1. Planning a Narrowboat Holiday

If you’re thinking about your next trip, these posts are full of tips and ideas to help you plan with confidence, whether it’s your first holiday or your fiftieth.

collage spring 2025 – april narrowboat holiday is the perfect spring get away

• Don’t Book a Narrowboat Holiday – Before Trying this One-Minute Hack
  Smart narrowboaters subscribe to this blog before booking; find out why and get insider tips to make your holiday stress-free.
• First-Time Narrowboat Holiday? Here’s What the Internet Wants You to Know
  From managing locks to keeping dogs safe on board, discover the advice seasoned boaters wish they had before their first cruise.
• Buying a Slice of Heaven – My Experience of Buying a Narrowboat
  If you’re planning to go boat shopping but are a novice, it is always a good idea to enlist an “in-the-know” friend to accompany you.
• Why an April Narrowboat Holiday is the Perfect Spring Getaway
  Spot wildlife, enjoy cosy waterside pubs, and cruise through peaceful Fenland landscapes in the best season for a trip.

2. Family Life and Shared Adventures

Narrowboating is full of moments big and small that bring families closer together; from learning to steer to tending a rooftop garden, there is plenty for everyone to enjoy.

milla & daughter narrowboat alice elgie

• Boating Adventures with Four-Legged Friends
  With endless towpaths for walks, relaxing cruising time, and cosy evenings on deck, boating is perfect for pets as well as people.
• Narrowboat Roof Gardening (with or without children!)
  Gardening from the boat teaches patience and wonder, perfect for little hands and curious minds alike.
• Why Your Kids Will Love a Narrowboat Summer Holiday
  From spotting ducks to steering the boat, discover how a narrowboat holiday offers adventure, relaxation, and family bonding without leaving the UK.
• A Writer’s Experience of a Family Narrowboat Adventure
  In an increasingly busy world, an escape to life on the cut gives families the chance to slow down and reconnect.

3. Romance, Rest and Reconnection

Sometimes a canal boat holiday is just about slowing down, spending time together, or finding a little magic in everyday moments.

• Narrowboating Through Winter
  There is a quiet romance to basic meals cooked on the fire, giving you permission to hunker down and switch off from the world.
• The Lovers Guide To The Fen Waterways
  Scenic views, cosy pub lunches, and strolling hand in hand along cobbled streets make the Fenland waterways a perfect romantic getaway.

4. Living a Slower, Greener Life

Life on the cut encourages a gentler rhythm and a closer connection to the world around you; mindfulness, seasonal awareness, and simple eco-friendly choices can make every trip feel special.

greener living on a narrowboat

• Mindfulness on the Waterways
  Mindfulness is a way of being within the community, both human and animal, and it helps keep canals peaceful for everyone.
• A Simpler Greener Freer Lifestyle On Board A Narrowboat
  Use your move afloat or narrowboat holiday to slow down, reconnect with nature, and consider the impact of technology and your environmental footprint.
• Autumnal Foraging on the Towpath
  Enjoy seasonal treats while treading lightly, and discover the beauty and bounty of the hedgerows.

5. Places, Nature and Inspiration

From wildlife to seasonal scenery, waterways maps to historic destinations, there is always something to inspire you on the canals.

• Spring On The Cut
  Nature through a narrowboat window draws you in like nothing else, offering an immersive, ever-changing view of the world outside.
• Autumn On The Water – Diary of Living On A Narrowboat
  Reeds sway and leaves twirl across the water, a reminder of the beauty of seasonal change.
• Exploring Cambridgeshire’s Wildlife: Spotting Flora and Fauna with Fox Narrowboats
  Swans, kingfishers, and more, there is always something new to spot around every river bend.
• The Seven Wonders of the Fenland Waterways
  From medieval bridges to breath-taking scenery, take a canal journey through hidden Fenland wonders.
• A Canal-Themed Christmas, Dreaming of Your 2026 Waterways Escape
  While our boats rest for winter, imagine frosty towpaths, festive days out, and the timeless beauty of Ely Cathedral.
• Puss in Boats: Can Cats Live Afloat On A Narrowboat?
  From towpath adventures to roof-top sunbathing, discover how boat cats enjoy life on the cut.

We hope these highlights inspire your own adventures on the waterways this year. There is always something new to discover.

Love canal boating? Make 2026 your year on the waterways! For inspiring tips, seasonal ideas, and surprising insights for your next Fenland adventure, enter your email in the ‘Follow Blog’ box on the right-hand side, and we’ll send new articles straight to your inbox.

