Your Ultimate Canal Boat Beginners Guide

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This Canal Boat Beginners Guide is for anyone thinking about a British narrowboat holiday and wondering how they’d handle it. We’re not seasoned boaters—just a couple in our 60s, moderately fit, with zero self-drive canal boat experience. Our trip inspired us to share the training, tips, and resources we found invaluable as nervous first-timers navigating Britain’s stunning inland waterways aboard a 66-foot, twenty-tonne boat named Poppy.

Would you, should you, could you?

When you announce you’re off on a canal boat holiday, everyone has an opinion. It’s incredible how many of our friends have been on a narrow boat and the stories they tell. Most stories are positive, and then you get the tales from the tiller involving some mishap or another, like the stag party which sank a boat in a Bath lock or someone falling in, even if it’s just the dog.

In all my years of adventure travel with Mr Wren, who is generally up for almost anything… I’d never seen him so apprehensive about the thought of doing anything on a holiday as he was before boarding our canal boat for the weekend.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong with taking a 66 ft twenty-tonne narrow boat out with no experience?!

Your first canal boat experience

Our narrowboat experience was a four-day adventure with friends aboard the Drifters Waterway Holidays luxury Anglo Welsh Heritage Class boat Poppy from Wootton Wawen to Stratford Upon Avon. You can read about our time here at Canal Boating on the Stratford Canal – spoiler alert, we had the best time ever!

While researching for this feature, we came across this quote on the Black Prince Holidays website from one of their customers:

“Don’t stress! I was on my first (hope to be many) canal holidays this summer. And unfortunately I saw a lot of holidayboaters stress away their holiday.”

It turns out, we weren’t alone in feeling that being a first-time canal boater is a big deal! After our onboard briefing, most of our nerves quickly faded, and certainly by the end of day two—after tackling fourteen locks, turning in Bancroft Basin, and mooring for the night—we felt much more at ease.

However, learning the ropes deserves your attention, and the waterways deserve your respect!

Do you need a boat licence?

You don’t need a licence to drive a narrowboat on the canals in England and Wales, but your boat does. This may be somewhat surprising, but it is definitely reassuring that it is deemed safe for beginners to use our waterways.

The boat licence is purchased and supplied by your company and issued by the Canal & River Trust. This licence covers the following:

• The right to use the canals and rivers in England and Wales (additional licenses may be needed for non Canal & River Trust waterways, for instance, the River Avon)
• The right to moor your boat on the canals and rivers
• Liability insurance
• Financial assistance if your boat is damaged or lost.

What canal boat beginner’s training do you need?

Your first-time boating stress reduction and success will depend on several factors:

• Your interest in investing time in pre-learning.
• Thorough induction and training from your boat company to know the boat, how to operate it, master locks, steer through bridges, and over aqueducts and adhere to river rules and etiquette.
• Your ability to quickly pick up the required skills.

There seems to be a lot of new terminology to learn and understand. Here are some narrowboat terms that you should learn so that you can speak the lingo and avoid sounding like a plonker on the waterways!

Choose a reputable company.

Do your research, and as canal newbies, check out the different training and induction programs offered by the many boating companies around.

Our weekend was sponsored by Drifters Waterway Holidays, and Poppy was provided by one of the nine companies they work with, Anglo-Welsh. There are around 1,000 holiday hire boats in the UK, and Drifters’ members operate 550 of those boats from 40 locations. You have plenty of choices.

Our experience with Anglo Welsh

With 55 years of experience, Anglo Welsh offers helpful ‘how-to’ videos covering everything from the boat handover to engine checks, which can be viewed beforehand and during the canal boat trip.

Our Induction briefing covered steering, lock navigation, pre-start checks, and troubleshooting. This took about two and a half hours, including plenty of time for questions. After being shown a 180-degree turn and navigating through a bridge, we were ready to set off.

We also had a manual on board covering all the information required and access to 24-hour support, though we didn’t need it.

A quick internet search shows that most companies’ websites have sections on boat handling skills for first-timers. Below are some examples. Check out recent online reviews and choose a company you feel most comfortable with.

