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Visitors canoeing at Attingham Park, Shropshire
Family visitors canoeing on the River Great Ouse at Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra
Cambridgeshire

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.

Total steps: 5

Total steps: 5

Start point

Houghton Mill. Map reference TL281720

Step 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.

Step 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 across river and meadows
View of the church and the River Great Ouse near Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire | © National Trust/Phil O'Donoughe

Step 3

You can use the slipway to bypass Hemingford Lock. Continue downstream.

Step 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.

Step 5

Return upstream to Houghton Mill. Relax and enjoy lunch or afternoon tea at the riverside café.

Houghton Mill and Waterclose Meadows, Cambridgeshire
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
Map for canoe trail Houghton Mill to St Ives, Cambridgeshire | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey

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Get in touch

Mill Street, Houghton, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2AZ

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