The Best: Places to get out on the Water

Along the Great West Way there are plentiful opportunities to mess about in boats – or in canoes, or on a paddle board perhaps. And with the Kennet & Avon Canal linking the River Thames in the east with the River Avon in the west, the Great West Way can even be travelled without setting foot on dry land. 

If you don’t want to travel the Great West Way entirely by canal and river, there are numerous places along the route for getting out on the water for the day or even just for an hour or two. These are some of the best places to see this slice of England from a different perspective. 

The Thames
The Thames might be London’s river but it is away from the city, further west on the Great West Way, that the waterway is at its most beautiful. There are boat trips aplenty on the Thames as it winds its way through Berkshire towards the capital and getting out on the water is the best way to explore this bucolic area. 

Thames River Boats offer daily scheduled services from Kew to Richmond and Hampton Court. On this relaxed journey you’ll pass Kew Gardens and Richmond Park before sailing on through the locks at Richmond, past the imposing Palladian villa of Marble Hill House and the splendid 17th-century Ham House, to reach the historic royal palace at Hampton Court. 

Further upriver, there are boat trips with Salter’s Steamers from Windsor, departing from beneath the magnificent castle. You’ll cruise through Maidenhead – where you’ll pass under Brunel’s world-famous bridge – and on to Cookham and Marlow. This is some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere on the Thames and is said to have inspired writer Kenneth Grahame to pen his classic tale, the Wind in the Willows. 

Henley-on-Thames
The Thames is also home to the world’s most famous rowing event, the annual Henley Royal Regatta. The regatta first took place in 1839 and now every July the stretch of the river that runs through this attractive town on the Berkshire-Oxfordshire border hosts races that attract the very best international crews. A channel of the river stays open to spectators throughout the event – this is a great time to take to the water and see world-class rowing up close.

The rest of the year there are cruises with Hobbs of Henley on the same stretch of water, including short sightseeing cruises, wildlife spotting trips, gin and jazz nights and even Christmas cruises to meet Santa. 

Caen Hill Lock Flight
Those in narrowboating circles know the Caen Hill Lock flight as one of the biggest and best challenges in English canal cruising. This flight of locks on the Kennet & Avon Canal runs for just over two miles up the eponymous hill into the market town of Devizes. On this stretch the canal rises 237 feet (72 metres), using 29 locks to manoeuvre boats up and down the hill. Tackling the lock flight – in either direction – takes at least half a day. Each lock must be manually opened and closed using heavy wooden gates, each time allowing the water to either fill the lock or drain away from it to change the water level and keep you climbing up or down.

Standing atop your boat and feeling the water rise or fall around you is one of any narrowboating holiday’s most memorable moments – that and mooring up at the pub afterwards, of course. You can visit or stay at the nearby Devizes Marina Village, where you hire a canal boat to tackle the locks yourself.

If you don’t fancy doing the grunt work yourself, you can leave your narrowboat at Foxhangers at the bottom of the hill and walk up to the town along the towpath, watching others hard at work as you go. 

Bradford on Avon
The Kennet & Avon Canal travels along the Great West Way from Newbury in the east to Bath in the west. One of the prettiest sections of this historic waterway is the section between the delightful Wiltshire town of Bradford on Avon and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bath. Bath Narrowboats have electric boat and canoe hire from Brassknocker Basin, five miles outside Bath, and one day is ample time for exploring this quiet stretch of water with its canalside pubs and tea gardens. Allow some time in Bradford on Avon itself too, this pretty town has Medieval and Georgian buildings tumbling down the hillside to the water’s edge, many of them now excellent delis, cafés and boutiques. 

Cotswold Water Park
In the south of The Cotswolds and just north of Swindon is this extensive area of watery playground. Over some 40 square miles, more than 150 lakes pool across the landscape, offering myriad ways to get out on the water. This is the best place on the Great West Way to try your hand at waterskiing, wakeboarding or windsurfing or to have a go at the latest watersports craze, stand up paddleboarding. You can learn to sail here too, and there are canoes, kayaks and rowing boats for hire, as well as thrilling rides atop massive inflatables that are sure to put a smile on your face. 

Rather just have a swim? Head to Cotswold Country Park and Beach where the South Lake has an extensive beach and a paddling area for children, plus pedalos and rowing boats for hire.

Bath
Bath can get extremely busy, so why not escape the crowds on land by getting out on the water? Original Wild has stand up paddle boarding tours leaving from Pulteney Bridge, which will introduce the city from a very different angle, standing on a board afloat in the Avon. 

Along the river at Forester Road, Bath Boating Station hire out canoes, kayaks, skiffs and punts so that you can explore at your own pace. You could cruise along the River Avon to Bathampton, a pretty village just two miles east of Bath, or into the city as far as Pulteney Bridge.

If you’d rather stick to easier waters, the more placid Kennet & Avon Canal meets the Avon in Bath and there are narrowboats for hire by the day from Bath Narrowboats. 

Bristol’s Floating Harbour
One of the best ways to get around the city of Bristol is by ferry, with boats running from Temple Meads train station into and around the city centre and Floating Harbour. But a boat trip in Bristol is about more than just getting from A to B, there are also cream tea cruises on the River Avon with Bristol Packet, which also offer an informative tour of the harbour, while both Bristol Packet and Bristol Ferries run cruises out to Beese’s tea garden for lunch, dinner or afternoon tea. You can also paddle board around with SUP Bristol.

The most exciting trips from the Floating Harbour are out to Avon Gorge and both companies also offer cruises from Wapping Wharf, beside Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain. You’ll sail along the River Avon and beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge, another of the great engineer’s imposing designs.

For more ideas on how to get out on the water, take a look at our water sports page under activities in See & Do.