Union Canal Carriers

Referring to themselves as pioneers of narrow boating for pleasure over fifty years ago, where “An extra welcome for first-time hirers awaits you at Union Canal Carriers. With many years of boating experience, we enjoy introducing new people to the canals.…” Check out their FAQ’s

Kate Boats

Kate Boats offers this service to first-timers:

“We will introduce you to the boats and advise on routes, mooring places and pubs(!). You will be accompanied as you set off to ensure you are comfortable handling the boat. Then, you will meet at the first lock and be introduced to the mysteries of locking (it really isn’t difficult!). We want you to enjoy your holiday with us, and you will be more likely to do that if you are confident about coping on the canal”.

Shire Cruisers

Shire Cruisers onboard instruction includes leaving accompanied by an instructor. The instructor shows you what to do at your first lock and then helps you through two more. At this point, you sign a Handover Certificate to confirm that you’re happy with the briefing.

What are the other considerations?

Choose your route

‘Leave the twenty-first century behind for a while and steer a course back into another Britain, where awe-inspiring feats of engineering have created a unique pathway of peace and tranquillity from which you can view afresh the beautiful countryside of the England and Wales borderlands’. Countrywide Cruisers

With thousands of miles of beautiful canals and rivers, choosing the best route for you could be daunting! Which route is best depends on who will be on board, your interests and any destination-specific interests, and your fitness levels.

Here are some ideas for Six of the Best Scenic Canal Routes in the UK.

Holiday routes for canal boat beginners

.A quick internet search offers plenty of ideas. Check out this Canal & River Trust feature, which offers great ideas for first-time boaters from the Monmouth & Brecon Canal to Bath and beyond. It is a good read.

Locks or no locks?

This is a big question! A series of locks can feel more like a workout than a relaxing holiday, but again, there is a great sense of achievement at every lock we pass through!

We enjoyed (most) of the locks—some on the Stratford Canal were stiff and hard to handle. However, operating these manual locks of yesteryear (unlike the electro-hydraulic locks with Lock Keepers we saw on the River Thames the other day!) was a great way to connect with the place’s history. It was a good workout, and we slept well.

We had thirty-four locks to master in one weekend, so this might not be your destination if you are after a leisurely cruise.

Check out the Canal River & Trust post on their Top six lock-free boating locations if you are after a lock-free time!

Best for wildlife

One of the great joys of narrow boating was the connection with nature. Britain’s canals are home to a variety of wildlife.

One of our highlights was sharing the Stratford Canal with a family of two swans and their five cygnets. The Canal & River Trust volunteers we met showed us photos of otters on the path a few weeks back.

Check out this IG Post from Drifters Waterway Holidays on finding Kingfishers on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, South Wales, Bats on the Caldon Canal, Staffordshire, or float along Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) watching Dragonflies on the Ashby Canal, Leicestershire. or Listen for Reed Bunting on the Droitwich Canals, Worcestershire.

Your crew

This is such a good holiday that suits everyone, including family, friends, and couples. It is a lovely way to connect with nature and a great way to connect with each other – great teamwork is needed. Satisfaction comes from learning and applying new skills and working together to get through a lock, or thirty-four, as we had!

Being thrown into an unfamiliar environment, gaining a connection to ourselves, developing our strengths at handling new skills, and having a shared bond with our friends on board. There was a real sense of accomplishment.

We have not laughed as much or had so much fun in a long time, but we can see that this is one of those holidays when you should choose your crew wisely!

The best boat for beginners

There are a few factors to consider before deciding on your dream narrowboat experience. The final one is the canal boat itself.

Narrowboats come in various lengths, from 30 feet to 70 feet. For beginners, starting with a shorter boat, around 45-55 feet, is recommended, as it is easier to manoeuvre through locks and tight turns. However, we liked the reassurance of having another couple on board, as many hands make light work and all that jazz! This meant we ended up with one of the longest boats at 66 ft.

Your narrow boat is your floating home away from home, and we had no idea they had the potential to be so luxurious!

You can check out our boat tour on the Anglo Welsh boat Poppy here.

Foxhangers Canal Holidays has a good section on Choosing a boat for luxury, couples, families and larger groups.

Hire a boat for the day

If setting off into the sunset with zero experience is too daunting, why not take a day trip? Drifters Waterway Holidays offers self-drive hire boats from 45 bases across England, Scotland, and Wales, and day boat hire is offered from 19 boat yards shown and listed on the map here. This seems like a genius idea for getting the feel of a narrowboat on the water to calm the nerves before the big holiday.

