The 'Seven Wonders of the Waterways' was compiled by Robert Aickman, co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association, and published in his book 'Know Your Waterways' over 70 years ago.

Drifters has added the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland (which opened in 2002) to make the perfect Canal Boat Holiday 'Bucket List' guide for 2024:

1. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - carrying the Llangollen Canal 38 metres (126ft) high above the River Dee, the awesome World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the highest and longest aqueduct in Britain. Built between 1795 and 1805, it has 18 magnificent stone piers, supporting a 307-metre (1007ft) long trough for the canal to run through. With not even a hand rail on the south side of the aqueduct to obscure the views of the breath-taking Dee Valley below, boaters literally feel like they are floating above the earth! Drifters has a canal boat hire base on the Llangollen Canal at Trevor in North Wales, just a five-minute cruise from the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. ***The 65ft 'Anna' narrowboat for up to four people is currently available for a weekend break from Trevor, 16-19 August 2024 for £1,435. Price includes boat hire, gas, car parking, tuition on arrival, buoyancy aids, bed linen towels and first pet.  There's a compulsory non-refundable £50 damage waiver and diesel is extra – a £70 deposit is taken for short breaks (three or four nights), £110 for a week.  Charge based on use, circa £15 per day. 

2. The Anderton Boat Lift - also known as 'The Cathedral of the Canals' this extraordinary structure raises boats 15 metres (50ft) from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal. Designed by Edwin Clark and opened in 1875, it consists of two caissons, each large enough to take a barge or pair of narrowboats. In 1983 problems with the mechanism caused the lift to close but after a Heritage Lottery Funded restoration, it reopened in 2002. Drifters has a narrowboat hire base on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Anderton, right next to the Lift. ***The 49ft 'Grey Wren' narrowboat for up to four people is currently available for a weekend break from Anderton, 17-20 May 2024 for £850, saving £149.  Price includes a non-refundable damage waiver, bed linen, towels, car parking, two pets, buoyancy aids and tuition.  A fuel deposit of £60 for a short break is payable with the balance of hire. Fuel costs are approx. £15 per day.

3. The Caen Hill Flight - with 16 of its 29 locks falling in a straight line, the Caen Hill flight of locks on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Devizes in Wiltshire is visually the most impressive in the country. The locks were the final link in the Kennet & Avon Canal's construction, opening in 1810. By 1950 they had become derelict but after a major restoration effort, they were reopened HM The Queen in 1990. Drifters' Devizes base is at the base of the flight. ***The 47ft 'Foxglove' narrowboat for up to four people is currently available for a week long break from Devizes 6-13 September 2024 for £1,607, saving £74.  Price includes diesel, gas, damage waiver, bed linen, towels, canal map, life jackets, parking and tuition. Pets are extra, charged at £30 each.

4. The Bingley Five-Rise Locks - completed in 1774, this spectacular staircase of locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal 17 miles from Leeds, raises (or lowers) boats 18 metres (60ft) in five cavernous chambers. The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate of the next. Our nearest canal boat hire base is on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Silsden, a distance of six miles away. With five locks to pass through along the way, the journey to Bingley from Silsden takes around four-and-a-half hours. ***The 56ft 'Dans Drum' narrowboat for up to five people is currently available for a weekend break from Silsden 6-9 September 2024 for £910. Price includes boat hire, damage waiver, fuel, gas, car parking, tuition on arrival, buoyancy aids, bed linen towels and up to two pets. 

5. The Standedge Tunnel - tunnelling for over three miles beneath the Pennines, this incredible feat of 18 and 19th century engineering is the longest, highest and deepest tunnel on the canal system. Cutting through solid rock, it took the navvies 16 years to build, opening in 1811. In the 20th century, the Huddersfield Canal fell into disrepair, becoming un-navigable by 1948, but after a long restoration programme, both the canal and tunnel were reopened in 2001. Today you need to book your passage though the tunnel with the Canal & River Trust, and there is also a trip boat operating from the Marsden end. Our nearest base is at Sowerby Bridge, on the junction of the Calder & Hebble Navigation and Rochdale Canal, 20 miles and 65 locks away. The journey to Standedge takes around 21 hours (three days). ***The 56ft 'Huntingdon 4' narrowboat for up to four people is currently available for a week from Sowerby Bridge 19-26 July 2024 for £2,170.  Price includes damage waiver, pre-holiday information, comprehensive instruction, fuel, gas, parking, buoyancy aids and bed linen.

