Sowerby
Bridge/AshtonThis boat offers you the chance to cross the Pennines on an unforgettable journey, using one of two recently-restored canals: the Huddersfield Narrow or the Rochdale.
Suggested Routes:This boat is available only for one way trips between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton. You can book for 7 or 14 nights.
On other boats, we also offer:
One Way Trips via the Leeds & Liverpool
Short Breaks 3- 4 nights
Out & Back 7 night holidays
Longer trips 11-14 nights
33 miles 97 locks 40 hours
Sail down the Calder & Hebble Navigation past Brighouse, with a short river section to Cooper Bridge, where you take the right turn into the bottom lock of the Huddersfield Broad. This leads you up through the outskirts of Huddersfield right into the City centre. Go through the University, a weird but satisfying juxtaposition of sixties high-rise and nineties mill conversion, then dive under another mill (this one real) into the first of two new tunnels which lead directly into new locks. As you emerge, a steel-truss railway viaduct frames the start of your journey up the Colne valley into the hills. At Slaithwaite the canal has been put back on its original track. You will enjoy exploring the village. Then go on towards the summit, past Marsden, whose Mechanics Institute is the home of Mikron Theatre (though they will be away touring). So at last you come to the summit, 644’ 9” above sea level, where a very short pool makes the entrance into Standedge Tunnel all the more dramatic by its understatement. The Standedge Visitor Centre gives an unforgettable insight into the lives of the tunnellers who blasted their way under the Pennines, the packhorse teams who preceded them over the top, and the leggers who took the boats through 3 ¼ miles of pitch dark. Your trip through the tunnel, guided by Canal & River Trust, allows you to see the work of the original miners and of their modern successors.
After the tunnel, the canal descends quickly through the Diggle flight, then into the Saddleworth villages, with weavers’ cottages, and genuine charm as well as craft shops. The centre of Stalybridge has been transformed by the construction of the new canal. You enter Ashton by passing under an ASDA, to be compared with the Sainsbury’s you passed at Huddersfield several days (and 74 locks) ago. Our base is at Bridge 24 on the Ashton, a little past the Industrial Museum at Portland Basin.
This one-way trip is available only on Cornwall. Saturday start.
Navigation notes: One way trips require an active crew, all keen to do 8 hours or so boating a day; all routes have many locks. At least one of the crew must have adequate lock experience (you need to know how to pace yourselves, and we cannot give lock instruction to those who start from Ashton). We will give details on timing etc. in the Information Pack posted to you before your holiday. The Huddersfield Narrow is not yet in as good condition as other canals and you may experience difficulty or delays. Some of the locks can be hard work. Passage through Standedge is available only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (which suit our start days). You must tell us at the time of booking that you intend to do the Huddersfield Narrow.
Transfer arrangements for Ashton: Your direction of travel will be advised the week before you start: it depends on that taken by previous crews. Your Information Pack has all details for both directions. You will come first to Sowerby Bridge whichever way the boat is going. All cars are parked here for security. The easy 20-mile transfer by minibus or taxi to or from Ashton will accordingly be at either the beginning or the end of your holiday. Cost about £10 per head, minimum £40, payable to the driver on the day. Full information is sent to you in good time and details are discussed with you. Those travelling entirely by train can get to Ashton (Guide Bridge station) and Sowerby Bridge from main line trains at Manchester or Preston.
One way trip between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton-under-Lyne via the Rochdale Canal
38 miles 100 locks 40 hours
There are real contrasts between the urban Manchester end, some newly regenerated, and some waiting for that; and the Pennine crossing, which has some of the most striking scenery on the system.
Leaving our historic canal basin, your journey begins with the excitement of a new tunnel and the deepest lock in the country. The canal gradually climbs through woods, fields and small stone towns to Hebden Bridge. This old mill town nestles in a fork in the hills, houses piled tier upon tier. Hebden has excellent shops and is full of surprises – everything from horsey clothing to hand-made pottery. Untie, and go on up the valley, its sides closing in with crags and trees and views of the moors high above. A stream runs alongside, and the locks are set among woods or stone cottages. The Pennine Way crosses at Callis.
So to Todmorden, completely untouristy yet with much to enjoy – fine Victorian buildings, especially the Town Hall, a lively market and many places to eat and drink, all dominated by a curving railway viaduct. From here the going gets serious – more Alpine than Pennine. Another 18 locks in just three miles bring you breathless but exhilarated to the summit, at 600' the second highest you can scale in England. You will have earned a drink at the Summit Inn.
From here, you drop down into Littleborough. Pass Clegg Hall, a Grade 2* listed building dating from 1618, which was long a ruin but has now been restored. Soon you come to Rochdale itself, where some of the biggest restoration projects have been tackled, including the M62, which for so long seemed permanently to block the canal. Now you go under it by a short but ingenious deviation of the canal. Then descend through town and country, transformed by the restoration of the canal, right to the centre of Manchester. Pubs and restaurants welcome boaters, and the city is full of life and things to do. Finally, follow the Ashton to base.
This one-way trip is available only on Cornwall. Saturday start.
Navigation notes and transfer arrangements: One way trips require an active crew, all keen to do 8 hours or so boating a day; all routes have many locks. At least one of the crew must have adequate lock experience (you need to know how to pace yourselves, and we cannot give lock instruction to those who start from Ashton). We will give details on timing etc. in the Information Pack posted to you before your holiday. The Manchester end of the Rochdale can be hard work, and assistance may be available from CRT. We will give further details in the Information Pack posted to you before your holiday. You must tell us at the time of booking that you intend to do the Rochdale Canal.
Transfer arrangements for Ashton: See above.
One Way Trips via the Leeds & Liverpool 7 nights
We also offer you one-way trips on other boats between Huddersfield or Sowerby Bridge and Barnoldswick on the Leeds & Liverpool. Search again, looking under Location: Sowerby Bridge/Barnoldswick for Dorset (4+2 berth). These trips are suitable only for experienced crews, and provide unforgettable journeys across the Pennines.
If you are looking for a short break (3 or 4 nights), you have a good choice from Sowerby Bridge or Barnolswick - but not on this boat. Please search again, specifying Weekend or Midweek Break, and look out for boats under Location: Sowerby Bridge or Barnoldswick.
Out & Back 7 night holidays
Longer trips
11 to 14 nights
We offer a wide variety of 7 night and longer holidays, enabling you to explore the Pennine Yorkshire waterways. These are available on other boats. To find them, search again, and look out for red and blue boats under Location: Sowerby Bridge.