I am keeping this page available in case some of you still might find it useful.

Though many links may still be working, your safest course would be to do a web search on the organization name or firm name in order to find the latest link.

UK Canals & Waterways

Near the Water - Canalside Pubs, Inns, Shopping, Villages, Cottages, etc.

Note: this page includes only places that are near narrowboat-boatable waters, e.g. no oceanside or lakeside places are included here.

For boat trips, see Excursion, Charter, and Restaurant Boats - UK.

Many thanks to Tim Lewis who supplied some of the links for this page.

Pub Guides

• Canal and Riverside Pub Guide
• Sally Narrowboats, a hire firm, provides a Pub Guide for the Kennet and Avon Canal.
• Unfortunately, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), no longer offers its "Canalside Pubs in the Heart of Warwickshire".
• Tim Boddington’s Macclesfield Canal Pubs

Waterside pubs/restaurants/tea shops with Web sites

• Acle Bridge Inn - restaurant/pub; at Acle Bridge in Norfolk Broads (NR13 3AT)
• Angel Fish Restaurant - nr. Bath (K&A)
• Anchor Inn - High Offley, Staffs., on SU (ST20 0NG)
• The Barge Inn - Honeystreet, Pewsey, Wilts. (K&A)
• Barley Mow Pub - Clifton Hampden, Ox. (OX14 3EH)
• Barley Mow - restaurant and bar; hotel; Newbold on Avon, Warks.
• Barn Owl Inn - Lymm, Ches., adjacent to Bridgewater Canal (WA13 0SW)
• Beetle & Wedge Boathouse Restaurant - restaurant and B&B; Moulsford-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
• Black Horse - restaurant; Devizes (K&A)
• Black Lion Pub - restaurant; Consall Forge (Caldon Canal)
• Boathouse Brasserie - at St Mary’s Marina, Rufford, Lancs., on L&L, Rufford branch (L40 1TD)
• Boat Inn - Stoke Bruerne, Northants. (GU)
• Boat Inn - Ashleworth Quay, Glos. (R. Severn)
     Flooding pictures from July 2007 available at the website.
• Boat Yard - Burned down 2017 - Hoghton, Lancs. (L&L) - lodging as well
• Bridge 61 Pub - at bottom of Foxton Locks, on GU, Leicester section, Foxton, Leics. (LE16 7RA)
• Bridge Inn Ratho - Edinburgh Canal Centre - Scotland
• Cafe Cargo - restaurant; tea; dog-friendly; Foulridge (L&L)
• Cafe on the Cut - Website defunct - cafe in a narrowboat; Gloucester Docks, Gloucester
• Café Waterside - Bollington (Macclesfield Canal)
• Canalside Farm, Shop and Café - Great Haywood, on T&M
• The Coy Carp - pub and restaurant; Harefield Uxbridge on GU (UB9 6HZ)
• The Cunning Man - Burghfield, Reading, on K&A (RG30 3RB)
• Cuttle Bridge Inn - lodging; restaurant; pub, canalside beer garden; free WIFI; on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (B76 9DP)
• The Cuttle Inn - Long Itchington, on GU
• Dolphin Hotel - St. Ives, Cambs. (Gt. Ouse) - Lodging
• Dundas Arms - Kintbury, Berks. (K&A)
• Dusty Miller - Wrenbury, Ches. (Llangollen)
• Fish & Eels - Hoddesdon, Herts. (River Lee)
• The Fishery Inn - Hemel Hempstead (Grand Union)
• The Floating Coffee Company - moored narrowboat cafe 'George', serving beverages, light-bites and meals, ice cream, and gateau; Brindley Place, Birmingham
• The Folly - Oxford (River Thames)
• The Folly at Napton - near Oxford Canal, Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire, (CV47 8NZ)
• Fourteen Locks Canal Centre - tea room, museum, monthly guided walks; Newport, S. Wales (Monmouthshire Canal)
• The Fox and Anchor - pub and restaurant; Wolverhampton, on SU (WV10 7PW)
• Foxton Locks Inn & The Old Boathouse - pub, restaurant, snack and coffe bar; at Foxton Locks on GU Leics. section
• Gate Inn - Amington, Staffs. (Coventry Canal)
• Grand Junction Arms - Bulbourne, Tring, Herts. (GU)
• Hollybush Inn - Denford, nr Leek (Caldon Canal)
• King’s Arms - pub and restaurant; Knowle, Solihull, on GU (B93 0EE) (was Heron’s Nest)
• The Lock and Quay - Chorley, Lancs, on L&L (PR6 9AE)
• Lock 57 Brasserie - No longer trading - The Canal Centre, Hassall Green, Ches. (T&M)
