Beginner Friendly Canal Boating Holidays

Over the past 60 years, many thousands of customers have found the fastest way of slowing down is to have a relaxing canal boat holiday with Wyvern Shipping. Last year, we were delighted to welcome back previous customers who have returned time and time again, many of them started out their love for canal boating with Wyvern Shipping and have some wonderful tales to tell.

A large number of our customers have never taken a canal boat before and the Grand Union Canal is an ideal canal to learn the ropes and start enjoying the delights of narrowboat adventures. 

No Experience Required

Even if you have no previous narrow boat hire experience, you will be surprised by just how easy it is to become a confident skipper of your canal boat. Some people call them 'barges', 'narrow boats', 'long boats' or 'charter boats'.

Expert Tuition & Instruction Provided

All of our narrow boats are purpose built by us, for easy and responsive handling and if you have any questions, over any aspect of the waterways, canal or river cruising, we can assist you. At the start of your canal barge holiday as a novice or even if you would like a refresher, our experienced instructors will take you for a free tuition boat trip and show you through a lock. Your instructions will continue until you are confident of how to handle your canal hire boat while enjoying your holiday.
More information about boating can be found on The Canal & River Trust website, you can download the PDF of their Boater's Handbook or you can watch the accompanying Boater's DVD on YouTube.

Where to Go

Wyvern Shipping is based in Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, just an hour’s drive or train journey from London. From here you can take a boat to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as the nearby village of Stoke Bruerne, and towns and cities of Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Northampton. On longer canal holidays you can even explore Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Leicester, Warwick and go over the Chiltern Hills to Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, London and the River Thames.