Peggy Melmoth is a writer who spent thirteen years living on canal boats with her family. She writes about narrowboat holidays, life on the waterways, and finding adventure in everyday moments at www.narrowboatwife.com

The post Fox Narrowboats: Highlights from Our Blog in 2025 appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

Jesus Green Lock

More than half a century ago, one of the founding fathers of the Inland Waterways Association, Robert Aickman wrote about the “Seven Wonders of the Waterways”. I’ve boated each of these Wonders and ticked them off my ‘to visit’ list. Although such structures as the Pontycysyllte Aqueduct obviously deserve every accolade available, while I marveled at Stanedge Tunnel, half way through I did ‘wonder’ just how much I was enjoying it. When we started up Caen Hill in tandem with another narrowboat, (who decided without warning to turn back after the lower 7 locks!), I ‘wondered’ how much I was enjoying the experience when halfway up the remaining 22 locks a descending hire boat decided to fully open the sluices of the empty lock I was in, without either asking, or warning, me !

I have another, personal, list – the “Seven Most Wonderful Places to Boat”. There are some occasions on which I have had to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to be boating in such a breathtakingly wonderful place. Clearly, crossing the Pontycysyllte comes high up on the list. But add to that list, mooring in the historic Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool- oozing history from every piece of stone and iron column, or visiting Bristol floating harbour and steaming past the S.S. Great Britain to visit the Harbour Master. Mooring in the heart of Bath with the gorgeous Georgian terraces rolling down the hill in front of you. The breathtaking beauty of crossing the Pennines on the Leeds & Liverpool, or mooring on the Thames in front of Hampton Court Palace with the evening sunlight bathing Jean Tijou’s magnificent wrought iron gates in its golden glow. Travelling up the truly beautiful River Nene in spring when the may blossom fills the valley of the clear flowing river, populated with historic watermills and beautiful stone villages each crowned by a picturesque church. These are just some of my favourite things !

And on a roasting, shirtsleeved February day (the warmest since records began) in bright sunshine we experienced a new ‘drop-dead gorgeous’, not to be missed, special boating location – the Cambridge Backs.  This is probably the most beautiful area of the River Cam, above Jesus Green Lock. It flows past some of Cambridge’s finest buildings (including King’s College Chapel) and provides that world-famous view of Cambridge.

Navigation is prohibited to powered craft during the summer. This is probably just as well because in high season this part of the river becomes a confused mass of hundreds of punts, bobbing haphazardly across the river like a confused giant children’s game of ‘Pick-Up Sticks’. But between 1st October and 31 March access is permitted, so long as you give the river manager 48 hours notice.

The idea of taking up this seasonal opportunity to boat this famous stretch of water was put into our minds by Simon Judge, doyen of St Pancras Cruising Club, in a Facebook entry inviting interested parties to join him on a cruise on the last Saturday of February. We jumped at the opportunity to accompany Simon in our 45 narrowboat ‘Lily May’, bought the necessary Cam Licence (an addition to the EA licence required to get as far up the Cam as Bottisham Lock).

We boated up to Cambridge on the Friday, easily finding space on the visitor moorings below Jesus Green Lock. Being permitted to take your home (snail like) and moor it in the middle of one of our great cities is to me one of the true marvels on boating the Inland Waterways. We over-nighted in Cambridge (where the cost of an hotel is eye watering) for absolutely nothing !

As the sun struggled to burn through the morning mist we assembled at the lock, where Simon joined us in ‘Scholar Gypsy’ (title of a poem by Matthew Arnold, son of that other great University City, Oxford). Jesus Green Lock is one of those logic defying locks with the only means of crossing from one side of the lock to the other, by swing bridge which spans the lock and has to be removed before you can fill the lock, a seeming impossibility for the single-handed boater. Fortunately between the two boats we were well crewed.

The short journey requires passing under 10 bridges. By the time we had reached the first, Magdalen, the sun had conquered its battle with the morning mist, and we were bathed in glorious sunshine !

There are two considerations that the intrepid boater of Cambridge Backs ignores at their peril. Bridges and punts ! The height of the bridges requires careful attention. The third one you pass under, St. John’s Kitchen Bridge is the lowest, with a published air clearance of six foot nine inches. However one is well advised to remember that:-

a)    like any river the water levels in the Cam rise after rain, and clearances quickly reduce,

b)    the published height is to the centre of an arc, and will be lower where the corners of your boat pass under,

c)    the computation of air clearance assumes that your boat is passing under at right angles to the line of the bridge, and on a narrow and bendy river the effects of wind and other boaters can combine to make it harder to ‘shoot the bridge‘ in a perpendicular line.