Check out this Day Boat Hire YouTube from ABC Boat Hire:

Reflections from the tiller

As you arrive at Anglo Welsh’s Wootton Wawen base to board your narrow boat, your first reaction as a narrow boat virgin is, Wow, they are big… well, OK, not wide (6’10’’) but bloody long (66 feet)…

Before you board

It is worth watching and digesting the Canal & River Trust’s ‘How to’ guides beforehand to familiarise yourself with the boat, the waterways, and boat craft. There is a considerable amount to take in, so we were pleased we had prepared by doing some homework, this is important.

Who are the Canal & River Trust?

“The Canal & River Trust is a charity established in 2012 to care for England and Wales’ 200-year-old waterways, holding them in trust for the nation forever. It is responsible for 2,000 miles of navigable canals and rivers, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts, docks, reservoirs, museums, and archive collections”.

Watch & learn with the Canal & River Trust YouTube Guides

Their website boating section is well worth watching and provides invaluable information about navigating locks, mooring up, interacting with other craft, and more.

It offers five videos:

Setting off ~ Handling the Boat ~ Locks ~ Bridges and Tunnels ~ Good Boating Behaviour and Man Overboard.

Setting Off

Part 1 – Check out Canal & River Trust Video: Setting off

Our induction program was thorough and invaluable—particularly about the boat and how everything worked. However, as we headed out of the Wotton Wawen marina alone, we did so with some trepidation. Everyone has to start somewhere!

It was a baptism of fire. Within 70 yards of unmooring, we confronted the Wootton Wawen aqueduct bridge, quickly followed by a tiny bridge, and the truth suddenly dawned on us that the bridges are very, very narrow. You have about 3 inches on either side of the boat, and when the nose of the boat is 66 feet away, that initially feels a big deal.

Wren’s Tips

• Study your canal and route maps ahead of time to ensure a smooth journey. The bestselling Collins Nicholson Waterway Guides have been trusted for over 50 years to help boaters navigate Britain’s canals and rivers. These practical guides highlight essential features like locks, moorings, towpaths, boating facilities, and nearby pubs, shops, and restaurants. They provide detailed maps of each canal, showing locks, turning points, and more. Knowing what is ahead is helpful.

• Reviewing your route in advance lets you know where to aim for each day and where to find convenient mooring points for rest stops.

• There is always a plan B with boating! On the first night, as we were getting used to the boat, we totally missed our suggested mooring area and ended up wild mooring. It worked out fine, but it meant we had a slightly nervous first night, wondering if our first attempt at wild mooring would hold or if we would wake up adrift?! We were fine and awoke to such a beautiful sight, just us and a few ducks!

Handling the Boat

Part 2 – Check out Canal & River Trust Video Handling the Boat

Steering your boat

For some people (me), this is not as intuitive as driving your car as you do the opposite of what you might think; to turn right, you turn the tiller to the left and vice versa. The only way to get the hang of this is to have a go and find out whether your brain can handle this or not! (it’s like one of those mind-body coordination exercises of patting your head and rubbing your tummy simultaneously. Do you have the neurological capacity to handle this? ) The good news is that most people figure it out!

It may sound daunting, but rest assured, a degree of competence does come relatively quickly. Apart from tricky manoeuvres in a stiff wind, I would say you can confidently pilot the boat through most things on Day Two.

Wren’s Tips

• Be prepared – know what is coming up and get in position early.

• Get the boat’s angle right so you travel straight as you approach the hazard. Last-minute hook turns make kissing the canal side inevitable.

• Take it very slowly – The speed limit is around four miles per hour. You should be going dead slow, about 30 metres out from the obstacle, moorings and in narrow sections.

• If you are off target, reverse the boat and realign. 

• You will inevitably come in contact with locks, bridges and the sides of the canal. As long as the contact is gentle, there is no problem, as the boat has fenders.

• Do everything you can to avoid hitting other boats – some owners, unsurprisingly, get a little upset when their nautical pride and joy are struck. The key to everything is GO SLOW.

