Check out our excellent reviews online. Read our reviews

Check out our excellent reviews online. Read our reviews

Why choose Aldermaston?

From Aldermaston you can cruise along the Kennet & Avon canal or access the River Thames (Thames licence is included in your holiday price). Nearby towns include Newbury, Henley and Reading, with Aldermaston Railway station also close by.

  • Berths Available: 2 – 12

Fancy a day trip?

At Aldermaston, we have a day boat called Heyday able to hold up to 10 people. It has in door and outdoor seating, a fridge, hob / grill, sink and a bathroom.

Prices from £99

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Keep in touch with us on social media to stay up to date with our offers and competitions.

Use hashtag #abcboathire and share your boating photos with us!

Connect with us

Keep in touch with us on social media to stay up to date with our offers and competitions.

Use hashtag #abcboathire and share your boating photos with us!

Aldermaston canal routes for holidays & short breaks

7 – 14 Night routes

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

Starting from the small boating centre of Aldermaston Wharf, cruise west to the picturesque market town of Newbury. There are some nice pubs at the canalside village of Kintbury before arriving at Hungerford, stop off and visit the numerous antique shops and admire the charming canalscape. Then it’s on to Great Bedwyn and Crofton Pump Station, home to the world’s oldest working beam engine.

Don’t miss the historic conservation village at Wootton Rivers on your way to the traditional village of Pewsey with its beautiful thatched cottages.

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

THIS ROUTE INCLUDES THAMES CRUISING

A short cruise takes you to Reading, with its host of facilities where you join the Thames and cruise downstream through the rowing town of Henley, the charming town of Marlow, where Shelley and T.S. Eliot once lived, and Cookham, home to the Stanley Spencer art gallery.

Moor up at Taplow for a visit to Cliveden House and, if your budget is up to it, at Bray, where you could enjoy a fine meal at either Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck or the Roux brothers’ Waterside Inn.Visit Eton College before arriving at the royal town of Windsor, famous for its castle, and nearby Legoland 

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

THIS ROUTE INCLUDES THAMES CRUISING

Cruise east to Reading, with its wide range of facilities and then join the River Thames upstream to Elizabethan Maledurham House, a magnificent Elizabethan building, complete with working corn mill.

Just after Goring, moor up for a visit to Beale Bird Park and then it’s on to the pretty market town of Abingdon via Wallingford.

The historic dreaming spires of Oxford now await you.

Don’t miss a visit to the fabulous Ashmolean Museum and Bodleian Library while you’re here.

Guides: Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20 / 23

If you have more time to explore into London then this route will take you down onto the River Thames, past Henley, Marlow, Hampton Court Bridge, Tedington, then onto the Grand Union Canal up to Little Venice, London Zoo and Camden Market.

At Henley you could visit The River and Rowing Museum. You will pass Runnymede near Egham which is notable for it’s association with the Magna Carta and current collection of memorials. At Staines there is Thorpe Park.

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

Cruise almost the entire length of the beautiful Kennet and Avon Canal going west from Padworth via the picturesque market town of Newbury and then on to Hungerford.

The historic conservation village of Wootton Rivers is well worth a visit before you reach Devizes, with its amazing flight of locks at Caen Hill. Bradford-on-Avon is a pretty market town with a 14th century tithe barn, which lies a few miles from highlight of your cruise – the graceful Georgian city of Bath, which boasts a host of good restaurants and some great shopping.

14 -21 Night routes

Guides: Nicholsons N1 or Nicholsons N7

When hiring a boat from Aldermaston you must inform us if you plan on doing this route. We provide all boats from Aldermaston with a Thames Licence. 

This ring takes a minimum of 2 weeks to complete or longer if you want to take in the sights along the way.

Take in the depths of the Southern waterways including Oxford, Banbury, Leighton Buzzard, but then follow a similar route to Limehouse and return for another aspect.

3 – 4 Night routes

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

 

Cruise to the picturesque market town of Newbury, which boasts some lovely 17th Century buildings or spend a day at the races.

Guides: Pearson 8, Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 20

Take a cruise to Hungerford and visit the famous antique shops and beautiful waterfront.

Guides: Nicholson 7, Lockmaster 23

 

Go up onto the River Thames and travel to the 12th Century market town of Henley

Day routes

DOWNLOAD DAY BOAT MAP OF THIS ROUTE

If travelling East, and not wanting to stop for lunch, then you should be able to get to Garston Lock no 102 and back in one day. This takes about 7 and a half hours in total, with 12 locks and 12 moveable bridges.

If travelling East and wanting to stop somewhere for lunch, then we suggest you can travel to the winding hole just below Tyle Mill Lock no 99 where it is possible to moor and walk less than 10 minutes to The Spring Inn for lunch.

The journey time to this point and back is a little over 4 hours (with 6 locks and 8 moveable bridges). If you would prefer not to stop for very long (no more than about an hour and a half) then you could even continue on to Sulhamstead Lock and turn after there instead. This journey would take 5 hours and a half hours in total with 8 locks and 10 bridges

DOWNLOAD DAY BOAT MAP OF THIS ROUTE

If you are not wanting to stop anywhere for lunch, then travelling West, may be a better option for you. Heading out towards Thatcham, you will carry on the Monkey Marsh Lock no 90, which is possible in 6 and a half hours, with 10 locks and 6 moveable bridges.