Narrowboats for boating holidays on canals in the UK

A narrowboat or narrow boat is a type of barge that was designed to fit the narrow locks of the canals in England and Wales. These canal boats were considered to be the largest boats that a horse or mule could pull comfortably all day every day along the canal.

The canals in 1800, before the railways appeared, were the principle method of supplying coal and other goods to the villages and towns around the whole of the industrial centre of England. Unfortunately as these canal boats could only carry 25 tons it soon became more viable to transport heavy goods by using the railways.

At the back of the boat was built a delightful small cabin for the crew to live in. The crew called themselves boatmen and not bargees. The boatmen who lived in these small cabins dreamed of owning castles and having pretty gardens with borders of roses. This not being possibly they would paint roses and castles on their cabin doors and furnishings to brighten their surroundings. This tradition survives today giving narrowboats their very distinctive colours.

Commercial barges have all but disappeared leaving us with the most wonderful recreational waterway system for both narrow boats and barges (on the rivers) to navigate through our small locks or sluices into the deepest unspoilt regions of England ideal for narrow boating holidays or boat hire.

At Wyvern Shipping we have developed the canal cruiser into a very practical and comfortable canal boat for you. So why not hire a boat and cruise the waterways and discover for yourself the excitement of holiday boating that a hire boat will offer. All the boats have been designed and built in our own workshops beside the Grand Union Canal at Leighton Buzzard.

There is over 2000 miles of canals and rivers crossing the length and breadth of England for you to explore by holiday narrow boat. Tunnels to cruise through, aqueducts to navigate over and English pubs to visit for a glass of ale and a boatman’s lunch.

Canal cruising on Wyvern Shipping narrowboats has something for everyone, whether you are an artist, birdwatcher, rambler, walker, cyclist, and combines boating with a little gentle exercise working the locks while cruising some of the most beautiful and diverse English countryside, villages and towns. Why not come on a Wyvern Cruiser for a boat trip or short break canal holiday.

More information on our narrowboats