"Beginning of Narrowboat Cruise" Droitwich by grandmaR

Droitwich Travel Guide: 12 reviews and 53 photos

Brook Line hireboat in Dunhampstead - Droitwich

Reasons for going

In the early 60's I started reading books by Emily Kimbrough. Several of her books dealth with canal boats, one in France, one on the Thames, and one was about a narrowboat hire in England and Wales. Ever since I read her books, I've wanted to do that. So when we decided to visit our daughter who is on a 3 year job exchange, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to have a narrowboat holiday. My son-in-law could help us with the boat, and could go to pubs each night, and it would be a different way of looking at the country.

Hiring the boat

Our boat (the shorter one)

Initially I wanted to go across the big aqueduct in Wales (see Trevor), but since my son-in-law couldn't spare a whole week, there was no way we could do that in a long weekend. So I hired a boat through Hoseasons through a hire company called Brook Line in Dunhampstead. This town is so small that it is not listed on the Virtual Tourist as a destination. So I've written it up under Drotwich which looks like the closest place to it. It had the advantage of being fairly close to our daughter's house in Cheltenham. We hired a small boat of about 43 feet that slept 5. This boat was about as long as our sailboat, and half as wide. For a tour of the boat, see the travelogue. In the picture, our boat is moored with another larger boat next to it, and you can see another boat in the canal.

Going to Drotwich

Narrowboat yard

We decided to go up to Drotwich and turn around at the canal junction (most of the canals are too narrow to turn), and there was a narrowboat repair yard there where I took this picture.

For the rest of the cruise, see Tibberton and Worcester.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Closest railway junction to Dunhampstead
Cons:Need reservations to eat at the pub
In a nutshell:Turning place north of the Dunhampstead tunnel

Last visit to Droitwich: Jul 2002
Intro Updated Jan 22, 2004
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (6)

Living on a Canal Boat Local Customs (1)

The beautiful boats on the canals are not all rental boats. Some of them are lived aboard by people on a permanent... more travel advice

Dunhampstead Off The Beaten Path (1)

A few miles from Drotwich is the Brook Line Dunhampstead hire base for canal boats. We hired through... more travel advice

Bridge over the canal near Drotwich - Droitwich

Canals Things to Do (1)

There is a junction of canals at Drotwich. The Birmingham- Worcester canal intersects with another canal that has not... more travel advice

Dunhampstead tunnel from Drotwich end - Droitwich

Tunnels and Bridges Favorites (1)

Seeing it from the canal which is a whole different perspective. I'm used to seeing things from our sailboat, but the... more travel advice

Restaurants (2)
See All Dunhampstead

Been to Droitwich?
Share your travels with the world!

Travelogues (4)

1 - 4 of 4

Comments (5)

budapest8 May 29, 2006 at 6:30 PM Report Abuse

Very interesting...I spent 3 years at a boys school in the early '70's at Sacred Heart Boys College. Unfortunately never did see the canal. Was famous as a salt town like Nantwich. Will come back for a good browse.Tim
campsong Oct 20, 2005 at 6:54 PM Report Abuse

Thanks for the great report on the canal trip. It makes me want to rent one.
iandsmith May 25, 2004 at 10:53 AM Report Abuse

It's a shame more people don't take time out, not only to travel like you did, but simply to visit "different" pages.
sandysmith Jan 29, 2003 at 3:19 PM Report Abuse

this is a great way to travel, why not put some traveelogue pics and info in as a tip - they are searchable
pieter_jan_v Dec 21, 2002 at 1:13 AM Report Abuse

Nice boattrip you made; great travelogues! PJ