Chirk Base – Four Counties Ring

Chirk Base, Four Counties Ring canal boat holiday

187 Miles | 136 Locks | 2 Week Cruise | 7 hours per day

This challenging two-week canal boat holiday along the Four Counties route from our Chirk Hire Base is most suited for a more experienced narrowboat crew. Your canal holiday features a host of locks at a quick pace, covering nearly two hundred miles in the process.

You begin your journey at Chirk’s delightful narrowboat marina, which can be found near the National Trust site of Chirk Castle. At this lovely location, you can see the Llangollen canal moving with great grace through the Welsh countryside. Here lies a World Heritage Site, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – a feat of engineering which spans right across the Dee Valley.

You can cruise the sleepy waterway of the Montgomery Canal, which has only recently been reopened to canal traffic after over fifty years of dormancy.

Travel down the Llangollen Canal to Hurleston, an area perfect for fishing for carp, especially in the winter. Here you join the Shropshire Union Canal, before travelling southwards through small towns and villages to join the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal.

This canal meanders through pretty countryside up to Great Haywood.

Here your narrowboat joins the Trent & Mersey Canal and travel towards the more built-up area of The Peak District.
Continuing up to Middlewich through a series of locks, you take the Middlewich Arm. There is plenty to do around this area. On the Middlewich Arm you will find a pub and bistro with a canal boat theme, and the opportunity to take in some magnificent rural views.

Middlewich itself is a market town founded by the Romans, which was once renowned for its salt production. It now boasts an annual boat festival, Roman and Norman festivals and regular farmer’s markets.

After passing the Middlewich Arm, you will reach Barbridge. Barbridge is a peaceful hamlet, but nevertheless contains two Grade II listed buildings: its 17th century post office, and the 18th century Stoke Cottage. If you have time you could also moor your narrowboat up and relax in The Olde Barbridge Inn.

After spending some time in Barbridge, you can return home via the Llangollen Canal. If you get the opportunity, you should visit the Castel Dinas Bran, a medieval castle that overlooks the small town of Llangollen.