Guide to the Stourport Ring
Possible Holidays on the Stourport Ring
Click on a boat base below for more information and possible routes from that base.
This much enjoyed cruise includes canals and rivers, beautiful countryside, industrial heritage, and the much admired redeveloped canalside area in the centre of Birmingham.
Our Bases on this Ring are all convenient for the motorway system.
Distance, Time, and Locks
83 miles, about 55 hours cruising, 118 locks
Usually covered in an energetic week, the Ring includes the 36 locks of the Tardebigge Flight. Out-and-back trips and short breaks are available from all bases.
For a more leisurely week, try out-and-back cruises to Gloucester or Stratford upon Avon.
A new mini-Ring was opened in 2011 with a new section of canal in the Droitwich area. This created a Mini-Ring route including Worcester, a section of the River Severn, a restored and new section of canal in the Droitwich area, and return via the Worcester and Birminghan Canal. This will take 20 hours or so, and can be done in an energetic weekend or a more leisurely midweek. Call us for details and possible boats, or check out Canal Boats from Base 42 or Canal Boats from Base 60.
More information about the new Ring is available at the Droitwich Canal Trust website.
Cruising the on the Stourport Ring
If you start from a Base in the Tardebigge area, your Ring trip either begins or ends with the Tardebigge flight. It is a leisurely lock-free cruise past Cadbury World and the University into central Birmingham. Moor right in the centre at the redeveloped Gas Street basin, with the Sea Life Centre and the Symphony Hall close by, plus many city centre attractions.
Carry on to the Black Country Museum at Tipton or take the Stourbridge Canal to visit the vast Merry Hill Shopping Centre and the Stuart Crystal glassworks.
Both routes joining the Staffs and Worcester Canal to Kidderminster, and pass through beautiful countryside to the inland port of Stourport.
At Stourport the route joins the River Severn to Worcester. This historic cathedral city has a Civil War museum and visits to the Royal Worcester porcelain factory and museum. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal then takes a rural route back to the starting point.
