Guide To Sowerby Bridge Basin

We had a fantastic 5-day family trip with Shire Cruisers on the Rochdale Canal. The staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, which made everything easy from start to finish.

The boat itself was very well equipped and comfortable — the shower and toilets were great, and the central heating throughout the boat was a real bonus in October. It was perfect for our family with three kids (11, 8 and 5), with plenty to keep everyone entertained.

We loved the mix of eating on board and visiting local cafés and pubs — the food was excellent everywhere we went, and everyone was so welcoming to families.

Travelling at the slow pace of the canal was such a lovely way to enjoy the Yorkshire countryside and villages. We did an out-and-back route, which gave us the flexibility to choose how far to go each day. The weather was great so we spent most of our time on the boat, but there were also plenty of nearby options for rainy days by bus or train.

A brilliant family adventure — highly recommended!

Great adventure holiday. Shire staff are good and helpful to deal with. Also, there’s an excellent cafe ‘ Roast and Toast’ located near their wharf.

We had to go to Brighouse when we arrived at Sowerby Bridge so we set sail at 5pm because of a brocken down lock. We were not told in advance( very poor from shire cruses). Sailed untill 10pm. The locks are 200year old design and most locks are inoperative. Next day the boat broke down because a cable snapped so we were hanging around for about 2hrs untill shires engineer came out to fix the breakdown which lasted about 45mins. Later that day we called out canal and river trust to fix a lock that would not fill quickly enough. I had to clear large amounts of river weed from the lock gates and outside the lock gates to enable to carry on. At a 3 lock set of gates the bottom gate of the top lock leaked to the point where the boat was laid on its side. All in all the trip was a disaster then coming back a boat was adrift behind a lock gate with no skipper on board. The rivers are in a mess, the owners were not to blame for the gates but people who use the rivers need to abide by the river etiquette.

We have just spent a relaxing week aboard the Norfolk. The boat was well equipped. Washing up liquid, cloth, washing up sponge, matches, hand soap all supplied. The kitchen is well equipped and I wanted for nothing. A dustpan and brush would have been useful.

I would highly recommend Shire and Jeff who did our induction, explained everything clearly. The locks could be tricky on a windy day, but we are an older couple and managed well. Thank you shire for a chilled week.

The most beautiful holiday ever! Really kind staff, David was amazing!

Would do it again and again and again