A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow and stern, about 24 feet long and 3 feet wide, designed for use in small rivers and shallow water. The punter propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a 12 – 16 foot long pole. Pleasure punting developed on the river Thames in the 1860s and arrived in Cambridge about 1902. The bows of a punt features a flat raised deck known as the ‘trill’ and the stern called the ‘huff’, which features cross plans (a.k.a. treads). The punter (propelling the boat) stands at one of the ends and pushes the boat away from him (or her). In Oxford the punter stands with a secure foot hold in the stern and proceeds bow first. However in Cambridge the punter stands on the flat raised bow or deck (with little secure foot grip) and propels the boat stern first. This less stable practice is said to have arisen in the Edwardian era when the lady undergraduates of Girton College felt it better showed off their ankles.

There is no towpath along this section of the Cam. In the 18th and 19th Centuries when deliveries were made to the Colleges it was by horse drawn barge. The Cam isn’t deep, and old prints show the horses wading chest-deep through the water, pulling barges and lighters. To facilitate this a cobbled causeway was laid down the centre of the river.

There are two kinds of punts in Cambridge, single width boats hired by the hour, generally to absolute novices, who laugh and splash and pose for selfies as they career haphazardly along the river, often crashing from side to side, sometimes assisted by the occasional alcoholic libation. There are also double width boats with ‘professional’ chauffeurs, propelling the boat, seemingly effortlessly, in a straight line (while dodging the beginners) straight up the middle of the river. These seasoned punters are following the hidden causeway along the centre of the river because it is far easier to propel their heavily laden boat by pushing off against solid cobbles than to allow the pole to sink into the clinging mud either side of this causeway.

The ‘middle of the river’ punt chauffeurs certainly aren’t prepared to surrender the precious centre of the bridges to narrowboats, pinball punting novices, or even other chauffeur punts. There is a famous annual 420 rowing boats race on the Thames in London where every cox has been told to ‘aim for the second lamp post on the right’ on Hammersmith Bridge, and the onlooker can revel in the chaos as all the boats steer for the same point, seemingly regardless of other boats. Similarly on the Cam, everyone heads for the centre of the bridges, with little or no consideration for other boats eyeing up the same destination !

The universal rule ‘steam gives way to sail’ clearly still applies, even if it has been transcribed to ‘beta 43 marine engine gives way to madly waving pole’ ! Of course it hasn’t crossed the punters’ minds that our boat may weigh 15 tons and doesn’t have brakes. Picking your way through, often on no more than tick-over, can feel like you are dancing around delicate china in hob nailed boots !

The custodians of the river, the Cam Conservators recommend positioning a look out in the bows, just to watch for wayward punts. By the first bridge punts were coming, from seemingly every direction, thick and fast. After the rather stodgy cast iron Victorian Magdalen Bridge, the next one is the Grade 1 listed Bridge of Sighs. There are a number of similarly named bridges around the world, but the inspirational original was constructed in 1600 in Venice and given the nick-name (which stuck) by Lord Byron. Cambridge’s was built in 1831, and bathed in the strong spring sunlight was breathtaking !

The next bridge, St John’s Kitchen Bridge, is a pleasant stone bridge. The Conservators ‘guide to navigating the … backs’ advises caution:

“this is the lowest and most challenging of all the bridges. Headroom at the apex of the largest middle arch is 2.08m / 6’9”. the curvature of the arch constrains the width available. You must ensure that your vessel is aligned dead-centre before proceeding. On the return passage, the entrance to the bridge is blind. Take especial care.”

Trinity Bridge, next, is another stone built bridge and is the second lowest bridge that we passed under. However, as we’d just squeezed under St John’s Kitchen Bridge, it wasn’t a problem. After a nondescript modern pedestrian bridge (Garret Hostel bridge) we arrived at Cambridge’s oldest, Clare Bridge. This is the only bridge to survive the English Civil War. Its considerable antiquity can be seen in its higgledy piggledy appearance.

