Canal Boat Holiday Base Information - Base 28

Base 28 is near Stafford and is run by a large boat operator with high standards of service. It is easily accessible by road or rail and is near Birmingham Airport.

Shropshire Union Canal (1 week)
40 Miles - 62 Locks - 4+ hours cruising per day. Leaving Gailey, you head south down the Staffs. and Worcs. Canal to Autherley Junction, where you turn right and join the start of the Shropshire Union Canal (Shroppie). You soon get to appreciate the contrast between the earlier 'contour' canal that you have just left and the gem that is the 'Shroppie'. Your journey northwards towards the Cheshire Plains through rural Shropshire countryside, takes in impressively deep cuttings, dramatic embankments and splendid architecture. Market Drayton, Audlem and Nantwich are all delightful places to visit along the way, either on the way out or on the return leg of your journey. Finally though, you need turn around and head back to Gailey, retracing your steps and enjoying the new perspective that cruising in this new direction brings.

Four Counties Ring (1 week)
110 Miles - 94 Locks - 8+ hours cruising per day. This journey takes you up the wonderfully rural Staffs. and Worcs. Canal to Great Haywood Junction where, passing under a roving bridge, you join the Trent and Mersey Canal heading north towards the potteries and Peak district. The rolling Staffordshire countryside leads you to Stoke on Trent, the Wedgewood pottery's Visitors Centre and the impressive 2926 yard long Harecastle Tunnel. Beyond Harecastle the 13 miles to the salt town of Middlewich sees the canal descend 31 locks to the Cheshire Plains. The short Middlewich arm links the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal which brings you south again through more glorious countryside. This beautifully engineered canal with its cuttings and embankments and relatively few locks, takes an almost direct route to Autherley Junction where it meets the Staffs. and Worcs. Canal for the last leg back to the Gailey base.

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (2 weeks)
40 Miles - 62 Locks - 4+ hours cruising per day. This is a comfortable one week cruise to Stourport and back, along what is almost certainly one of England's prettiest waterways. Throughout its length, this historic canal follows the local land contours as it winds its way south towards its junction with the River Severn at the unique inland port of Stourport. Along the way you pass the entrance to the Shropshire Union Canal, which heads northwards through Shropshire towards the Cheshire plains. As you continue south, you soon reach Bratch locks, which is a distinctive and unusual flight of three locks, together with an octagonal toll office. From here the canal adopts an even more rural aspect: secluded woodlands with rocky cliffs of red sandstone, give way to an area of quite water meadows as you approach the outskirts of the carpet-manufacturing town of Kidderminster. Kidderminster also hosts the southern terminus of the Severn Valley Steam Railway, which is well worth a half-day trip. Finally you reach Stourport with its intriguing combination of engineering features and fine period buildings. As an alternative to cruising all the way down to Stourport, or for a change of scenery on the return trip, you can always turn onto the Stourbridge Canal at Stourton Junction, and travel up to Birmingham, where the Black Country Museum at Dudley is a must. You then follow the Birmingham Main Line Canal to Wolverhampton where the canal drops back down through a flight of 21 locks to rejoin the Staffs. and Worcs. Canal. This detour adds some 34 locks and plenty of miles to your journey and is therefore not for the fainthearted!

Caldon Canal (2 weeks)
A bit of stamina is required for this cruise but your efforts will not go unrewarded! To reach the Caldon Canal you cruise up the Staffs and Worcester Canal to Great Haywood junction. Here you join the Trent and Mersey Canal heading north towards the potteries. At Etruria junction you turn right onto the Caldon Canal which must rate as one of the most delightful waterways in the country. It quickly climbs out of the urban edge of the Potteries and your journey takes you up to Cheddleton, heading towards the Peak District, where you enter the Churnet Valley. The countryside along this valley is stunning and the outward journey all too soon comes to an end at Froghall, nestling deep in the woodlands, where you will need to turn and retrace your route to Gailey.

Short breaks - Weekend or Midweek
There is plenty of choice from our Gailey base, to suit both beginners and 'experts' alike.
The most leisurely of the available routes takes you down the Staffs and Worcs Canal to Autherley Junction, where you can join the Shropshire Union Canal for a relaxing run up northwards to Norbury. Here you you will need to turn in order to return to Gailey. If you are taking a four-day break, then you could possibly extend this trip up to Market Drayton before you turn round.
An alternative cruise takes you up the Staffs and Worcs Canal to Great Haywood Junction, enabling you to visit Shugborough Hall. Again for those on a four-day trip, there is the option to travel on up the Trent and Mersey Canal to the canal town of Stone, enjoying panoramic views of rural Staffordshire as you go.