# Canals.UK — user reviews > 49 indexed App Store user reviews of Canals.UK by MARK MANSER, rated 4.80/5 from 52 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/canalsuk/id1588058538/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/canalsuk/id1588058538.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 44 · 4★ 4 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 0 ## Newest reviews (14 of 49) ### 3/5 — Good but could be even better *2025-10-17* This is a great app for planning routes, giving detailed information including number of locks, where facilities are, etc. It picks up your location very easily so it’s quick to find exactly where you so you can plan somewhere to moor up. I am pleased a recent update has allowed you to name the routes you save, as this was something I previously missed. Unfortunately there now seems to be a glitch with saved plans, and I don’t seem to be able to go back in and look at them. I expect this will be fixed quickly though. One change I would like to see is the option to add a ‘via’ point to journey plans. There are some routes the app plots which don’t seem to be the most direct, or have many more locks, so I would like to be able to map out the route I’d prefer. Perhaps this could be an option in settings a bit like sat nav’s have, where you can choose the shortest or quickest routes, etc. Otherwise, this is an app definitely worth having. **Developer response:** Thanks for your review I will pass your suggestions across to our development team (and get the fix in place for the saved plans), glad that you are enjoying the App ;) You can add a 'via' point by planning to the 'via' point then on to your final destination (that's what I do) ;) ### 3/5 — Good but not current *2025-07-05, version 8.1* Trying to plan a route on pro version. Having paid id rather hoped for current CRT info. My route was ‘blocked’ in the app but CRT website said was cleared 31/5. Today is 4/7! Too long not to have updates on a paid version. ### 3/5 — Move it on! *2025-04-09, version 7.4* Needs an update system that is more flexible. ### 4/5 — Best UK canal app *2025-03-26, version 7.4* Loving this app take your time playing with app I’ve upgraded because I just keep founding new bits water levels, how long is gonna take me to get from A to B? TV signal finder. I could go on and on. ### 5/5 — Great app 👍 *2024-08-08, version 5.9* I’m finding this app very useful 👍still learning how to use it but very happy 👍👍 ### 4/5 — One of the best, but could be a little better *2024-06-26* Very good, information is as accurate as you can get, probably one of the better canal apps I’ve used, however… It would be nice to be able to tap two or more points along a route and get more information, like distance, locks etc, rather then needing to go through the “canal” menu, which limits you to a single canal - we transitioned through several canals on our journey and was just cumbersome to use. It would also be nice to be able to search the canal list, for specific locks or bridges, in order to make it quicker and easier to use, but see my previous point. It’d also be nice to see some kind of route planning option (I think I just heard a developer have a heart attack 😂) I found the CRT notices a little difficult to use, been our first trip, it wasn’t as useful as I think it could be. Don’t know if there’s a way to filter by current location or manually somehow. There was a incident along our route, but I couldn’t give it listed. Maybe provide a means to show notices on the map as well 🤷‍♂️ Again, this is one of better canal apps I’ve used, I’d generally recommend it to others, but with just a little more focus on the UX and making some of the information more readily available on the map would just elevate to the next level. The list information is still important, just the map is more likely going to provide an initial visualisation to the user. **Developer response:** Many thanks for taking the time to review the App. There is already a route planner included option fully enabled in the 'Pro' version. There you can show a planned route across several canals and it will tell you how many locks, moveable bridges and canal miles (along with an estimated time). The CRT notices are plotted on the Map as an overlay (select top right (...) menu to select lots of additional information plotted on the Map. The CRT notices can be searched which will filter down to your required location. Searching the canal list for specific locations is a great suggestion and I will pass that one across to our development team. Meanwhile we hope you are enjoying the App ;) ### 4/5 — Great for Planning *2024-05-18* This is a very good app for planning journeys. The route planner is simple to use and with a little experience you can tune the speed / lock times such that you will get a very reasonable estimate of the route time. However, it is not as good as other apps for showing you progress along your route; it could do with a speed display, a more logical and relevant logging feature, and a better background map. Also, it does like to have the internet, not always available on UK canals! Despite all my comments, I will be using this app regularly before and during my canal trips. **Developer response:** Thanks for taking the time to review the App. We do appreciate any feedback and will pass it across to our development team. We hope you enjoy the App ;) For Speed select 'Speed & Location' from left hand menu options. The App has a 'Boat Tracker' for logging & also 'Boat Log' for individual log entries. The