Cruise the Royal River Thames

The Queen will be cruising along her Highway – the Royal River Thames – as part of this year’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and those wishing to follow in her wake and discover royal palaces and castles should check out the range of boating holidays available on this great river courtesy of specialist boating holiday agency, Waterways Holidays.

There’s a whole host of things to see and do for all ages, with Royal places of interest easily accessible from the river including Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, Runnymede, the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament, plus a host of London sights such as London Zoo and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

In addition, there are opportunities for exploring the towns – such as Oxford, Abingdon, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor – that front the river as well as cruising through rural landscapes and past picturesque villages.

Alternatively for those wishing to take in a festival, the Marlow Town Regatta & Festival (09/10 June) and the Henley Royal Regatta (27 June to 01 July) are both within easy cruising of one of the company’s starting points.

Narrowboats and cruisers – together with a skippered boat and a widebeam boat - are available for hire and the company offers a choice of starting points along the Royal River Thames with bases at Lechlade in the west to Yeading (London base) including Radcot on Thames, Eynsham (Oxford), Caversham, Marlow and Datchet (Windsor).

Short breaks – three-night weekends and four nights midweek – and week-long holidays are available with three nights’ hire at a weekend leading in at £471 for the cruiser ‘Lady Keeleigh’ from Windsor.

waterwaysholidays.com offers live availability on more than 1500 narrowboats, cruisers and sailing yachts operated by the UK’s leading boat operators and with more than 55 different start locations.  The website also offers lots of advice on boating holidays as well as featuring listings of the latest special offers.