden that offers all year horticulture delight, a photogenic fallow deer herd and the Stables restaurant is a great place for lunch. You might also be interested to see the Macclesfield Silk Museum– you may not know that for more than 300 years Macclesfield was a global centre for the production of silk.

Navigationally speaking when you are cruising the Bridgewater canal you get to travel over the Barton Swing Bridge, which is one of the seven wonders of the waterways and therefore  A highlight in its own right.

The Four Counties Ring

  • Length – 110 miles
  • Locks – 94

Waterways – the Shropshire Union Canal, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Setting off along the Shropshire Union Canal you join the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich and then go on to climb Heartbreak Hill and pass through Harefield tunnel on your way to Stoke on Trent. You will then join the Staffordshire and Worcestershire at Great Heyward, keeping a look out for both Tixall Hall and Shugborough Hall, both of which provide a pretty backdrop to this attractively rural waterway. At Atherley you rejoin the Shroppie with a mere 25 locks to take you back down onto the Cheshire plain.

Four Counties Ring Highlights

If you are partial to stately homes, then the Georgian mansion at Shugborough is not to be missed. Once home to socialite and royal photographer the Earl of Litchfield, you can wander through his private apartments and then compare and contrast them with the servants hall downstairs to get the full Upstairs Downstairs feel.  For something more exotic it’s worth spending two or three hours strolling around Chinatown in the Faulkner St area of central Manchester. The community here is said to be one of the largest outside China and this bustling area is full of fascinating food and retail opportunities.

The Leicester Ring

  • Length –  154 miles
  • Locks – 91

Waterways – the Trent and Mersey Canal, the Grand Union Leicester Branch, the North Oxford Canal, the Coventry Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal

Allow approximately three weeks for this wonderful  exploration of the East Midlands. Starting at Fradley junction on the Trent and Mersey, you will pass through Burton on Trent, inhaling the waft of hops in the numerous breweries as you go, then onto the  Leicester branch of the Grand Union.  This shadows the delightful River Soar all the way to Leicester, where you change onto the north Oxford canal, which is home to the busiest lock on the entire system, at Hillmorton near Rugby. The Coventry comes next and shows no sign now of its coal mining past, snaking through pretty rural countryside before joining the Birmingham and Fazeley which leads you back to your starting point at Fradley.

Leicester Ring Highlights

If you like beer then you simply cannot pass through Burton on Trent without stopping off at the National Brewery Centre near the Bass Brewery which was one of the chief employers in the town. Here you will learn all about the history of brewing, there is a bar and a café, a collection of historical vehicles and last but not least a Shire horse centre, as it is these magnificent beasts who used to deliver barrels of Bass to pubs around the town. Rugby fans will be interested to visit the Webb Ellis Rugby Football museum in Rugby, which is housed at the former workshop of William Gilbert, the craftsman who made the first rugby ball. There is a treasure trove of memorabilia and amongst other things you can learn how to lace a rugby ball correctly.

The Mid Worcestershire Ring

  • Length –  21 miles
  • Locks – 33

Waterways – River Severn, the Droitwich Barge Canal, the Droitwich Junction Canal, the Worcestershire and Birmingham Canal

Also known as the Droitwich ring, this 21 mile loop is perfect for a weekend away and has only been possible since the Droitwich canals were reopened in 2011, having been shut down for seventy years before that. Starting at Diglis, you can enjoy a pleasant stretch of the River Severn before joining the Droitwich Barge Canal at Hawford (look out for the crooked dovecot) and thence onto the Droitwich Junction Canal.  If you are wondering why Droitwich has two canals to its name, it’s because in bygone days it was a major salt producing town and needed to be able to transport its product to market. The last leg of this charming mini break consists of a few miles travelling south west on the Worcestershire and Birmingham canal.

Mid Worcestershire Ring Highlights

You won’t have much time for off piste diversions on this short run, but if you can spare a moment the Royal Worcestershire’s ceramics museum at Diglis makes a charming visit – you can even book a special tour with tea for two served on exquisite on Royal Worcestershire china.

The South Pennines Ring

  • Length –  73 miles
  • Locks – 197

Waterways – the Ashton Canal, the Calder and Hebble Navigation, the Huddersfield Narrow

Canal, the Rochdale Canal

This mean, moody and magnificent ring crosses the Pennine Hills back and forth and with a whopping 197 locks to navigate, will take you at least two weeks to complete.  You will start on the Ashton canal and then move on to the Calder and Hebble navigation (you will need a handspike for this section, rather than the more customary windlass). From here you enter the Huddersfield Broad canal which leads onto the Huddersfield Narrow canal and after this you begin the steep Pennine climb. The restoration of the waterways around Huddersfield represents a significant achievement as much of the old infrastructure had become derelict. Passage beneath the Pennine ridge is by means of the Standedge tunnel, the longest, deepest and highest canal on the network and justly included as one of the seven wonders of the waterways. The Ashton canal comes next, and benefits from the extensive restoration carried out in preparation for the Commonwealth Games which were held in Manchester in 2002. It is now a delight to cruise along. The last leg starts at the Ducie St junction in Manchester and then takes you along the Rochdale canal back to Sowerby.