App works without internet and has offline linear maps to show your location using GPS. Internet is used to download the latest CRT notices from our server. Hope that helps. Let us know your thoughts on the background map? Thanks ### 3/5 — No River Great Ouse navigation *2023-09-22, version 3.8* Missing Ouse river navigation which I need the most. Update 22/09/2023: Just to clarify: Missing are River Great Ouse River from King's Lynn to Bedford and River Cam from Ely to Cambridge. ### 5/5 — Awesome App *2023-08-27, version 3.7* So easy to use, really TOP 👍 ### 4/5 — My go to app for quick routing calculations *2023-07-27* We are a serial electric hybrid boat and, by choice, cruise at a slower speed than many boats. This app enables you to customise your speed so that you get an quick and more accurate estimate of how long a particular journey might take you. You need to “Go Pro” to do this but it’s money we’ll spent in my opinion. **Developer response:** Thanks for taking the time to review the App. We do hope you are enjoying it! Version 3.6 now has 'turn by turn' planned route on offline linear map. You can also save planned routes for future reference! ### 5/5 — Fantastic canal maps *2023-07-09, version 3.6* I really like this App very easy to use still learning keep founding new things love TV signal founder it’s my first choice when looking for canal features now going to sit down and work on trip to Oxford thanks for a great App ### 5/5 — Great *2023-07-06, version 3.6* I’m using this to get from Milton Keynes up to Scarisbrick. It’s been great, love all the functionality and recommended it to a number of others ….. only point I think could improve it would the ability for boaters to add notes ie if you find something helpful or know of a issue it would be handy, possibly with dates E.g canal ?? Bridge 27 obstruction under water 23/10/2023 ### 5/5 — Canals UK *2023-05-22, version 3.2* Absolutely brilliant 🤩 ### 3/5 — A Good Idea Poorly Implemented *2023-03-16* This app looks potentially useful but despite upgrading from the free version it still feels like a work in progress that doesn’t deliver anything approaching a ‘pro’ experience. For example, the route planner gives only basic distance and estimated time, without the detailed waypoint information provided by the free RCR online route planner, and there is no obvious way to save or export the information. The ability to add POIs sounds helpful but is unintuitive and there is no ‘help’ facility worth the name. Upgrading from the free version opens up the ‘Pro’ modules, but amazingly the menu still flags them as if they are restricted, and continues to display the option to ‘Go Pro’. Overall this is an expensive (£12) but disappointing app which doesn’t merit the ‘pro’ label and is nowhere near being a substitute for a Nicholson guide. **Developer response:** Before purchasing the 'Pro' version all functionality was available to try via DEMO parameters if you did NOT feel that the 'Pro' version was not for you, then you should have made the decision NOT to purchase. However, I will pass your concerns across to our development team to consider adding more help and functionality to a future release! Check out the latest Version 3.6 which now has detailed 'turn by turn' canal route for the planner and the ability to save planned routes for future reference! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Not very impressed *2024-10-05* Have paid for the pro version twice now, and both times it has still not allowed me to access the upgrade. I was hoping to use this app when we come over to the UK in January and February to cruise the canals with a view to buying our own narrowboat. Will just have to stick to Nicholson’s **Developer response:** Hi, contact us via email support@xappsios.com and we will fix that for you! Sorry you are currently having an issue with the 'Pro' version. Try deleting the App re-download it and 'RESTORE' purchase, that should get you moving. If not, please email, thanks. 17/10 no communication so we assume all is up and running! ### 1/5 — Cannot get it to work! *2023-12-02, version 4.0* Route planner drop down won’t drop down .Search bar won’t search. ### 1/5 — Review *2023-08-28, version 3.7* Difficult, nay impossible, to change the destination from Fazely to the River Thames as I wanted to plan a route! Frustrating! ### 1/5 — Waste of time unless you pay *2023-04-16, version 3.1* Downloaded to plan a route to discover you have to go pro and pay.. such a simple feature should be free. ### 1/5 — Location not working *2023-03-25, version 3.0* I have location services on but the app does not show it even though I have clicked “while using the app” ### 1/5 — UK canals *2022-10-02* Very little in the basic version.. and when things like the Crinan being ignored completely you have to question the accuracy of the information.. or is it that the Crinan canal has just recently been built and so not been included yet in this version and it will be included in the update 🤷‍♂️🤔 I would suggest that you check the accuracy of your other data if you miss things like the Crinan canal.. and perhaps include more in the free version **Developer response:** Not too sure that you are using the App to its full as it has lots of FREE functionality that our current user base are finding useful. However, I will pass your concerns across to our development team to see whether they can address them. Check out the NEW version 3.0 which includes the Crinan canal :) ### 1/5 — Fake App. Avoid!! SCAM!!! *2022-06-17, version 