Tiverton Canal Co

Tiverton Canal Co is a truly unique family-owned Canal Living Heritage Attraction, with staff dressed in clothing of a bygone era and with large Heavy Horses (including Shires) at the ready. The Brind family are proud to operate one of the very last Horse-Drawn Barges in Great Britain!

Located in Mid Devon, near Exeter, on the banks of the beautiful Grand Western Canal Country Park & Local Nature Reserve, it’s an experience not to be missed!

You could easily spend a day making memories enjoying Devon’s historic 200-year-old, 11 mile canal alongside the beautiful Heavy Horses and Horse-Drawn Boat trips. Experience an environmentally friendly boat trip aboard the last horse drawn barge in Devon and one of the very last in Great Britain! Find out more here. 

Tiverton Canal Co also offers a range of things to see and do, and all at this beautiful location. Relax with a glass of wine, coffee or ice-cream at the ‘floating-canal-side bar’, The Ducks’ Ditty, go shopping at the Canal Gift Shop, for canal art and gifts or hire a Boat and have a lot of fun exploring the waterway at your own pace with a rowing boat or Canadian canoe. Make sure to visit the Grand Western Canal Visitor Centre and the Canal Play Park. 

The Duck’s Ditty Bar is Devon’s only floating canal barge café bar, which is permanently moored at Tiverton Wharf. The bar is a genuine artisan coffee house and is fully licenced, allowing you to enjoy refreshments al fresco on the canal bank. The gift shop can be found in a former stable and is where you can pick up a range of gifts as well as book tickets for the horse drawn barge, boat hire and Canadian canoes.

Located in the Canal Basin, next door to the canal Gift Shop, the Canal Visitor Centre was officially opened by local Olympic athlete and canal-lover Jo Pavey, in April 2013. Children will love spending time at the Canal Play Park, which is just a short distance from the Canal Visitor Centre, Tiverton Canal Co.’s floating café-bar (The Duck’s Ditty), Gift Shop and the nearby Canal Tea Rooms and Garden.

For the Horse-drawn barge trips timetable, boat hire charges, Ducks Ditty Bar opening times and Maps, please visit www.tivertoncanal.co.uk

Entrance to the Canal country Park and local nature reserve is free and open all year.

Devon Hire Boats

Rowing Boats & Canadian Canoes For Hire

Tiverton Canal Co offers a range of hire boats available hourly, which include Rowing Boats and Canadian Canoes, The Grand Western Canal supports a rich and vibrant variety of wildlife and interesting things to see. All the hire boats provide a great opportunity for you to get close to nature and explore and canal at your own pace.  

Contact Us: For Information about Boat Hire please contact Jacquie at the Ticket Office on 01884 253345

* Boats Available: From End of May Bank Hol to September. Only when shop/ticket office is Open. Please note last hire 3pm, all boats to be returned by 4.30pm.

End of May Bank Holiday & June:
Open: Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun. 12 noon - 3.00pm.
Closed Mondays (inc. bank holidays) & Fridays

July & August:
Open: Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun. 10.30am - 3.00pm except Saturdays 12 noon - 3.00pm.
Closed: Mondays (inc. bank holidays)

Relax with your friends, Socialise and Enjoy the truly unique and tranquil delights of the Ducks Ditty Bar, which is permanently moored at Tiverton Wharf. You can enjoy light and airy alfresco dining "on the canal bank".  Some say it's the best beer garden in Devon. Come aboard the Ducks Ditty Barge.

Ducks Ditty Bar

The Ducks Bar... 

The Ducks Bar is fully licenced, with a range of Great Wines to tickle your taste buds, available by the glass, or even better by the bottle! Real Ales, Cold Lagers and Ciders including Devon's Sandford Orchards on draught. Gin and Spirits available together with other soft drinks, all served in an old-fashioned barge style!

Barista Coffee / Loose leaf Teas / Food / Ice-Cream...   

The Ducks Ditty is a genuine Artisan Coffee house - Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte, Mocha or Hot Chocolate, also a range of Loose Leaf Teas alongside tempting sweet cakes & treats we also serve lovely Marshfield Scoop-Ice-Cream. 

* May - Open 12pm to 4pm: Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur
Closed: Mondays & Fridays (including Bank Holidays)

June & July - Open 12pm to 5pm: Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur,
Closed: Mondays & Fridays

August - Open 11am to 5pm: Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri
Closed: Mondays (including Bank Holidays)

September - Open 12pm to 4pm: Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur
Closed: Mondays & Fridays

Last Orders: Hot drinks stop half an hour before closing, cold drinks & ice cream served until closing time.