Canoeing from Houghton Mill to St Ives
Enjoy a couple of hours canoeing through picturesque meadows, from Houghton Mill to the historic town of St Ives (and back again). Don't forget you'll need a licence - you can contact the Canal and River Trust or British Canoeing for more information.
Start point
Houghton Mill. Map reference TL281720Trail information
Total stages: 5
Total stages: 5
Start point
Houghton Mill. Map reference TL281720
Stage 1
Launch your canoe from the portage which is located through the mill and set off downstream. You can hire a canoe from a local boat hire company at Houghton. For more details contact: Neil Chapman, Houghton Boats. Telephone: 07759 316260.
Stage 2
Follow the River Great Ouse and paddle downstream. You will pass two weirs on your left. Pass to the left of Battcock's lsland in the middle of the river. Pass another weir on your left and St James' church on your right before arriving at Hemingford Lock.
View of the church and the River Great Ouse near Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire | © National Trust/Phil O'Donoughe Stage 3
You can use the slipway to bypass Hemingford Lock. Continue downstream.
Stage 4
The river divides at St Ives which creates a large island in the river. Holt Island is now a nature reserve. Paddle around Holt Island and proceed back upstream to Houghton Mill.
Stage 5
Return upstream to Houghton Mill. Relax and enjoy lunch or afternoon tea at the riverside café.
Houghton Mill and Waterclose Meadows | © National Trust Images/Mike Selby End point
Houghton Mill. Map reference TL281720
Trail map
Map for canoe trail Houghton Mill to St Ives, Cambridgeshire | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
More near here
St Ives and the Hemingfords walk
Discover unspoiled villages and an old market town, alongside water meadows and the delightful Ouse valley landscape, on the St Ives and The Hemingfords walk.
Houghton Mill and Houghton Meadows walk
Follow this circular walk across the water meadows and over the Ouse valley landscape as you discover the history of the local area.
Get in touch
Mill Street, Houghton, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2AZ
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