England Cottages Exchanges Worldwide Character narrowboats for canal cruising Middlewich Narrowboats are based at the centre of the canal system in the North West of England. Three main routes radiate directly from our base, and lead to the most attractive and popular parts of the system. We specialise in character canal boats, and half our fleet is built in 'traditional' style. This follows the cabin design of the old commercial canal boats, the steerer standing between the rear doors. We copy as much of the historic detail as possible, and some boats have replicas of the famous 'boatman's back cabin'.
Friends can stand on the gunnels or sit on the roof, with the main seating area in the bow.
Other boats have a cruiser stern, where there is space for several people to sit, or are semi-traditional with a large cruiser deck enclosed by cabin sides and doors. One week cruises from Middlewich include the Four Counties Ring, the Caldon canal, Chester and Ellesmere Port, Llangollen Canal, the Cheshire Ring, and the western section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Longer cruises can reach the River Severn, or go through Staffordshire and Leicestershire, cover the Birmingham Ring, or eastern sections of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Our boats sleep from 2 to 12 people with one or two flushing toilets and showers, and hot and cold water to all basins. There are washbasins, drawers and wardrobes in or adjacent to bedrooms.