After another stone bridge (King’s) we came to probably Cambridge’s most famous, the Mathematical Bridge. There is a popular myth that this bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton without the use of nuts or bolts, and that in the past students dismantled it, but couldn’t work out how to reassemble it again without using bolts. In fact mechanical fixings were always part of the design, it’s just that originally it employed spikes driven through the joints from outside (where they could not be seen from the inside of the parapets), whereas when it was rebuilt, big hand cut square bolts were used which are still highly visible. The bridge was originally constructed in 1749. Newton had already died in 1727 so his direct involvement in the bridge’s construction appears unlikely.

The last bridge is Silver Street. It’s a single span bridge, clad in Portland Stone, designed by Sr Edward Lutyens, and built in the late 1950s. In the middle it has a generous 8’7” air draft, but immediately upstream (to the left as we were travelling) is Mill Lane punting station with rafts of moored punts. We had to turn 90 degrees right immediately as we emerged from under the bridge, a manoeuvre made harder by extremely slow speed and punts absolutely everywhere.

We had reached Head of Navigation. There is a small weir, and the only boats that could access the river above the weir (here called Granta, despite remaining the Cam) were either boats that could be lifted by hand, or punts which are dragged across rollers. We winded in the mill pond, known as the Mill Pit. The Conservator’s navigation guide advises: “allow the water coming over the weir to carry the bows around”.

Travelling up the Cam from Jesus Green Lock had taken about an hour. It took at least another hour to retrace our route back to Jesus Green Lock. If possible, progress was even slower on the return journey, as the unseasonably stunning weather had attracted even more punts to the water. I often observe “if I was in a hurry I wouldn’t have bought a boat”. Nowhere does this more apply than to the Cambridge Backs. However the most leisurely cruising speed I can ever remember adopting, gives you more time to enjoy the uniquely special views of Cambridge from the water.

The Backs have become a firm entry into my “Seven Most Wonderful Places to Boat” list of uniquely special locations, but I doubt, however many times we might boat the Backs again in the future, that the weather will ever be so kind to us as on this trip !

Please be aware that a trip on the backs cannot be done during the hire boat season.  You can however take a punt from Scudamores to recreate this journey on a weeks boating holiday from our March base..

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The post Boating the Cambridge Backs with Chris Howes appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

With so much countryside, wildlife, heritage and things to see and do on the East Anglian waterways you may enjoy spending some time planning your ideal holiday route, before you come.

Our first tip is that you should never over-estimate how far you can go on your holiday!

A canal boat’s maximum speed is four miles an hour, but you’ll often find yourself moving much slower than that. You also need to factor in the locks, which take at least twenty minutes each, more if you are waiting for another boat to come through: So don’t try to do too much. However, going slow is part of the charm of a narrowboat holiday – it’s as much about the journey as it is about the places that you visit on the way!

“Canals are the fastest way of slowing down”.

You can stop to moor your boat at a variety of moorings; just not near bridges, junctions, locks or in other company’s boat yards without their permission. Environment Agency and other mooring sites are listed in the waterway guides and maps. Our company is also a member of GOBA so on the river Great Ouse their moorings are also available for your use. Your hire boat is supplied with mooring ropes fore and aft, steel ‘mooring pins’ and hammer.

Here are five brilliant resources for planning your lazy holiday cruise.

1) Fox Waterways Routes

First you can get a rough idea of where you want to go, from our website. Our online route guide will take you through the possible boating journeys, showing highlights on the waterways and good places to visit. You will cruise through rivers, canals and open sections during your boat hire holiday. From our hire boat base there is a choice of the waterways of East England, including the River Ouse, the Nene and the Middle Levels. See our simple maps and descriptions of places to visit here: Fox Waterways Routes.

2) Guide Books and Maps

Once you’re on board your hire boat you will find that we provide Imray guide books and Lockmaster maps with each boat. The Imray guides cover our local navigable rivers, creeks and lodes. The maps in each book are accompanied by essential notes and interesting commentary to help you find your way. For example, they cover places to moor, pubs to visit, towns to see and useful phone numbers. Lockmaster Maps are a famous series of canal and inland waterway maps printed at 1/2″ to the mile and offer a beautifully, detailed navigation guide.

Before your holiday begins you can also play around at home with various online guides.

3) CanalPlanAC

Nick’s Canal Route Planner — CanalPlanAC — is an interactive online guide to the inland waterways.

It helps you to plan your journey or holiday by calculating the length (distance, number of locks, time taken) of your trip and shows information about pubs and shops etcetera on the way. There are also plenty of waterways photographs on the site, so that you can begin to imagine your trip.

