The Boat Floats

Regional hub

Hire Firms — North West England and North Wales

Scenery skews rural and dramatic: the Llangollen carries you over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the Macclesfield runs along the Cheshire–Peak fringe, the Shroppie

3 min read · Updated 2025-11-21

Hire Firms — North West England and North Wales

What's in this region

This hub covers hire firms based on the canals of Cheshire, south Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire and the Welsh borders. Waterways in scope are the Llangollen Canal, the Shropshire Union (Main Line and the Middlewich Branch), the Trent & Mersey northern half, the Macclesfield, the Peak Forest, the Ashton, the Bridgewater, the Rochdale (western descent), the Montgomery Canal (where navigable), and the western Leeds & Liverpool from Wigan to Liverpool.

Cruising character

This is the heartland of the holiday-hire industry. Lock density varies sharply: the Shropshire Union and the Llangollen are low-to-moderate locks for most of their lengths but punctuated by demanding flights (Audlem, Hurleston, the New Marton pair); the Peak Forest, Ashton and Rochdale climbs into Manchester are lock-heavy; the Bridgewater and Macclesfield have very long lock-free pounds.

Scenery skews rural and dramatic: the Llangollen carries you over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the Macclesfield runs along the Cheshire–Peak fringe, the Shroppie cuts through deep wooded cuttings. The Cheshire Ring stitches several of these canals into the most popular fortnight cruise on the network. The Four Counties Ring uses the Shroppie, Trent & Mersey, Staffs & Worcs and Middlewich Branch.

Pinch points: Pontcysyllte (one-way, queues at peak times), the Anderton Boat Lift (booked passage), Harecastle Tunnel (CRT-operated one-way). No tidal sections in normal hire-cruising scope.

Hire firms in this region

On the Llangollen Canal

  • Anglo Welsh (Trevor) — well placed for Pontcysyllte and Llangollen Wharf.
  • Black Prince (Wrenbury) — large Wrenbury base at the southern end.
  • Cheshire Cat Narrowboats (Wrenbury area).
  • Whittington Wharf and other smaller operators along the Llangollen.

On the Shropshire Union

  • Norbury Wharf (Norbury Junction) — well placed for the Shroppie main line and Audlem.
  • Countrywide Cruisers and other small operators on the Shroppie southern reaches.

On the Macclesfield, Peak Forest and Ashton

  • ABC Boat Hire (Anderton, Trent & Mersey, with onward Cheshire Ring access).
  • Andersen Boats (Middlewich) — Trent & Mersey, Macclesfield Ring access.
  • Heritage Narrow Boats (Scholar Green, Hardings Wood) — well placed for the Cheshire Ring junction.
  • Cheshire Narrowboat Holidays — small family firm.

On the Trent & Mersey (northern)

  • Andersen Boats (Middlewich).
  • Anglo Welsh (Bunbury, Trent & Mersey).
  • ABC Boat Hire (Anderton).

On the Bridgewater and into Manchester

  • The Bridgewater is mostly used by hireboats on transit through the Cheshire Ring rather than as a base canal; Worsley and Lymm see day-boat operations.

On the Lancaster (extension into the North West)

  • Lancaster Canal Boats (Galgate) — single major base, see the Northern hub for detail.

On the Leeds & Liverpool western half

  • Liverpool Marina holiday hire and a small number of operators around Burscough and Scarisbrick.

Suggested cruises from this region

Weekend (2–3 nights)

  • Wrenbury to Grindley Brook and back on the Llangollen — a classic short break.
  • Anderton onto the Trent & Mersey for an evening at the Anderton Boat Lift.

Week (7 nights)

  • Trevor to Whitchurch and back — Pontcysyllte twice, Llangollen Wharf, no rush.
  • Middlewich up the Trent & Mersey, around the top of the Macclesfield and back via Bosley.

Fortnight (14 nights)

  • The Cheshire Ring from Anderton or Middlewich.
  • The Four Counties Ring (Shroppie, Trent & Mersey, Staffs & Worcs, Middlewich Branch) from Norbury or Anderton — about 110 miles, 94 locks.
  • Llangollen Canal full length, plus a Shroppie excursion to Audlem.