When H&N Magazine was invited to take a Black Prince Holiday on a narrowboat along the Trent & Mersey Canal it was an opportunity to do something different.
Our writer, Rachel McAlley and her family spent four days cruising a relaxed return route with Black Prince from Acton Bridge to Middlewich. This Cheshire route was roughly 27 miles, and would take a total cruising time of around 13 hours.
Our Black Prince Narrowboat, Violet
We stepped on board the Princess 6 Signature Narrowboat called Violet. I couldn’t have asked for a better boat as my daughter is called Violet, she loved that the boat shared her name.
We left our luggage onboard this almost 60ft vessel and couldn’t believe how big it actually was inside. Double beds throughout, spacious living room, compact kitchen, two bathrooms, and plenty of storage space.
Once our luggage was on the boat we parked our car in an onsite carpark, which is locked overnight. It was time to learn how to navigate the boat on the canal. We spent roughly an hour with one of the Black Prince professionals. He showed us how to steer, navigate bridges, tunnels, other boats, and how to open a lock.
Black Prince Holidays
Prior to arriving at Acton Bridge we watched a number of YouTube videos by Black Prince on how to use a narrowboat safely. These included their Boaters Handbook, and a few guest videos. This proved to be invaluable as on the day of our departure I was so nervous I couldn’t take in some of the information we were being told. I needn’t have worried though as there was a Boat Manual onboard.
It was time for us to officially depart by ourselves, and I have to say that my fiancé took to it like a duck to water. He was a natural, as we didn’t hit any boats, the sides of tunnels, or struggle anywhere. Our daughter assisted each time we moored, she took the ropes and safely tied up the boat.
My job was to make sure the skipper had endless cups of tea and coffee. Equally, I kept the boat tidy for when we would moor-up for lunch or dinner.
The Tunnels
Our Trent & Mersey Canal trip took us through the crooked 424yd Saltersford Tunnel, and the 572yd Barnton Tunnel. Both tunnels have strict timings for entry as they are only wide enough for one boat, with no passing areas. These were great fun as we turned the boats lights on, popped our head torches on, and beeped our horn to warn boats at the opposite end of the tunnel that we were coming through.
These tunnels were cold, dark, and damp, but they had pretty stalactites hanging from the ceiling and down the walls. We spotted a bat hanging upside down, which we could have touched as it was so close.
Anderton Boat Lift
Once out the other end the canal was beautifully still and we headed on our way towards our next stopping point. We decided to moor-up next to the Anderton Boat Lift, an amazing piece of Victorian engineering. Lucky for us we moored directly outside the front door of the entrance, which we wouldn’t normally be able to do as this is where narrowboats queue up before going onto the lift. However, the lift is undergoing essential maintenance work and isn’t open at the moment, so we had prime position to moor-up.
We ventured into the visitor centre and enjoyed a coffee and hot chocolate before taking the stairs down to the immersive exhibition. This is where we learned about the fascinating history of the Anderton Boat Lift, and the history of the local area.
Back onboard our Princess 6 Signature narrowboat, we steadily navigated our way down the canal taking in beautiful countryside and scenery. Equally, we passed the old salt mining and clay pits, plus the now-derelict ICI chemical works which straddle the canal.
Onboard with Black Prince
We moored up for the night and enjoyed some family time, watching the TV, cooking, and generally relaxing on our lovely boat, Violet.
It was a cold night, so we hankered up the heating in the morning, cooked breakfast, and set off for a leisurely cruise. Between us we took loads of pictures of the boat, the countryside, and the canal. It was such a relaxing day, filled with a mixture of sunshine, showers, and wind. The only weather we didn’t experience was snow, which we did think could have happened on our trip, but luckily there was no snow for us.
In the afternoon we moored up near Middlewich and met a few friends for food at a nearby pub called The Big Lock. This was a chance for us to spend some quality time on dry land, but guess what – some of our friends wanted to see our narrowboat! So, we took the opportunity to give a guided tour around Violet. A few friends loved the boat, others were unsure as to whether it suited them. We had fallen in love with narrowboats by this point!
After waving our friends off we turned the boat around in a turning point ready for returning to Acton Bridge. Turning points are designed for long boats, like narrowboats to turn easily, without needing assistance. Also, they are known as winding holes, it just depends who you’re talking to, or whether you’re reading a canal map.
It’s not necessarily an easy task to manoeuvre a narrowboat as you need to use both forward and reverse gear to pivot around. However, as mentioned previously my fiancé had it down to a fine art, you’d have though he’d been boating his entire life. He had absolutely no issues whatsoever with turning, navigating or mooring.
The Views
Once we had turned around it was time to head back to our original starting point in Cheshire. We spent the next day taking in all the sights and sounds around us whilst leisurely cruising along the canal. We did stop to refill our water, which was far easier that we thought, and we also moored-up to go for a walk and to pick up some lunch and dinner essentials from a local shop.
Back at Acton Bridge we spent the night ready for our early morning disembarkation. There were a number of jobs to do including cleaning, emptying the bins, stripping the beds, and generally prepping it for a handover.
All-in-all we had a fantastic 4-days (3-nights) onboard our narrowboat from Black Prince Holidays. Would we do it again? 100% yes! In fact, so much so my fiancé has been looking at where we can go on our next narrowboat canal trip.
Huge thanks must go to the team at Black Prince Holidays for organising this trip for H&N Magazine’s Rachel McAlley. Visit Black Prince Holidays to book your trip for 2026.
Black Prince Holidays – A Few Glorious Days on the Canal – Words by Rachel McAlley @LadyRach
