Your Way on the Water

We hope you will enjoy our selection of 10 of the best ways to explore the Great West Way by water:

Climb aboard one of Thames River Boats’ vessels at Kew and you’ll cruise past the glorious gardens before sailing around a bend in the river to encounter some of West London’s finest vistas, from the picture-postcard pubs of Richmond to the grand 17th-century mansion of Ham House and Garden. The cruise finishes at Hampton Court Palace, once home to notorious monarch Henry VIII.

The 28 Devizes Locks form one of the greatest challenges in English boating. Here you’ll rise 72 metres (237ft) in just two miles, pushing open and pulling shut 28 sets of heavy wooden lock gates to travel uphill to the market town of Devizes. Fortunately you’re unlikely to be alone – this is a busy stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal and help is often at hand.

Don’t fancy driving a narrowboat yourself? Take one of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s tours instead, climbing aboard the Barbara McLellan at Bradford on Avon wharf for a slow cruise along a bucolic stretch of the canal. The bow is open for enjoying the view and there’s a licensed bar.

Check out the riverbanks that inspired Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows on a two hour tour of the Thames from Reading with Salters Steamers. Cruise through four traditional locks, passing Sonning and its famous bridge, before arriving at Henley, where you could visit the Wind in the Willows exhibition at the River & Rowing Museum.

Cruise along Bristol’s old dock cranes in this fabulous and faithful reconstruction of the boat used by John Cabot when he discovered Newfoundland in 1497, and enjoy all the water activity that makes Bristol one of Europe’s most interesting maritime cities.

The beautiful Kennet & Avon Canal is one of many waterways cared for by the Canal & River Trust. Get closer to its water by hiring a Canadian canoe from Towpath Trail in Bradford on Avon and pushing out into the waters of the canal under nothing but your own muscle power. Paddle eastward to Seend Cleeve and you can moor up at the canalside Cross Guns at Avoncliff for a proper pub lunch before making the return journey.

Hobbs of Henley provides a variety of ways to enjoy the Royal River Thames from public cruises or self-drive and chauffeur-driven days out, to its newest boats, luxury Linnsen self-drive cruisers, the only ones for hire in the UK. Charter by the weekend or the week.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel is one of the most ingenious engineers the world has even seen. Check out two of his most incredible achievements, stepping aboard Brunel’s SS Great Britain before joining a cruise along Avon Gorge with Bristol Ferry Boats for jaw-dropping views of the dramatic gorge and the chance to sail beneath Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Sail out on the wide beam Kenavon Venture boat from The Wharf Devizeswith the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and enjoy a relaxing two hour tripand cream tea. There’s also their Bruce Branch Boats division offeringaffordable canal holidays to disabled, disadvantaged or older people.

Every July the Thameside town of Henley hosts the world’s most famous regatta, Henley Royal Regatta. Take a seat in the Regatta Enclosure to watch the races or book a trip with Thames Rivercruise to sail along the course and get close to the action. The Henley River and Rowing Museum is also worth a visit – it tells the story of the Thames and the history of rowing.