How to Reverse

Narrowboats do have a reverse gear. While newer boats may have ‘bow thrusters’ with older ones like Poppy, steering is more difficult.

Wrens Tip

• Only towards the end of the trip did the penny drop that you can not steer in reverse. To get the boat to turn, you have to switch into forward gear, move the tiller so the boat begins to turn, and then return to reverse.

• Practice a bit if you get the chance in a large area.

Call For Help

Always know you are not alone. The canal community is very supportive, helpful, and happy to provide advice. They’ll also pitch in and give you a friendly push to help you turn or moor. OK, so it might be cheating, but accept the help gratefully!

Wren’s Tips

• Do not be afraid to tell others you are newbies on the water. The majority of people we met were delighted to see others ‘having a go’ just as long as we didn’t look like crashing into their boat!

Locks

Part 3 – Check out Canal & River Trust Video: Locks

Working the Locks

Locks are hard work (at least the ones on the Stratford Canal were; some were quite stiff and required a couple of pairs of hands), so ensure your crew is fit and up for the job. If they are looking for a chilled, laid-back break, we suggest you choose a route with no more than, on average, a lock for every 40 minutes of travel time. Our trip saw us do 34 locks in 12 hours of boating, and I think we would all attest it was vigorous work. 

While working the locks may seem daunting at first, once you’ve navigated a couple of them, it’s simple cruising for the rest of the holiday!

Wren’s Tips:

• Locks are time-consuming, particularly if you have to fill or empty them before entering them. It is much easier if a boat has gone in the opposite direction just before you. This means all the locks will be ready for you to go straight in. Look out for boats going the other way, and time your travel accordingly.

• Locks are very deep!

• Beware the cills

Bridges and Tunnels

Part 4 – Check out Canal & River Trust Video: Bridges and Tunnels

Wren’s Tips

• Look down the left side of the boat and see that you are aligned with the side of the obstacle. When manoeuvring through small bridges, we knew there should be a gap of about three inches between the side of the lock, bridge, aqueduct, and boat. This means you will also have a similar distance on the right side of the boat.

• Beware of height limitations too!

Good Boating Behaviour

Part 5 – Check out Canal & River Trusts Video: Good Boating Behaviour and Man Overboard

Wren’s Tips

• You’re advised not to set off too early so as not to disturb other moored barges. We got going around 8:30/9 am, which gave us plenty of time to have breakfast before setting off on the water.

• Pass other boats slowly: Reduce your speed to 2 km per hour when passing moored or oncoming boats to avoid creating large waves. You should pass other boats on the right.

• Moor considerately: When stopping, moor in designated spots and avoid blocking canal paths, and approaches to locks and bridges.

Overseas Visitors

Drifters Waterway Holidays says, ‘We’re proud to welcome many overseas visitors to experience a canal boat holiday on Britain’s historic network of inland waterways.  Most of our overseas visitors come from America, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and The Netherlands’

See their guide for Popular canal boat holiday destinations for overseas visitors.

Thanks to Foxhangers Boating Holidays for their detailed section for overseas visitors and this comprehensive What to Pack list.

More resources

Check out Napton Narrowboats website section: Things you knew you needed to know about boating but were afraid to ask!

Black Prince Holidays has a great section on New to Narrowboating on handling a canal boat. This includes going aground and special safety tips.

Final thoughts for our Canal Boat Beginner’s Guide

We hope our canal boat beginner’s guide offers tips, resources, and insights from our first-time canal boat experience navigating a 66-foot narrowboat and encourages and reassures those considering a British narrowboat holiday as newbies. Travelling by boat is one of the safest ways to travel, given the right preparation and experience. Feeling apprehensive before you set off is normal!

However, gradually, as you cruise through the UK’s picturesque waterways, you develop the boat-handling skills needed to feel confident. With it, you’ll discover why canal boating is loved by so many. It’s not just about the destination but the journey, the friendships formed along the way, mastering new skills to offer the simple joy of watching the world drift by at four mph.

Safe travels and happy boating!

Disclosure: Little Wandering Wren was a guest of Drifters Waterway Holidays exploring the Stratford canal with Anglo Welsh. You can read the full story here: Canal Boating on the Stratford Canal.

Follow us on Social Media: Find more photos of my travels and stories on Instagram @littlewanderingwren.