Travel

Take to the water this Autumn

The Met Office is predicting drier and warmer weather than usual for the second half of September. Holidaymakers can take advantage with these three canal short breaks from Black Prince Holidays (https://www.black-prince.com/) that take guests into the heart of England's glorious autumnal countryside, and have savings of up to 25% on last-minute departures. 

Each escape includes accommodation onboard Black Prince's stylish new range of Signature narrowboats, which feature sleek interiors with Scandi-style furniture, extra kitchen space, multiple USB sockets and wireless charging pads, plus thick comfy mattresses, black-out blinds and mood lighting. 

THROUGH THE FENS TO CAMBRIDGE

Take a slow cruise from the Black Prince base at Ely towards Cambridge and glide through Wicken Fen, a wetland nature reserve that is one of just four wild fens left in the Great Fen Basin of East Anglia. Narrowboats can moor up for walks through farmland, marsh and reed beds, with otters and water voles swimming in the waters, and dragonflies, bitterns, warblers and marsh harriers fluttering through the skies. After the fens, boaters continue along the River Cam into the centre of Cambridge, where they can moor within a few minutes walk of the Round Church, the Bridge of Sighs and the city's shops.  

Book: A four-night short break starting 30 October costs from £850, saving £149, for up to four sharing a two-bedroom Signature narrowboat, with one free pet place included, https://www.black-prince.com, 01527 575 115. Diesel is extra and costs around £18 per day.

NEWLY OPENED CALDON CANAL

The Caldon Canal in Staffordshire has fully reopened to narrowboats after 12-months of closures for restoration and repairs. One of the UK’s most secluded waterways, the journey starts at Black Prince’s Festival Park base in Etruria, once a centre of Stoke's pottery industry. As the industrial backdrop gives way to greenery, boaters can take a short diversion along the pretty three-mile Leek Branch, and then about-turn to continue towards Froghall, with the slow-paced adventure drifting through the Churnet Valley, where cruisers can board a steam-powered heritage railway (Wednesday only, book ahead), marvel at a 185-year-old blast furnace and towering chimney stack, and look for wildlife that includes kingfishers, herons and otters. 

How: A four-night break starting 30 October costs from £868, saving £153, for up to four sharing a Signature narrowboat, https://www.black-prince.com, 01527 575 115. Diesel is extra and costs around £18 per day.

SKY HIGH GROUP GETAWAY ON THE ENGLISH/WELSH BORDER

Starting from Black Prince's base at Chirk and journeying along the Llangollen Canal, this exhilarating short break crosses the world's tallest canal aqueduct, Pontcysyllte, before taking a trip over the smaller but no less thrilling Chirk Aqueduct, and a senses-heightening crawl through the pitch-black Chirk Tunnel, which at 480 metres is the longest canal tunnel in Wales. The beautiful Dee Valley provides the backdrop for much of the journey, with the market-towns of Llangollen and Ellesmere bookending the route. Boats can stop at almost any point, allowing families to enjoy ever-changing views of captivating countryside and explore sites of interest at any point.

How: Four nights starting 30 October costs from £1,339, saving £236, for up to 10 sharing a Signature narrowboat, with one free pet place included, https://www.black-prince.com, 01527 575 115. Diesel is extra and costs around £18 per day.

Other stories in Travel

Where to holiday and avoid the crowds
A year in cottages
Around the World in 101 nights
Talk a Norfolk walk and enjoy a pint
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines now open for 2025
Fair Stood the Train for France
Emerald Cruises
Solos Holiday Breaks
Enjoy an Autumn brunch in London
Discover the charms of Knightsbridge
Last-minute savings on European yacht sailings
Visit this Summer’s Blockbuster Locations
Steam Dreams
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
Birdwatching
Bambi in the Blenheim Bluebells
Adventure Play at Blenheim Palace
Eclipse All Aboard for Cruise Adventures
Camping out at Bert’s Kitchen Garden
Second Guest Sails Free with Emerald Cruises
Dogs at the Palace
London's River Uber
Spend a night with Dennis The Menace
Taking a break at Old Dairy Cottage
Wild Isles with cottage comfort
Summer in the Swiss Alpes
Garden Museum London
Discover Paris
What women travellers want
Florida
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Canterbury's tale
Discovering Wales - Places of Worship
Ayers Rock
Discover Ireland
The Dos and Don’ts of Travelling With Leukaemia
Sicily revisited
The road to the Highlands
Amazing Arizona Part 1
Over the Bridge to Skye
Buxton: Gateway to the Peaks
Walking Series: Folkestone
Hills and thrills in the Italian Lakes
Travel News: October
Corsica: Coast and culture
A capital time in London
Happy to be on the Florida Keys
Cruise Special: Around Britain by Boat
The good life in North Wales
Have a capital time in London
Polynesian Paradise
Gardens in the sun
A taste of paradise in Puglia
Music in the mountains
Cruising by coach
A Lakes gem for all seasons
Canada: by seaplane and skytram
Cruising on the crest of a wave
Riding the Rocky Mountaineer
48 hours in Bethlehem
Goa, the go-to destination...
Roaming the Rhone
Doing The Strand
Sheffield: Forging a bright new future
Setting sail for the fjords
Taking it easy on the shores of Lake Garda
Be the best Brit abroad
What's on your British bucket list?
Passage to India
Isle of Wight: Singing the praises of quirky cottages
Zell am See: Alpine Wonderland
Turning back time in Guernsey
Glam under the stars in surprising Staffordshire
Red Square Revisited
Fine dining and a walk on the wild side
Detroit: Dancing in the streets again
Terror and Tourism- are you covered?
Islands in the Sun
Cornwall by Coach
Making Waves on the Med
Tramway Treasury
Sunrise on the Summit
Homage to Catalonia
Pembrokeshire Panorama
The Magic of Amsterdam
Born to be wild on Route 66
Somerset's Seasonal Delights
A topping time in Tirol
England Rooftop Route Part 1
Besieged Bosnia: Back in Business
Cruising The Danube
Quest for a Lost Queen
Wiltshire's Winning Ways
We'd rather be in Colorado
Taking it easy in Norfolk
Luscious Lucerne
Arizona: Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Discoveries: Epic Adventure
Northern Ireland: Transformed from the Troubles
Kingston: Town of kings
Extraordinary Israel
Avalon's Avian Haven
Station Vacation