Holidays Aboard a Canal Boat or Cruiser - Canal Ring Routes

Stoke Bruerne on the Grand Union Canal

Our Top Eleven Favourite Cruising Rings

We cannot think of a more perfect holiday, than taking a boat on a canal circular ring. We've been adding information to our canal maps for some time. We now can show connected waterways that form a circular route and show all the features along the way.

A circular route holds a huge holiday advantage over a return route. Rather than heading back mid-way through your break and seeing again all that you've past on the way out, continue and return via the circular route and enjoy all there is to see.

There are many places to begin your holiday on each of the routes

Step One: Open your chosen route. In the blue box above the map, click 'Show Map Features' and check the box marked 'Boat Holidays' or 'Day Boat Hire & Cruises.

Step Two: To display items on the Circular Ring Maps:

Select icons Boat Holiday Firm Icon to show all Boat Holiday Firms.


Select icons Day Boat Holiday Firm Icon to show all Day Boat Hire Firms.


Step Three: Select a Boat Hire firm of your choosing and click on the 'Visit Website' Website Lick Iconlink or call from the phone number displayed.

Avon Cruising Ring

108 miles with 131 locks
11.5 easy days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Stratford Upon Avon Canal,
Worcester and Birmingham Canal,
River's Avon and Severn

Birmingham Ring

45 miles with 49 locks
7 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Wyrley and Essington, Walsall, Daw End, Birmingham and Fazeley, Tame Valley, Birmingham New Main Line & Rushall Canals

Black Country Ring

68 miles with 71 locks
10 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry, Trent & Mersey, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Birmingham Old Main Line and Birmingham New Main Line Canals

Cheshire Ring

97 miles with 92 locks
7 or 8 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 71 feet 5 in
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Macclesfield, Bridgewater, Peak Forest, Trent & Mersey and Rochdale Canals

Four Counties Ring

110 miles with 93 locks
10 or 11 easy days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Shropshire Union, Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch, Trent & Mersey and Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canals

Leicester Ring

154 miles with 99 locks
12 to 14 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Grand Union Canal Leicester Line and River Soar, the Trent & Mersey, Coventry and Oxford Canals

Mid-Worcestershire Ring

21.1 miles with 33 locks
2 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 71 feet 6 in
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Droitwich Barge and Droitwich Junction Canals, Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the River Severn Navigation

Pennine Rings

183.5 miles with 220 locks
20 to 25 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 62 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Leeds & Liverpool + the Leigh Branch, Aire & Calder Navigation Wakefield Branch, Calder & Hebble Navigation, Huddersfield Broad & Narrow Canals, Ashton, Rochdale, Bridgewater

Stourport Ring

84 miles with 119 locks
10 easy days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
River Severn Navigation, Worcester and Birmingham, Staffordshire and Worcestershire and Birmingham new Main Line Canals

Thames Ring

245 miles with 177 locks
18 to 21 easy days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 72 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Oxford Canal, Grand Union Canal and part of the River Thames

The Warwickshire Ring

104 miles with 105 locks
8 to 9 days cruising
Max Boat Dimensions:
Max Boat Length: 70 feet
Max Boat Width: 6 feet 10 in
Canals Included In This Ring:
Birmingham & Fazeley, Coventry, Oxford and Grand Union Canals

We try our very best, but here's a Disclaimer just in case!

Users of the information displayed in this website or in websites linked to directly or indirectly, do so on the basis that it is a guide only. I Do Canals or its directors, partners or associates do not accept any responsibility for inaccuracies, omissions, costs incurred or disappointments of any kind what-so-ever. It is the users responsibility to check directly with any services, displayed, listed or linked to in or from this website, or associated parties with regards to (but not limited to) directions, costs, facilities, services, hospitality, availability, accommodation, etc. There is no implied recommendation for any of the entries or firms listed, nor is any criticism implied for any entry or firm not yet listed.
We have added 103 Waterways and there are 2200 entries listed and displayed on our maps and/or the resource pages: Waterways Resources - Boat Build & Fit Out - Waterside Attractions. We continue to add items on a very regular basis.
Many entries have several services on offer, on average 5 services (some have many more). This means there are approx. 5 x the number of services listed.

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