Shire Cruisers

Shire Cruisers has hired out narrowboats for canal holidays from its wharf in Sowerby Bridge since 1980, making it one of the longer-established family boatyards on the Yorkshire waterways. Boats depart along the Rochdale Canal and the Calder and Hebble Navigation, giving access to the Pennine canal network including routes toward Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and beyond. Alongside weekly holiday hire with Saturday or Tuesday start dates, the business offers short breaks, one-way trips, and private moorings with a full boatyard service for repairs and maintenance. The company does not run its own passenger day trips, focusing instead on self-drive holidays, with instruction given to first-time boaters before they set off. The business was highly commended in the White Rose Tourism Awards in 2015.