Private Tour: 2-Night Peak District Canal Boat Trip from Manchester

Combine the north of England's serene countryside with the city lights of Manchester on this 2-night private canal boat tour! With a back-to-basics (yet comfortable) narrowboat for transport and accommodation, the tour passes along the Peak Forest Canal, through scenic locks, limestone villages and along the 200-year-old Marple Aqueduct, before switching onto the Ashton Canal to return to Manchester. All driving is done by your hosts, so no boating experience is necessary – just a desire to help out when needed as you cruise!

Straddling the countryside of scenic north Derbyshire is the Peak District National Park, an area typified by rugged moorland and green hills that cover the southern slopes of the Pennines – northern England’s low-rising mountain range. Punctuated by scenic limestone villages, sheep and very little else, the area is popular with walkers who come to escape the nearby cities and be at one with nature.

A series of little canals that weave through the valleys, forming part of the Pennine Waterways. Once important trade routes, the canals today are a hidden gem for visitors and locals alike; they’re a great find for those who want to see the Peak District from a totally different angle. On your 2-night boat tour, you’ll do just that.

Leave Manchester and travel southeast by minibus to Bugsworth Basin on the edge of the Peak District. Board your narrowboat and cruise north back toward Manchester, along a 15-mile (24-km) waterway called the Peak Forest Canal. The stretch of water ends at Portland Basin, so from here you’ll switch to the Ashton Canal, heading through the neighborhoods of Greater Manchester and then back into Manchester itself.

Your narrowboat is driven by your hosts Mark and Ruth – a friendly couple who own the boat and have years of experience traveling the world and managing hostels. Throughout your tour an emphasis is put on ‘pitching in’– helping with anything from lifting moveable bridges to guiding your boat through the locks. Meals consist of hearty ‘boat-cooked’ fare and are eaten on board. Evenings are spent socializing around the onboard ale pump or visiting local pubs close to where you dock. Nights are spent in the comfortable bunk beds back on the boat. Back to basics this may be, but as a fun and unique way to see the North West of England, it's sure not to disappoint!

Please note: If traveling on a Wednesday or Thursday, the itinerary operates with a slightly different schedule on Days 1 and 2. Notable changes include seeing Torrs Riverside Park on the morning of Day 2 instead of Day 1, and docking overnight in the Greater Manchester neighborhood of Romiley. The tour finishes in Hyde (a central Manchester neighborhood) on Day 3.

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