The Four Counties Ring
This 110-mile circuit takes narrowboat holiday-makers through a wide variety of landscapes, from the Cheshire Plains on the Trent & Mersey Canal to deep wooded cuttings on the Shropshire Union Canal.
What can you See & Do in a week?
To complete this popular circuit in a week, you will need to cruise around eight hours each day, giving time to visit canalside villages and pubs along the way, and perhaps one or two major attractions.
To create more time for visiting destinations along the way, we recommend booking a 10-day or two-week holiday to travel this route.
The Four Counties Ring
Embark on an epic journey through four English counties and a wide variety of landscapes
The 110-mile Four Counties Ring takes canal boaters on a waterway journey through the counties of Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Cheshire and Shropshire. It passes through 94 locks and takes around 55 cruising hours, so it can be done in a week. But a 10-day or two week holiday will allow more time stopping off at the many exciting destinations along the way.
Just some of the route highlights include: the 2,670-metre long Harecastle Tunnel, and Wedgewood Pottery Visitor Centre on the Trent & Mersey Canal; extravagant cuttings and the 15 locks at Audlem on the Shropshire Union; the Roman town of Middlewich at the gateway to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal; and the quiet waters at Tixall Wide on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal.
Things to see & do
From quiet country pubs and village churches, to exciting historic attractions where history and culture come to life, you’ll find plenty of places to visit on your canal journey.
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