2.3* Purchased the pro version but it never gives access to the pro features. Just asks for another tip ### 1/5 — Not accurate *2022-04-04, version 1.3* This needs a lot of work ### 2/5 — Unreliable? *2026-05-03* Downloaded the app. Quickly realised you need a paid version to use planning. Oh well. So looked at 3 CRT notices. All three stated the issue was “On-Going” but when checking the CRT website with link provided the works were completed. That seems quite unreliable information. Enough to question whether I would want to use it (and pay) to plan a journey **Developer response:** CRT Notices have been addressed please download the latest versi0on ### 2/5 — Purchasing Pro problems *2022-07-03* Purchasing pro version doesn’t activate boat tracking feature which was the primary reason for purchase. Have shut down phone, deleted and re-downloaded app, restored purchase over and over all to no avail. Demo mode persistent and re-displays demo tracking data every time regardless of above attempts. Could be a great app. **Developer response:** Try going to settings (cog) from 'Boat Tracker' option: 1. Make sure Boat Tracking On/Off is set to ON. 2. Enable Location Services, Set Location to 'Always' and Precise Location to On. 3. Restart App and that should then display current location as first entry in Boat Tracker list. If you still have issues please reach out to our support team support@xappsios.com. If this does fix your issue please update your review. Thanks Mark. 09/07/2022 No reply so we assume all is working ok! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — My favourite canal App *2026-07-24* Now I’ve got used to this app, this is my go to app. I have tried a number of different canal apps but this gives me pretty much everything that I want / need in 1 place. My OH questioned the accuracy of the speed function ( I was checking his canal speed to the engine revs) but later, when driving home in the van, I tested the speed against the sat nav speed readings and it was spot on. 👍 **Developer response:** Thanks for a great review ### 5/5 — Zog *2026-05-16* This app is incredible...Simple to use with excellent features to plan ...I'm always on it when travelling ..tried others but always come back to this one 👍 **Developer response:** Wow thanks ### 5/5 — Fantastic app *2026-05-12, version 9.2* The only app you’ll need. Pro upgrade well worth it ### 5/5 — Great Canal App *2026-04-27* Easy to use worker how long it’s gonna take you to get your next destination I only go day by day cause I’m not in a rush I find it so helpful. I would recommend it to anybody who loves the canals. **Developer response:** Russ, so glad you are enjoying the App, thanks for your kind review. If you have any suggestions about the App please contact us on support@xappsios.com. Russ, glad you are finding new options useful ;) ### 5/5 — A Must-Have for Anyone on the Inland Waterways *2025-11-20, version 9.1* Canals.UK has become my go-to app whenever I’m planning a route along the inland waterways. It’s incredibly handy and makes organising my journeys so much easier. I also really appreciate that you can adjust the settings — I’ve been able to give myself a bit more time for getting through locks, which makes the timings far more accurate for me. I did notice an issue where the app wasn’t showing swing bridges on my route. I emailed to let them know, and within a couple of hours they got back to me to say the problem had already been fixed on their database. Brilliant customer service! Whether I’m moving regularly or just checking what’s ahead, this app is always the first thing I open. Highly recommend it to anyone cruising the canals! ### 5/5 — Llangollen *2025-08-21, version 8.2* Absolutely fantastic app x used all our way x ### 5/5 — Great app *2025-08-03* Perfect accompaniment to the book maps. When you can’t remember the number of the bridge or lock that you’ve been through, this app will tell you. Planning a nice countryside mooring? You can look ahead, zoom in on the satellite image and check what the tow path looks like. **Developer response:** Wow, thanks for a great appreciation of the App! Glad you are finding it useful ;) ### 5/5 — Best UK canal app out there *2025-03-23* Easy to use, very intuitive. Makes planning a trip a breeze. **Developer response:** Wow, thanks for such a great positive review ;) ### 5/5 — Caledonian Canal distance wrong *2024-12-14* The app says that the distance from Dochgarroch Lock to Tomnahurich Swing Bridge is 318.45 miles when in fact it is only 3.5 miles, out by a factor of 100. It might be better to use Waze to calculate distances. **Developer response:** Now fixed in the latest App version 6.8. Please download and enjoy ;) ### 5/5 — Great App - Super Helpful for planning and navigating our narrowboat trip! *2024-09-07* Amazing app so far! We’ve used it to map out our whole trip and then we’ve been using it the whole week to navigate down the Llangollen canal! The only suggested feature add we had was to have it where you could select a start point and end point for the day and then do a start navigation mode to track progress and distance, speed, and time to destination (including estimated arrival time based on speed) in real time as you go. Otherwise it was great and we used it all the time during our trip! We’ll definitely be planning another canal trip in the future! **Developer response:** Wow, thanks for a great review. We are glad you found the App useful. We will take a look at your suggestion. Thanks ;) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*