Stourport Ring Boat Hire | Canal Holidays

This much enjoyed cruise includes canals and rivers, beautiful countryside, industrial heritage, and the much admired redeveloped canalside area in the centre of Birmingham.

Our Bases on this Ring are all convenient for the motorway system.

For a more leisurely week, try out-and-back cruises to Gloucester or Stratford upon Avon.

A new mini-Ring includes Worcester, a section of the River Severn, a restored and new section of canal in the Droitwich area, and return via the Worcester and Birminghan Canal. This takes 20 hours or so, and can be done in an energetic weekend or a more leisurely midweek. Call us for details and possible boats, or check out Canal Boats from Base 42.

Cruising the Stourport Ring

If you start from a Base in the Tardebigge area, your Ring trip either begins or ends with the Tardebigge flight. It is a leisurely lock-free cruise past Cadbury World and the University into central Birmingham. Moor right in the centre at the redeveloped Gas Street basin, with the Sea Life Centre and the Symphony Hall close by, plus many city centre attractions.

Carry on to the Black Country Museum at Tipton or take the Stourbridge Canal to visit the vast Merry Hill Shopping Centre and the Stuart Crystal glassworks.

Both routes joining the Staffs and Worcester Canal to Kidderminster, and pass through beautiful countryside to the inland port of Stourport.

At Stourport the route joins the River Severn to Worcester. This historic cathedral city has a Civil War museum and visits to the Royal Worcester porcelain factory and museum. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal then takes a rural route back to the starting point.

Routes in a Google Map

Distance, Time, and Locks

83
miles

about 55
hours
cruising

118
locks

Usually covered in a week.
Out and back routes available for new and experienced canal boaters.
Short breaks available.

Places of Interest

Cadbury World at Bournville
Birmingham: superb city centre moorings, many attractions
Black Country Museum near Dudley: 19th century life
Kidderminster: Severn Valley Railway to Bridgnorth
Stourport: fine canal town
Worcester: historic cathedral city
Stoke Prior: Avoncroft Museum of Buildings

Possible Holidays

One Week
The Stourport Ring is a good one week holiday, although strenuous at times. Alternatively, an out-and-back holiday can be taken from any of the bases along the Stourport Ring or on sections of the Avon Ring. An alternative is the route along the River Severn past Tewkesbury to the newly restored old port of Gloucester and its National Waterways Museum, then on to the Slimbridge Wildlife and Wetlands Centre.

Short Breaks
Mid-week and weekend breaks are available from all Canal Holidays bases on the Stourport Ring.

Longer Holidays
In a two week trip the Stourport Ring can be combined with the Black Country Ring or Four Counties Ring. The eastern section of the Stourport Ring forms part of the 10-11 day Avon Ring.

Narrowboat bases on the Stourport Ring

Click on a boat base below for more information and possible routes from that base.

Base 35 near
Redditch Base 38 near
Bromsgrove Base 42 near
Worcester

Customer Comments

Read what some of our previous clients say about the Stourport Ring.

"We liked the Ring, with joy for both grown ups and kids, and also some time for shopping. On this route you can find everything with countryside, some time along the river, tunnels, small towns and big towns. It was fantastic to stay in the middle of Birmingham, with no noise or problems even during night time."
IJ, Norway

"Really lovely boat, well equipped, clean, quiet. The ring we did (Stourport) was, to our huge surprise, deserted. We passed virtually no other boats. It made doing flights of locks much easier, as we didn't have to wait for other boats. I highly recommend it - great balance of rural and industrial."
LC, UK

"We had a glorious time. We were with good friends, we had good food, and we had a good time. What more can you ask of a vacation?"
KL, UK

"Birmingham was fantastic and a real surprise. The moorings in the centre are fantastic. We also liked Cadburys World and Kinver. Some great pubs too, especially the one on the canal at Kinver and the Camp House Inn near Worcester."
MH, USA

"We did the Stourport Ring and enjoyed it very much. We felt the holiday a complete success. Most particularly we enjoyed Worchester. The cathedral and the china museum were of great interest to us and we thoroughly enjoyed them."
JP, UK

"It is a pity that this type of holiday is not well known in the Netherlands. Until this holiday, we didn't know of any travel agency which had information about narrowboats in the UK. A lot of people have already asked usabout the holiday."
PA, Netherlands