• Maesbury Canal Central - tearoom, shop, accommodation, camping and caravaning sites, Wi-Fi "at specific times"; on Montgomery Canal
• The Malt Shovel - pub and restaurant; Iver, Uxbridge, on GU (UB8 2JE)
• Maunsel Lock Canal Centre - boat trips; tea shop; Somerset Space Walk Bank Newton, Somerset (Bridgwater and Taunton Canal)
• Moat House - Acton Trussell (S&W) - Lodging
• Jack Mytton Inn - Hindford, Shropshire; restaurant and pub (Llangollen Canal)
• The Narrow Boat - Islington, London (Regents Canal)
• The Narrowboat - (Skipton, N. Yorks)
• Narrowboat Inn - Weedon, Northants. (GU) - Lodging
• Navigation Inn - Buxworth, Derbyshire
• Navigation Inn - Sowerby Bridge, on Calder & Hebble (HX6 3LF) [Thanks to Richard Proctor for pointing this one out.]
• Navigation Inn - Wootton Wawen, Warks. (Stratford on Avon Canal)
• New Inn - Bar/Restaurant - Buckby Wharf (Grand Union)
• New Inn Stainforth - Stainforth, S. Yorks. (on Stainforth and Keadby Canal)
• The Old Boathouse - Astley Green, on Leigh Branch of the Bridgewater Canal
• Pedro’s Restaurant - at Acle Bridge, Norfolk Broads (NR13 3AT)
• Pillings Boat House - restaurant and bar; at Pillings Lock Marina, Loughborough, Leics. (LE12 8FE)
• Pilot Inn - Hardwicke, Gloucs. GL2 4QD (G&S)
• Pontymoile Marina - tea room (M&B, Wales)
• Rising Sun - Shackerstone, Leics. (Ashby Canal)
• River Tea Rooms - St. Ives, Cambs. (R. Great Ouse)
• The Samuel Barlow - at Alvecote Marina, nr. Tamworth, Staffs., on Coventry Canal
• Shugborough - Historic Estate - no canal view but convenient for those boating near Great Haywood; grounds admission £3 per person
• Stables - pub and restaurant; Kirkintilloch, Glasgow, SCOTLAND (G66 1RH)
• Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre - "the highest, longest and deepest canal tunnel in the UK" - 3.25 miles long; tunnel boat trips, cafe, nature trail
• Stone Canal Trips - Website defunct - narrowboat canalside cafe & bar; also trips, dinner cruises, charters (on T&M at Stone, Staffs.)
• Sutton Wharf - vegetarian & vegan restaurant (Sutton Cheney, Warks., on Ashby Canal)
• The Tame Otter - pub and restaurant; Hopwas, Tamworth, on B&F (B78 3AF)
• Th’Owd Tithe Barn - 21 Oct 2020 - Warning - Invalid security certificate - overlooks Lancaster Canal (Garstang, Preston, PR3 1PA)
• The Trent Lock - pub and restaurant; Sawley, Long Eaton, on Erewash (NG10 2FY)
• The Trout at Tadpole Bridge - "Free House with just six bedrooms", on Thames, Bampton, Ox. (SN7 8RF)
• The Trout - restaurant, on Thames; Wolvercote, Ox., (OX2 8PN)
• The Waterfront - pub and restaurant; Barton Marina, Burton Upon Trent, Staffs. (T&M)
• Waterside Café - late breakfast, lunch; catering; on GU at Pitstone Wharf; Pitstone, Bucks. (LU7 9AD)
• Weighbridge Public House - Alvechurch, Worcs. B48 7SQ, on W&B
• The Wharf Inn, Fenny Compton - pub; full restaurant menu; laundrette (Oxford Canal)
• Wheelhouse Marina Bar and Restaurant - Upton Marina, Upton Upon Severn (WR8 0PB)
• White Horse Inn - Dunston Fen, Metheringham, Lincoln (River Witham)
• Zazou Narrowboat - Reportedly no longer trading - narrowboat-based cafe; Edinburgh
• Waterside Guesthouse & Restaurant - Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, overlooking R. Barrow

Canalside Shops

• Audlem Mill - canal shop, canal books, needlework, crafts, craft courses (Audlem Mill on the SU)
• Camden Market - North-West London, on Regents Canal
• Wadworth Brewery Visitors Centre - shop; brewery tours; on K&A at Devizes Wiltshire (SN10 1JW)

Canalside Villages

• Braunston Village - "THE Centre for the Canal System"
• Grindley Brook Village and locks - on the Llangollen Canal
• Lapworth - at junction of Stratford and Grand Union [no longer has web page]
• Little Venice - London village (Regents Canal) [web site defunct]
• St. Ives, Cambs. - on R. Ouse
• Stoke Bruerne, Northants. - well-known canalside village.

