A SLOWER PACE OF LIFE

Teddesley is ideally situated at the heart of the narrow canal system and has the benefit of many route possibilities. Some of our customers return year after year embarking on a different cruise with each visit. Many of our customers choose to travel the Four Counties Ring, but there are lots of other options. It all depends on how much time you have and whether you want to spend most of your time on the move or prefer to linger a little along the way, it’s entirely up to you. Below are a few suggestions, with the approximate average boating times.

The Four Counties Ring
Teddesley is the perfect starting point for the Four Counties Ring (the counties being Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire and (briefly) the West Midlands. This delightful cruise offers an interesting contrast between the ‘contour’ Brindley canals of the Staffs and Worc’s and Trent and Mersey canals and the more modern (1835) Shropshire Union canal. The ‘Shroppie’, as it is affectionately known, was built by Telford and, rather than twisting and turning, takes a more direct route with impressive cuttings and embankments.

This ring may be completed in a week for the more energetic ( 1 00 miles and 90 locks) but can be combined with a visit to the picturesque Caldon canal or Llangollen for a fortnight’s cruise. The ring is predominately rural, but there is a fascinating glimpse into the canals’ original purpose at the famous ‘Potteries’ of Stoke-on-Trent. Here, for a few hours, you can appreciate the industrial archaeology as you survey old bottle kilns and creep past old wharves and warehouses. There are even several pottery outlets beside the canal as well as an opportunity to visit the Wedgwood factory at Barlaston.

The famous flight of ‘Cheshire locks’ enables you to feel a sense of achievement as you cruise through lush Cheshire pastureland. As its name suggests, Market Drayton offers an opportunity to do some country shopping, perhaps tasting the delights of its famous gingerbread. Stone is another market town along the route, famous for its connection with the canal, being the historic headquarters of the original Trent and Mersey Canal Company. Its pedestrianised high street has a wealth of gift shops and some great places to eat if you want a rest from the galley.

‘A Huge Choice of Places to Visit'

There are more miles of canals in Birmingham than Venice and you could easily spend a week exploring the BCN (Birmingham Canal Navigation) alone. But for the purpose of this cruise, you take the direct route into the city centre itself. Here, there is an opportunity to moor outside the pub where President Clinton famously tucked into a pint and chips, or to visit the country’s most inland sealife centre. Sharks really do swim beside the Birmingham Canal! This relatively new cultural zone offers many attractions and is becoming a must-see tourist venue, situated beside the National Indoor Arena and the Symphony Hall. The City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a short distance away, together with a multitude of shops for any shopaholics in your party.

From Birmingham a right turn takes you through the famous Gas Street basin to the Worcester and Birmingham canal. A long lock-free pound takes you past Cadbury World (this one’s for the chocoholics) before it’s time to put the headlight on for a trip underground through Wast Hill tunnel.

Once through the Warwickshire countryside gives way to Worcestershire pastures before the descent down Tardebigge locks. Tardebigge is the longest lock flight in the country and takes the boater from the Birmingham plateau towards the river Severn at Worcester. Worcester is a must for a stopover, with its elegant cathedral, delightful museums and more tempting shops. The locks at Diglis are the gateway to the majestic Severn, where you feel part of the attraction as you head past the tourists towards Stourport.

Then it’s another right turn and you’re back onto the familiar territory of the Staffs and Worcs canal as you travel through delightfully wooded scenery and back towards base.

‘A Pace of Life in Which Your Relaxed Feelings
Can Run Free’

The Black Country Ring
This route mainly follows the route of the Stourport ring, but is slightly shorter as it misses out Stourport, instead passing through the famous ‘glass town’ of Stourbridge.

The Avon Ring
As its name suggests, this ring offers an opportunity to discover the delights of the River Avon and Shakespeare’s Stratford upon-Avon. It can only be completed in a minimum of a fortnight from Teddesley, and involves paying a separate toll to traverse the Avon, which is not under British Waterways’ control. Nevertheless, it offers a tour of many contrasts where you can sample the delights of Birmingham’s award-winning waterside city centre together with idyllic sections of more rural waterways. From Teddesley you head south to Aldersley junction where you ascend the Wolverhampton flight of 2 I locks. It is possible from here to make a short detour to the famous Black Country Museum with its recreated Victorian village. Then it’s into Birmingham before taking the Worcester and Birmingham canal to Kings Norton junction. From there, the Northern and Southern Stratford canals take you through lovely Warwickshire countryside to Stratford-upon Avon. After visiting the famous bard’s town, the River Avon offers a picturesque interlude into the Vale of Evesham passing through the town of Pershore, famous for its plums. The Avon meets the Severn at Tewkesbury, where there is an abundance of traditional ‘black and white’ buildings. From there, the attractive town of Upton-upon-Severn offers interesting antiques and bookshops before the cathedral City of Worcester is reached. Then the official route is back up the Worcester and Birmingham canal via Tardebigge locks and thence back to Teddesley via Wolverhampton. Alternatively ( and more easily), you can continue up to Stourport and follow the delightful southern Staffs and Worcs canal right back to base.