My Stretch: commuting down the River Aire

Each day, two Dutch water taxis shuttle people along the River Aire in Leeds. Waterfront hops aboard to meet the commuters and visitors making use of this quirky service

The Waterfront Weekender: The Teesdale Way

Seek out a mechanical silver swan, Roman ruins and a carving of Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat on this unexpectedly bucolic ramble beside the River Tees

Wrach Môr, the Sea Witch

How a chance find in a dentist’s waiting room led to the discovery of a new waterside hobby

Best picnic spots: the Trent & Mersey Canal

An enticing mix of industrial heritage, unusual wildlife and world-class scotch eggs: the Trent & Mersey has it all

Best picnic spots: the Ripon Canal

Short in length but steeped in history, this distinctive waterway stretches from the historic city of Ripon to the broad waters of the River Ure

Best picnic spots: the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal

Pack a lunch and take a stroll from Shakespeare’s birthplace to a formidable staircase of locks, where you can watch the boats go by

Best picnic spots: the Chesterfield Canal

Take an idyllic walk along the ‘Cuckoo Dyke’ as it meanders through meadows to Drakeholes Tunnels where an abundance of wildlife awaits

Best picnic spots: the Hertford Union Canal

A Sunday farmer’s market is the starting point for this gentle amble along one of London’s lesser known (and shortest) waterways

Best picnic spots: the Oxford Canal

Stock up on picnic supplies from a weekly farmer’s market then take a meandering stroll away from Oxford and into the countryside

Best picnic spots: the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal

Tuck into a hearty lunch beside a ship’s graveyard with unrivalled views across the Severn Estuary