Hotels/B&Bs

• Holden House Guest House - Shardlow, Derbyshire, on River Trent
• Dolphin Hotel - St. Ives, Cambs. (Gt. Ouse)
• Moat House - Acton Trussell (S&W)
• Navigation Inn - Buxworth, Derbyshire
• Dundas Arms - Kintbury, Berks. (K&A)
• Narrowboat Inn - Weedon, Northants. (GU) - Lodging
• Boat Yard - Burned down 2017 - Hoghton, Lancs. (L&L)
• Canal View Bed & Breakfast - near Lincoln, on Fossdyke
• Travelodge - Burton A38 Northbound - 4 miles SW of Burton-upon-Trent (T&M)
• The Trout at Tadpole Bridge - "Free House with just six bedrooms", on Thames, Bampton, Ox. (SN7 8RF)
• The Wharf House - restaurant; rooms; Over, Gloucs.
• Maesbury Canal Central - tearoom, shop, accommodation, camping and caravaning sites, Wi-Fi "at specific times"; on Montgomery Canal
• Rockley House B&B - Devizes, Wilts., on K&A
• Waterside Guesthouse & Restaurant - Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, overlooking R. Barrow
• King’s Arms - pub and restaurant; Knowle, Solihull, on GU (B93 0EE) (was Heron’s Nest)
• Cuttle Bridge Inn - lodging; restaurant; pub, canalside beer garden; free WIFI; on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (B76 9DP)
• Barley Mow - restaurant and bar; hotel; Newbold on Avon, Warks.
• For another alternative, see my list Hire Nightly or B&B. This lists several narrowboats, some for B&B and some for use as the equivalent of a hotel room.

Holiday Cottages

• From The Landmark Trust.
  • Lengthsman’s Cottage - Lowsonford, Warwickshire, on Stratford-on-Avon Canal
  • Lock cottage at Stoke Pound on W&B
  • Tixall Gatehouse - close to S&W (near Stafford, Staffs.)
• From cottages4you, a self-catering agency.
  • The Barn, Dunstan Farm - Gringley-on-the-Hill, on Chesterfield Canal
  • Boat Inn Cottage - No longer listed with this agency - Easenhall, Rugby on North Oxford canal
  • Pucks Place - Stratford-upon-Avon studio apartment on Stratford-on-Avon Canal
  • There are reportedly more, but finding them on the cottages4you website is time-consuming!
• From BookCottages.com, a self-catering agency.
  • Rose Cottage - Bathampton, nr. Bath, on K&A
• From Sykes Cottages - , a self-catering agency.
  • 7 Mill Bridge - in Skipton, on Thanet (or Springs) Branch of L&L (BD23 1NJ); no pets
  • 14B Canal Wharfe - Ripon, Yorkshire Dales - North, set alongside the Ripon canal basin
  • Woodford Mill Holiday Cottages - Ringstead, Cambs., in mill on R. Nene; note there are 2 cottages here - Millstone (pointed to by the link) and also Millwheel; pets ok
• Canal Cottage B&B - Lower Heyford, Ox. (OX25 5PD)
• Canal Farm Cottages - "self-catering holiday cottages on the banks of the Louth Navigational Canal"; (Lincs.)
• Lock Cottage - Seend, Wilts., on K&A
• The Old Watermill - Great Doddington on River Nene
• Wharf Cottage - Norbury Junction, Staffs., on SU
• Wyvern Shipping Co. Waterside Cottage - Linslade, Beds., on GU
• Cloggers Cottage - Uppermill, Saddleworth, on Huddersfield Canal (OL3 6DF)
• Crowther Hall Lock Cottage - north of Welshpool on Montgomery Canal
• Foxton Locks Lodges - 3 log cabins; short breaks and weekly rates; at Foxton Locks on GU Leics. section
• Folly Cottages - near Oxford Canal, Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire, (CV47 8NZ)
• Daisy Canalside Cottage - Cheddleton, Staffs, on Caldon Canal
• Wharfinger’s Cottage - just outside Abergavenny in Wales, on M&B
• Herbert Woods - on Norfolk Broads; hire cruisers, holiday cottages, day boats; Potter Heigham, Norfolk (NR29 5JF)
• Wroxham Holiday Cottages - 2 cottages on Norfolk Broads, each sleeping up to 8
• Norfolk Broads Direct - "cottages" at Wroxham, on R. Bure
• Sarl Val Rive (en) (fr) - riverside self catering holiday cottage and apartments - 2 kilometres from Dinan, Brittany, France

Camping and Caravaning Sites

• Maesbury Canal Central - tearoom, shop, accommodation, camping and caravaning sites, Wi-Fi "at specific times"; on Montgomery Canal

Laundrettes

Museums, etc.

Other sources of facilities near the water