Norbury Wharf -
Cruising Routes

A selection of possible cruising routes and things to see to whet your appetite:

Numbers in RED are approximate cruising hours between red circles.

4 Counties Ring - probably the most popular ring - 104 miles, 94 locks, 52 hours

• Market Drayton, home of gingerbread
• Audlem craft shop and the Shoppie Fly
• Nantwich, roman town, secret nuclear bunker
• Middlewich
• "Heartbreak Hill"
• Harecastle Tunnel
• Stoke, Spode pottery
• Wedgewood at Barlaston
• Stone, popular canal town
• Great Haywood, Shugborough Hall
• Tixel Wide, watch the wildlife
• Gailey, Roundhouse

Black Country Ring - 94 miles, 81 locks, 44 hours

Autherley Juction * Gailey * Penkridge, large market on Wednesdays * Tixall Wide * Great Haywood, Shugborough Hall * Fradley Junction * Birmingham centre, Sea Life centre, NIA, Symphony Hall, Brindley Place * Tipton, Black Country Museum

There and back routes include:

To Llangollan, very picturesque - with the famous Pontcysylite aquaduct , Chirk castle and aquaduct, Ellesmere pretty town with walks round the meres, Grindley Brook staircase locks, Wrenbury

To Ellesmere Port , passing through Bunbury, C13th Beeston Castle, Chester with its Roman Wall Walk and Cathedral, Chester Zoo, Ellesmere Port Boat Museum .

There are, of course, many other possibilities depending upon how much time you have available, and how long you want to cruise each day.