South Pennines Ring Highlights

Railway buffs might want to take a ride on the Kirklees Light Railway, a narrow gauge line which runs old steam trains through Whistlestop Valley, whilst fans of Rugby League may itch to see the Huddersfield Giants play at the John Smith stadium – Rugby League was founded in Huddersfield in 1895 following a dispute about players’ pay.  Most of all however, you’ll be looking at the scenery: the landscape is of a scale and majesty to take your breath away.

The Stourport Ring

  • Length – 84 miles
  • Locks – 116

Waterways – the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, the Birmingham Canal Main Line, the Birmingham Canal Old Main Line, the River Severn and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

Two weeks should be sufficient to polish off a ring that manages to be attractively bucolic while taking in three major and very different cities – Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Worcester.  From Aldersley Junction the loop takes you along the Birmingham Canal Navigations ( through the Wolverhampton 21, a flight of locks to put you through your paces) and onto the Worcestershire and Birmingham where you will encounter a further 58 locks before arriving in Worcester.  You can then enjoy an enchantingly rural section on the River Severn, before you are delivered neatly back to your starting point at Aldersley.

Stourport Ring Highlights

If you have kids or grandchildren in tow then the West Midlands Safari Park will tick every single one of their boxes (and therefore yours!)  Located near Bewdley, more than 165 species of animals roam around in secure pens, and there is a small theme park with a wide range of rides. If you need a culture hit after that, you might enjoy Hartlebury Castle.  There have been fortifications on the site near Kidderminster since 855 and and the current castle was constructed in 1268. Now home to the Worcestershire County Museum, there are state rooms to visit and gardens to admire.

The Thames Ring

  • Length –  245 miles
  • Locks – 176

Waterways – the Grand Union Canal, the Oxford Canal and the River Thames

The Thames ring has got the lot: narrow and broad canals, tidal and non tidal rivers and the length is such that it will take you up to forty days to cruise around it, depending on your pace. You set off from one of the world’s greatest capitals, London, along one of the world’s most iconic rivers, the Thames, to the dreaming spires of one of the world’s greatest universities, Oxford, passing Windsor, Eton and Henley along the way. The Isis lock leads onto the Oxford canal which in turn takes you to the Grand Union near Braunston and eventually back to London, where you can either rejoin the Thames at Brentford or take the Paddington arm which goes to Limehouse in the east end of the city.

Thames Ring Highlights

Almost before you set off, you will find yourselves on the doorstep of one of the most stunning attractions in the whole country: the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the gardens cover 500 acres, contain 50,000 plants, shrubs and trees and need a staff of 1100 to do the watering and take care of everything. These statistics don’t do justice to the sheer beauty of the place – you really need to see it for yourselves.

The 245 miles of this fascinating ring offer too many diversions to be able to select only one or two, but any boater tackling this ambitious circumnavigation will surely want to make time for the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, which is just south of the Blisworth  tunnel on the Grand Union canal.  Colonising two floors of an old grain store it is a great place to learn history of the waterways and have a bite to eat or a pint. The mooring is extremely pretty, too.

The Two Roses Ring

  • Length – 183 miles
  • Locks – 214

Waterways –  The Bridgewater Canal, the Leeds Liverpool Canal, the Calder and Hebble Navigation, the Aire and Calder Navigation, the Rochdale Canal

Garlanding the Pennines on both the Yorkshire and the Lancashire side, the Two Roses canal is one of the few cruising rings which is accessible to wider boats. The route follows the Bridgewater canal onto the Leeds Liverpool at Leigh, and there is a tough stretch onward to Wigan with 21 locks to contend with. The scenery is hypnotically beautiful and a constant delight – even the post-industrial sections are strong on atmosphere. Next up is the Aire and Calder navigation, then the Calder and Hebble, before you enter the Rochdale canal at Sowerby and head back to the beginning.

Two Roses Ring Highlights

Leeds is proving to be a the vanguard of cutting edge performance art, with great venues to choose from. The Live Art Bistro and the Holbeck Underground Ballroom both have growing reputations and are worth checking out. Still in cultural mode, Wakefield was the birthplace of Dame Barbara Hepworth and the Hepworth Gallery, designed by stellar architect David Chipperfield, was opened in her memory in 2011.

The Warwickshire Ring

  • Length – 104 miles
  • Locks – 121

Waterways – the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, the Coventry Canal, the Grand Union Canal and the Oxford Canal

Setting off from Fazeley Junction, continue on the Coventry canal until you reach Sutton Stop which will take you onto the Oxford. Stay with this as far as Braunston, when you transfer onto the Grand Union. A highlight of this stretch is the Hatton flight of 21 locks which lifts the canal a massive 146 feet up towards the summit. From here, you drop down to Salford Junction and hitch a ride on the Birmingham and Fazeley back to Fazeley Junction.

As with so many other cruising rings, the Warwickshire loop is an interesting mix of rural backwater and post industrial city centre and the contrast infinitely enhances its appeal. There are numerous pretty little market towns to explore along the route, including Evesham, Droitwich Spa, Leamington Spa and Alvechurch. Those with a literary bent should visit the White Lion Hotel in Upton on Severn, where writer Henry Fielding once stayed. He was clearly impressed with the establishment as he wrote about it in his iconic novel Tom Jones. If you plan your visit well you may be able to moor there in time for the annual jazz festival, which is usually held in mid-July

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