In short. For planning a route, the Canal & River Trust publishes an interactive map. For every navigable river and canal in England, Wales and Scotland, the Inland Waterways Association publishes one. For a printout, the Trust has printer-friendly guides. For a free map on a phone or computer, there is Open Canal Map. The table below gives each publisher's own description, quoted.
Which English canal map for which job
| Job | Map | What the publisher says |
|---|---|---|
| Plan a route or a day out | Canal & River Trust interactive map | "Zoom in to the map to see more information about an area, including nearby facilities on and by the water." On its route-planning page the Trust adds: "You can check how many locks or tunnels you'll have to pass through, and where there are visitor moorings and boating facilities, such as water points." |
| See every navigable waterway, and those being restored | Inland Waterways Association UK canal map | "shows all the navigable rivers and canals in England, Wales and Scotland that are suitable for boating along with those waterways that are under restoration and selected waterways that are now derelict." |
| Print maps to take with you | Trust downloadable waterway guides | "printer-friendly guides contain detailed maps and boating information for all our waterways in England and Wales" |
| A map on a phone or computer | Open Canal Map | "Free UK Canal and River map for Desktop, Android and iPhone / iPad". It says it was "created through user contribution and Canal and River Trust Map Open Data". |
Which is best depends on the job, so there is no ranking here. Read on 29 September 2026; the publishers can change what their maps show.
How big the network is
The Trust says that across England and Wales its "2,000 miles of canals and rivers flow through cities, past homes, alongside offices and out into glorious countryside" (canal and river network). That is the Trust's own network. The IWA's map is wider: England, Wales and Scotland.
The canals the Trust lists first
The Trust's canals and rivers page lists these waterways first and offers a "View list" for the full list of its canals and rivers. Its network spans England and Wales, so check where a waterway runs before you plan around it.
- Regent's Canal
- Grand Union Canal, with its own guide here
- Kennet & Avon Canal
- Leeds & Liverpool Canal
- Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
- Birmingham Canal Navigations
- Oxford Canal
- Trent & Mersey Canal
- Lee Navigation
- Lancaster Canal
- Worcester & Birmingham Canal
- Llangollen Canal
The biggest boat each waterway takes
A map shows where a canal goes, not whether your boat fits. The Trust publishes maximum dimensions for each stretch, and says they "are a rough guide only and are given as guidance as to the maximum depth of our waterways". These figures for waterways from its list are from its waterway dimensions page, read on 29 September 2026. The Grand Union guide has that canal's stretch-by-stretch table.
| Waterway | Length | Beam | Draught | Headroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regent's Canal | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 4.34 m (14 ft 3 in) | 1.17 m (3 ft 10 in) | 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) |
| Kennet & Avon Canal: Hanham Lock to Bridge 194 (Bath) | 22.55 m (74 ft) | 4.88 m (16 ft) | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) | 2.67 m (8 ft 10 in) |
| Kennet & Avon Canal: Bridge 194 to Blakes Lock (Reading) | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) | 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Leeds & Liverpool Canal | 19.51 m (64 ft) | 4.34 m (14 ft 3 in) | 1.22 m (4 ft) | 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) |
| Lancaster Canal: main line | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in) | 0.99 m (3 ft 3 in) | 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Worcester & Birmingham Canal: Gas Street to Diglis (narrow) | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 2.13 m (7 ft) | 0.9 m (3 ft) | 2.3 m (7 ft 6 in) |
| Llangollen Canal: Hurleston to Pontcysyllte (narrow) | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in) | 2.12 m (7 ft) |
| Llangollen Canal: Pontcysyllte to Llangollen (narrow) | 21.95 m (72 ft) | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | 0.75 m (2 ft 5 in) | 2.13 m (7 ft) |
| Birmingham Canal Navigations (narrow) | 21.79 m (71 ft 6 in) | 2.13 m (7 ft) | 0.94 m (3 ft 1 in) | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal | 16.76 m (55 ft) | 2.59 m (8 ft 5 in) | 0.75 m (2 ft 6 in) | 1.8 m (5 ft 9 in) |
Notes the Trust prints beside them: "Pinch point: Hurleston" on the Llangollen Canal; "Limiting height in Foulridge Tunnel" on the Leeds & Liverpool; "Headroom through Dudley Tunnel is considerably restricted" on the Birmingham Canal Navigations; and an Ashford Tunnel note on the Monmouthshire & Brecon. The Trust gives the Oxford Canal three stretches, the Trent & Mersey Canal seven and the Lee Navigation four, so they are on its page rather than here. For depth in more detail, see how deep is a canal.
Reading a canal map
The Trust's route-planning page says that on its maps a marker with a number in it means "there is more than one entry at this location": click it for a list or zoom in to see the entries separately. On the towpath, the Trust's mileposts page says: "Many of the canal acts of Parliament required that mileposts should be placed at roughly mile-long intervals along the canals." For how the locks on your route work, read how canal locks work. The signs you will meet on the water are on our waterway signs page.
Check before you go
A map does not show today's closures. The Trust's notices and stoppages page is for "notices and stoppages, as well as strong stream and water level warnings before you travel". A licence is needed for the boat too: see the narrowboat licence cost guide. For a hire week, our canal boat holiday tips cover what to take.
If the boat lives on one canal
The route line of our personalised narrowboat name print takes up to 60 characters, enough for "the Kennet & Avon" or "the cut, anywhere". Type the boat's name and the line, and the preview shows the finished layout before you pay.
Written by Craig Fearn, Narrowboat Gifts. Last updated .
