Sowerby
Bridge/BarnoldswickThis boat offers you the chance to take one of the great canal journeys. You have a huge variety of scenery, from remote countryside on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National park, to newly-built waterfront Leeds. You travel on bold Pennine canals, one of the oldest river navigations, and a wide, fast commercial waterway.
Suggested Routes:This boat is available only for one way trips between Sowerby Bridge (or Huddersfield) and Barnoldswick. You can book for 7 or 14 nights.
On other boats, we also offer:
One Way Trips via the Huddersfield Narrow or Rochdale
Short Breaks 3- 4 nights
Out & Back 7 night holidays
Longer trips 11-14 nights
You can choose to travel via Leeds or Manchester. Both routes require active crews with experience of locks, all of whom are keen to do the journey and put in the boating hours. If you are, there are few more exhilarating journeys on the whole canal system. All are suitable only for experienced crews, and provide unforgettable journeys across the Pennines.
The Manchester route is very demanding, and appeals only to highly experienced boaters who relish very long hours.
84 miles 79 locks 45 hours
Sail down the leafy Calder & Hebble Navigation past Brighouse, and through wide river sections and narrow cuttings to Wakefield, where there are good moorings not too far from the bright lights. Don't miss the Hepworth art gallery, with fixed and visting exhibitions of Barbara Hepworth sculpture and other modern art, in an amazing building by the river with convenient moorings nearby. Then on to Stanley Ferry to see the famous aqueducts and two very convenient and contrasting pubs.
You are now on the Aire & Calder, which is still a thriving commercial waterway, though there are now many more pleasure boats than barges. Electric locks and a wide channel help you speed (relatively) round to Leeds, where you sail past the regenerated waterfront. Then join the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which quickly escapes along its own way through fields and woods, with spectacular views of old West Riding industry - particularly Sir Titus Salt's Italianate mills and model town at Saltaire, with its Hockney museum. There are several staircase locks along the way, which culminate in the Five Rise Locks at Bingley, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.
Carry on past the Five Rise and discover some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere on the canals, with extensive views of the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Skipton makes a splendid place to moor while you explore the Dales by bus or on foot. Then the canal wanders through the moors before the last three locks lift you to the summit pool and so bring you to our base at Lower Park Marina.
This one-way trip is available only on Dorset (4+2 berth). Monday start.
Navigation notes for one way trips: All one way trips require an active crew, all keen to do 8 hours or so boating a day; all routes have many locks and the L & L also has many swing bridges! At least one of the crew must have adequate lock experience (you need to know how to pace yourselves). We will give details on timing etc. in the Information Pack posted to you before your holiday.
Transfer arrangements for Barnoldswick: 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 Barnoldswick 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 Barnoldswick (Skipton or Colne station, taxi required) and Sowerby Bridge from main line trains at Manchester, Preston or Leeds.
One way trip between Sowerby Bridge and Barnoldswick via Manchester, using the Rochdale and Leeds & Liverpool
100 miles 136 locks 65 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 ll* 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. Leave the city by dropping under a skyscraper and taking the last nine locks of the Rochdale to Castlefield, junction with the Bridgewater Canal. Pass the Trafford Centre and turn onto the Leigh Branch. Go to Worsley, and stop to see the birthplace of the canals. Transfer seamlessly to the other Leigh Branch (you will have to look this up). This takes you through to Wigan, where you join the L&L just above the bottom of the famous 21. Pause to explore the covered market. CRT will supervise your passage to the top, with splendid views back over the town. Then you are back in the country, with locks at Johnson's Hill, where the Lancaster Canal never got joined to the L& L. And so through countryside, with views of the (Lancashire) Calder Valley, interspersed with old mill towns like Blackburn, you get to Barnoldswick, where you finish at Lower Park Marina.
Navigation notes: This journey is recommended for experienced crews only. 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 this route.
Your direction of travel will be advised the week before you start.
Transfer arrangements for Barnoldswick: See above.
This one-way trip is only available on Dorsetr. Monday start.
If you are looking for a short break (3 or 4 nights), you have a good choice from Sowerby Bridge or Barnoldswick- 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, Ashton or Barnoldswick.