Canal Holidays guide to the Four Counties Ring
 This
popular cruise through rural scenery and open countryside includes
some small towns and an interesting section through the heart of
the Potteries district.
A feature is the 3000 yard long Harecastle Tunnel,
a wonder of the canals.
Distance, Time, and Locks
110 miles, about 55 hours cruising, 94 locks
Usually covered in a week, the Ring includes some energetic sections.
Out-and-back trips and short breaks are available from all bases.
For a leisurely week try the picturesque Caldon Canal from Stoke-on-Trent
through the Churnet Valley towards the Peak District.
 Cruising
the Ring
Starting at Stoke-on-Trent with its superb waterside leisure
complex, travel past the Wedgwood Pottery Visitor Centre to Great
Haywood junction and Shrugborough Hall.
Continue on the very rural canal to join the Shropshire
Union Canal. One of the last canals to be built, better engineering
techniques created deep cuttings and dramatic embankments, with
few locks and splendid architecture.
The ‘Shroppie’ crosses rolling countryside, passing
through delightful towns such as Market Drayton, Audlem and Nantwich,
before turning east towards Middlewich, once famous for its salt
workings.
 Shortly
after Middlewich the canal climbs 'Heartbreak Hill' to its summit
at Kidsgrove. The canal water soon turns red, as a result of local
iron workings before reaching the famous Harecastle tunnel. Boats
go in one-way convoys through the almost 3000 yard long tunnel before
reaching daylight and a short run to Stoke-on-Trent.
View Map
Boaters Comments
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