4) Boat Sat Nav

This online guide is optimised for use on mobile GPS devices such as phones and tablets (best) but is still accessible online using a laptop or desktop computer. It shows lock positions, services, moorings, shops, chemists, cash points, takeaways, bus and rail connections and more. The info is constantly updated. On a mobile device all you need is the Google Maps App and a Google account. On a laptop or desktop you don’t need anything other than a web browser to use this.

Boat Sat Nav

5) Waterway Routes

Waterway routes offer downloadable cruising maps for your computer, Android, iPhone/iPad or printout. These are available to buy in PDF or QCT format. QCT (QuickChart) is the file format used by Memory-Map software to store digital maps and charts. They offer waterways guides individually, but you can save money by ordering a bundle, such as the three cruising maps for River Nene and Middle Level Navigations + River Great Ouse and Tributaries. Fox Boats director, Paula Syred, likes to use these maps.

Wi-Fi is available on all our boats, which also have in-car chargers and 240v power supplies. There is a 1.25GB allowance for short breaks and 2.5GB per week.

Which Boat?

While planning your holiday route why not also begin thinking about which boat you’d like to hire? We have different sized boats sleeping different numbers of people. See the different layouts inside the boats here: Fox Holiday Fleet.

You may also like: How to Plan a Narrowboat Holiday That Your Family Will Love

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The post How to Plan a Fenland Narrowboat Hire Holiday appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

We have asked our staff for their top 3 picks for a short break.

narrowboat holiday ely

Tracey our finance director would head off to Ferry Meadows Country Park on the river Nene with it’s visitor moorings in Overton lake.  It’s perfect for families you may wish to walk, cycle, play in the children’s playground, ride a train or visit the on site café and visitors centre.

Emily our general manager likes to head to Ely on the river Great Ouse with its riverside mooring and dining scene, she says it is also worth taking time to visit the cathedral which has it origins in AD672. The present building dates back to 1083 with its most famous feature being the stunning octagonal tower and lantern.

Paula our managing director likes the peace and tranquillity of exploring the Middle Level Navigations and mooring in open countryside to relax, unwind and read a book and to watch for wildlife such as the kingfishers of the old river Nene and goes on to say that if you are extremely lucky you may spot an otter playing before dusk. She also recommends an evening meal at the Golden Lion, Stonea. Although its a scramble up the river bank to reach  and you do have to watch the road the portion sizes are worth it. Just make sure you are hungry.

Check the availability for a last minute break.

The post Get away for a short break this June appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

If you’re considering saving money by choosing a UK ‘stay-cation’ next year, then you may find that canal boats are a surprisingly comfortable way to experience the English countryside. We can’t predict the weather, but we can predict that you’ll have a good holiday; even if it rains.

Firstly you must remember that constantly cruising is not compulsory, so if you do experience showers you have the freedom to moor up and head to the galley for a coffee and a cake. Our holiday boats are equipped with all mod-cons and creature comforts, such as central heating, Wi-Fi and TV.

Try curling up on board with a good book, while you wait for a shower to pass. At the moment I’m reading Water Gypsies by Annie Murray, but I also recommend Narrowboat Dreams by Steve Haywood, Narrowdog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington or Ramlin Rose by Sheila Stewart. Remember, cruising is only part of the experience of staying on a narrowboat. In our busy lives we rarely get the time to stop and play cards or board games, let alone on board a warm and cosy canal boat. However, to prevent cabin fever there will be plenty of opportunities to visit canal side pubs, shops and tourist attractions too.

If you pack some decent wet weather gear you may be surprised that you enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a crew working the locks, whatever the weather. When I’m boating in the rain I wear a great big rain poncho, and still enjoy the peaceful rural views. It makes it all the more worthwhile when you come back indoors and get into some warm dry clothes and have a hot drink, feeling a kind of smug sense of satisfaction and achievement at having moored up at the day’s destination. Perhaps you have to really love narrowboating to enjoy it in all weathers: but luckily I do!

The real fun of being on a narrowboat though, is the realisation that you can move your holiday home whenever you want: So while today you may awaken somewhere rural and peaceful, tomorrow you may be exploring the ancient streets or Peterborough, Ely or Cambridge. Take in idyllic riverside villages, historic buildings and ancient monuments and experience England at a slower pace.

So, would you be on deck with me, windlass in hand, curled up on board with a book, or exploring the towns and villages “on the bank”?

Take a look at where you could go exploring by seeing our suggested Fox Boats routes.

The post How to Enjoy Your Narrowboat Holiday Even if it Rains appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.