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Welcome Aboard!

Canal boats, barges, longboats, call them what you will, there is nothing to compare with the unique experience of a narrow boat for exploring Britain's beautiful countryside. Enforced relaxation while drifting along at no more than 4 miles per hour, a flurry of activity as you come to a flight of locks. A dog friendly holiday of contrasts, taken at a slow pace. The variety is endless; city, town, village and country, wide and narrow canals. Every bend in the canal brings forth some new delight, every mile some new feature. Narrowboat holidays are for relaxation, for unwinding from everyday pressures, for doing what you like, when you like. With us you have the choice of seven bases, each with their own unique routes to help you discover a little more of this beautiful country of ours.

London Base

The London base is an ideal place from which to explore London and its attractions at an easy pace. It combines the best of the sights along with a more relaxed lifestyle. The Grand Union Canal Paddington Arm will take you through the heart of London, past most of the attractions of the big city and many hidden gems conveniently accessed via the waterways. Further afield, though easily reached via London transport you can see Buckingham Palace, the London museums and art galleries, Covent Garden’s famous markets or go and see a west end show. The London Underground and bus connections will take you to wherever you want to go off the water and at the end of the day you leave the city behind and return to the peace of the waterways.

Suggested Routes From London

1. THE LONDON RING
44 Miles, 25 Locks, 4 Day or 1 Week Cruise, 4 hours per day (ROUTE A) 
The ring is followed clockwise into the heart of London. It goes through Little Venice to the Paddington Basin which enables you to visit Portobello Road Market, London Zoo, Regent’s Park and Lord’s Cricket Ground. You can then follow the ring onto the Limehouse Basin which offers great restaurants and pubs as well as the Docklands museum. From there you will go onto the Thames and head upstream. For this you will require a valid VHF radio licence and tide tables to tell you when the Thames lock will be open. Once travelling up the Thames, you have the opportunity to take in the famous bridges, the Tower of London, the Millenium Wheel, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Further upstream, you will reach Brentford. Within walking distance of Brentford there is the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and the Kew Bridge Steam museum which are well worth a visit. From Brentford you will enter the Grand Union Canal, up the Hanwell flight and return to base.

2. LEIGHTON BUZZARD AND RETURN
42 Miles, 63 Locks, 1 Week Cruise, 8 hours per day (ROUTE B) 
Travel anti-clockwise from base and join the Grand Union Canal main line at Bull’s Bridge. This picturesque route takes you on via Uxbridge, a bustling outer suburb of London, following the course of the River Colne and on through to Harefield. From there you travel through the Chilterns where the you can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the scenery. Continue to follow the route over the summit until you reach Leighton Buzzard. Leighton Buzzard is an historic market town which is located in the south west corner of Bedfordshire. It has some great waterside pubs and plenty of shops from where you can stock up on provisions.

3. HERTFORD AND RETURN 
50 Miles, 32 Locks, 1 Week Cruise, 8.5 hours per day (ROUTE C)
Travel clockwise from base to Little Venice and Camden Town and on to the Hertford Union Canal. From there it’s a short distance to the River Lee Navigation. This surprisingly open waterway runs past well known parts of East London such as Bow, Hackney Marsh and Tottenham and on through the whole length of the beautiful Lee Valley Park. At Waltham Abbey you can visit the Royal Gunpowder Mills. At Rye Park you can turn East if you have time and travel up the River Stort Navigation towards Bishop Stortford or you can choose to continue towards Hertford. Hertford is a country town, despite being less than 20 miles from London. Perhaps you might like to explore the markets which take place in the town twice a week, or soak up the historical atmosphere. You will find some great places to eat and explore along the way.

4. READING AND RETURN
133 Miles, 33 Locks, 1 Week Cruise, 12.5 hours per day (ROUTE D)
VHF radio is not required for this route. Travel anti-clockwise from base and join the Grand Union Canal main line at Bull’s Bridge and then on to Brentford where you join the River Thames. At Brentford you are within walking distance of Kew Gardens which are always well worth a visit for the unusual flora. There is really so much to be said about this superb and historical stretch of the Thames. Continue at a steady pace past Richmond and on towards Hampton Court, a stately home dating back to the times of Henry VIII. From there, continue up the river at a gentle pace towards Windsor Castle, one of the current Queen’s residences and open to the public. The route takes you on through Henley, where the Regatta takes place during July, to Reading, where the Thames and the River Kennet meet. Reading is a large town with its own abbey, theatres and museums.

The Finest Fleet Afloat

2 to 4 berths | 4 to 6 berths | 6 to 8 berths | 8 to 10 berths

Over the past few years, Black Prince has invested more than any other company in building a fleet of bespoke, modern, award winning boats, making our fleet the youngest in the country. This year sees the introduction of even more. All of our boats have water cooled engines, full central heating, airing cupboards, showers, superior macerator toilets, cookers, fridges (with small freezer unit), colour tv, radios, CD and DVD players and much more; in fact the normal comforts of home.