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Private canal boat hire from the Heart of the English Midlands.
Welcome to UKvacationsAfloat, private narrowboat boat hire from the Heart of the English Midlands. Hello, I’m Mike and this is my wife Enza (Vincenza).
We own a 6-berth fully equipped narrowboat called Kodran and we moor him with JD Boats Limited at Gailey Wharf on the Staffs & Worcester canal, just outside Penkridge in rural Staffordshire. And we’d love to share him with you!
We live in Toronto and stay aboard Kodran when holidaying to visit relatives in the UK and friends in Europe. Most of the time Kodran is available as a private narrowboat hire to couples or larger groups of families and friends who, like us, love the experience of a get-away-from-it-all holiday on the Midlands canal system.
Check Kodran’s availability on this page and prices for week-long, weekend and mid-week breaks here. What to see and do on a narrowboat holiday during the March to October cruising season is in this blog post, and tips for what to bring along, especially if travelling from overseas, here.
Canal Heritage
There’s so many places to cruise to from Gailey Wharf, which makes it the perfect central location for a private narrowboat hire holiday.
The Staffordshire Potteries of Wedgwood and Royal Doulton are close by and are intricately linked with the history of the Midland canals. The Potteries conurbation of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Tunstall, and Stoke-on-Trent has its own bitter sweet vibes of a once major industry and although Staffordshire Pottery still adorns the world’s finest dining tables it is an industry very much in decline. But its history is unmistakable and well preserved in the likes of the Wedgwood museum where visitors can moor up and throw their own pot!
the UK’s second city of Birmingham is only 20 miles away. My home town, and the bustling centre of the original industrial canal network.
A trip on the Birmingham Canal Network (BCN) is a great introduction to canal history as it tours through neighbourhoods literally at the crucible of the Industrial Revolution, the historic era whose burgeoning industries launched the canal transportation system. There’s a brutalist element to the crumbling architecture in the urban areas but the surrounding towns are very much alive and there’s a warm welcome in the local pubs.
The Black Country Living Museum is well worth a visit on this itinerary, especially if you’re Peaky Binders fans as the centre’s recreated historic streets and community buildings were used for many of the location shots.
Central Birmingham itself is a key canal junction and it’s canal basins are now re-energised entertainment and housing hubs with extensive shopping and multiple bars and eateries.
The 2 destinations sit on the Black Country Ring (also known as the Staffordshire Ring) an excellent 1-week circuit from our base at Gailey Wharf – geographically at 11 o’clock on this circular canal route. Much of the route is rural – as soon as you’ve arrived in the centre of Britain’s second city, you leave it and pass into the quiet countryside of North Warwickshire and South Staffordshire. There’s a lot more detail in our Black Country Ring blog here.
I’m lucky enough to have retired early and get to spend more time back home in the UK. Furthermore, my parents live in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside which is surrounded by canal history. It’s also where Kodran is based, just 1/2 west of M6 junction 12
Kodran is moored with and looked after by the experienced staff at JD Boat Services at Gailey Wharf on the Staffordshire and Worcester canal. Easy to get to with great road and rail links from Manchester(MAN) and Birmingham(BHX) airports. And for those arriving by car, there’s plenty of free, secure parking. There, you’re relaxing already!
You can find more FAQs answered here and tips on our Home Page. And if this has whetted your appetite for Private narrowboat hire and a cruise of your own, you can find all our Booking Details here.