6. Barton Swing Aqueduct - originally built in 1761 by James Brindley to take the Bridgewater Canal across the River Irwell, the Barton Aqueduct was considered a marvel at the time of its opening. But when the Manchester Ship Canal company decided to use the course of the Irwell at Barton as part of its navigation channel, Brindley's Aqueduct was replaced by the Barton Swing Aqueduct in 1893. The 1,450 tonne, 100-metre long aqueduct swings open, full of water, to allow the passage of ships along the Manchester Ship Canal. Our nearest base is at Acton Bridge, on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Northwich in Cheshire. From there, it takes around nine hours, travelling 26 miles and through just one lock, to reach the Barton Swing Aqueduct. ***The Duchess narrowboat for up to four people is available for a week from Acton Bridge, 19-26 April 2024 for £1,395, saving £154.  Price includes boat hire, damage waiver, gas, car parking, tuition, buoyancy aids, bed linen and towels. Diesel is extra, charged based on use on return, circa £15 per day. 

7. The Burnley Embankment – also known as 'The Straight Mile', the mile-long Burnley Embankment carries the Leeds & Liverpool Canal over 18 metres (60ft) high across part of the town, offering boaters breath-taking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Though costly and difficult to build, the Burnley Embankment, which spans the Calder Valley, avoided the need for a series of locks which would have slowed cargo-carrying boats down. Designed by Robert Whitworth, the embankment was built between 1796 and 1801 and involved the mammoth task of transporting (by horse and cart) around half a million tons of earth from the nearby canal cutting at Whittlefield and tunnel at Gannow. Drifters' narrowboat hire base at Barnoldswick is just 11 miles and seven locks away from Burnley. ***The 56ft 'Rutland 4' narrowboat for up to four people is currently available for a mid-week break from Barnoldswick Bridge 13-17 May 2024 for £1,200.  Price includes damage waiver, pre-holiday information, comprehensive instruction, fuel, gas, parking, buoyancy aids and bed linen.

8. The Falkirk Wheel - built as part of the Millennium Link project to restore the canals linking the east and west coasts of Scotland, The Falkirk Wheel is the world's first and only rotating boat lift. Standing at a height of 35 metres, it moves boats between the Union Canal and Forth & Clyde Canal, replacing a flight of 11 locks which had been dismantled in 1933. It can carry up to 600 tonnes (eight or more boats) and uses just 1.5KWh of energy to turn – the same amount it takes to boil eight kettles. Drifters offers canal boat rental at Falkirk, right next to the Wheel. ***The Shakespeare narrowboat for up to six people is available for a mid-week break from Falkirk, 17-21 June 2024 for £1,699. Price includes boat hire, damage waiver, gas, car parking, tuition, buoyancy aids, bed linen and towels. Diesel is extra, charged based on use on return, circa £15 per day. An additional licence is required to cruise from Falkirk, priced at £15 for three days, or £25 for longer.

For more information about Drifters boating holidays call 0344 984 0322 or visit www.drifters.co.uk. 

For information about visiting the canal network go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

ENDS

For Drifters press enquiries & images, contact Debbie Walker on 01628 318069 mb 077486 40577 walker.debbie@sky.com 

Notes to editors

Drifters Waterway Holidays is made up of nine hire boat companies: ABC Boat Hire, Anglo Welsh, Black Prince, Countrywide Cruisers, Kate Boats, Foxhangers, Napton Narrowboats, Shire Cruisers and Union Canal Carriers.  Between them they offer over 550 boats for hire, operating from 45 bases across England, Scotland and Wales.  2024 hire prices start at £620 for a short break on a boat for up to four people, £860 for a week.  Narrowboats range from 32ft to 70ft and can accommodate up to 12 people.