Life in the slow lane
15 March 2010
Record visitor numbers highlight waterways as the perfect location for a staycation.
As British Tourism Week gets underway (15 March), record visitor levels have been announced for the nation’s 200 year-old canal network. Last year the number of adults visiting an inland waterway topped 13 million – illustrating a turnaround in fortunes which has seen canal restorations grow the network by 10% and the number of canal boats increase by over 40% since the turn of the century.
British Waterways is using British Tourism Week to encourage visitors to slow down, relax and experience a different pace of life alongside the UK’s canals and rivers.
With the economic climate continuing to bite, Britain’s waterways offer a host of attractions for people aiming to save cash by “staycationing”, from eye-popping achievements of industrial engineering such as the UK’s latest World Heritage Site Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to modern wonders of the waterways like The Falkirk Wheel. There are activities for everyone to enjoy: canoeing down rivers; wildlife spotting from the helm of a narrowboat or enjoying a pint at one of the hundreds of waterside pubs across the network.
Originally used to transport goods and materials, canals offer a different viewpoint, cutting through our countryside and travelling through the hearts of many towns. They now offer excellent flat walking and cycling routes, where people can get an insight into Britain’s industrial past. Tourism and leisure have been crucial ingredients in the renaissance of Britain’s canals and rivers and will be likely to play a growing role if the network is moved into a proposed new ‘national trust for the waterways’.
With boating growing in popularity, the holiday season lasts from Easter to October with boaters coming from across the UK and abroad to enjoy peace and quiet, the scenery and the tranquil pleasures of life afloat.
• Last year, 13.1 million adults visited British Waterways’ 2,200 miles of canals and rivers
• Boaters come from far and wide: the top countries for canal tourists are Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the USA and Canada
• Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice
• Britain’s longest canal is the Grand Union Canal – at 137 miles it stretches from London to Birmingham
• The first canal of the industrial age was the St Helen’s Canal of 1757, closely followed in 1761 by the famous Bridgewater Canal, built by the enterprising Duke of Bridgewater to carry coal from his mines at Worsely to the markets of Manchester
• The Caledonian Canal boasts the Loch Ness monster whilst the Shropshire Union Canal is probably Britain’s spookiest with a reported five ghosts along its length
• There is the equivalent of 1.4 billion bath tubs of water in British Waterways’ canal network
• There are more boats on the canal network today than at the height of the Industrial Revolution
• 91% of people say that waterways are an important part of the nation’s heritage
For further information about enjoying Britain’s historic canal network including inspiration for canalboat holidays visit www.waterscape.com.
The following last minute Easter canalboat holidays, starting on Good Friday (2 April) for three nights, benefit from a 20% discount:
• 'Hudson', a 60ft narrowboat sleeping six, from Great Haywood on the crossroads of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and the Trent & Mersey Canal, for £796
• 'Golden Finch', a 57ft narrowboat sleeping two, from Wootton Wawen on the Stratford Canal, for £600
• ‘Janette’, a 52ft narrowboat sleeping four, from Chirk on the Llangollen Canal next to the world famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, for £418
• A ‘Weaver Class’, sleeping four from Falkirk on the Union and Forth & Clyde canals and experiencing the amazing Falkirk Wheel – the only rotating boatlift in the world, for £516 + damage waiver £45 + fuel deposit £40
• A ‘Tyne Class’, sleeping four from Whitchurch on the Shropshire Union Canal and cruising through the beautiful Shropshire countryside, for £436 + damage waiver £45 + fuel deposit £40
For further information contact Drifters: www.drifters.co.uk.
ENDS
For further media information, contact:
Fran Read DD: 020 7985 7276 M: 07796 610427 fran.read@britishwaterways.co.uk
Notes to editors:
British Waterways cares for 2,200 miles of the nation's canals and rivers. Rich in heritage, abundant in wildlife and teeming with activity, inland waterways are as popular today as they've ever been. Half the population lives within five miles of one of our waterways and an incredible 13.1 million adults use them every year as part of their everyday life – as a short-cut to work, for walking the dog or simply for taking time-out and watching the boats. British Waterways' job is to ensure the waterways attract enough investment to be well maintained and remain appealing to society and the local communities through which they pass. www.britishwaterways.co.uk