A note for existing bookings on holiday boats Following Boris’ announcement, we are delighted to say that we will be reopening on Monday 12th April for holiday hire boats ?? So here’s what happens now… 1. If you have booked a holiday to leave in the next 8 weeks, you will receive an email from us in the next couple of days to confirm any balance owing and how to pay. Once we’ve received payment, Read more
Narrowboat interior design is always a compromise. How can it be otherwise when your rooms are all 6’10” wide? Nevertheless, our latest hire boat – Kathleen May – was a joy to work on. Kathleen May was always 55 feet of loveliness from the outside. Her shell is inspired by old working canal boats and features a grand tiller arm and classic-shaped stern. Traditional portholes complete the look. Inside, we had some work to do. Read more
Search for luxury narrow boats for couples luxury narrow boat birthday breaks Luxury narrow boat birthday breaks are often booked for a milestone birthday. It is a huge responsibility to take charge of a big birthday weekend surprise. Wives, husbands and partners frequently contact us because they are tasked with organising an unforgettable weekend for their loved ones. It can be overwhelming. Many contact us because their partners have already expressed an interest in holidaying Read more
I’ve just taken a phone call from a really lovely man who desperately wants to book a mini-break for his partner’s birthday, but is nervous about narrowboating. He’s read all about the Boutique Narrowboats; about the design, the training we offer and even about the story of how Aaran and I came to be running this company. He’s read the Boutique Narrowboat reviews on Tripadvisor and spoken at length to some friends of his who Read more
Luxury Day Boat – Water Vole is changing… Poor Water Vole. She was the least-loved of the four day boats at Union Wharf because she had cupboards that didn’t open and a toilet which only skinny people could use. She had a tiny water tank and narrow benches to sit on. Her engine had survived it’s last season in 2019 and then died. If ever a day boat needed an overhaul, Water Vole was the Read more
Boutique Narrowboats is on TV! Okay, so the circumstances aren’t great. BBC Regional News wanted to cover the story of how the global pandemic is affecting canalboat businesses and so it was never going to be particularly optimistic coverage. But at least they took some lovely footage of Woodland Grayling. We will happily take that in lieu of actual real live visitors at Union Wharf. When reporter Elise Chamberlain first got in touch, she wanted to know Read more
I admit I was confused when I was first asked the question, Why are canalboat holidays so expensive? During the operation of our hire boat business, I’ve spent many hours buried in cashflow forecasts and budgets. This enables us to set the prices of our holidays and therefore, to me, the answer to the question of why our holidays are priced the way they are, is basically maths. However I’m pretty sure this is not Read more
Luxury canalboat for hire Many of you have been following the creation of our newest luxury canalboat for hire, Woodland Grayling, and we are delighted to show you the final result. We had hoped that the maiden voyage would take place last month, but alas the second lockdown meant that we had to cancel bookings. Then we found ourselves in Tier 3. Then, you know, Christmas. So all being well, we now plan to wave Read more
There is such a lot of activity on the build of the newest Boutique Narrowboat, Woodland Grayling, that it can be hard to find a moment to take photos. But the parquet flooring goes in next week, so we have everything stored “up high.” It also gives me the opportunity to take a few more pictures of progress so far, which I know will be encouraging for those who have booked for November. Take heart, Read more
Sometimes we are asked if it’s possible to return a holiday boat later than 9:30 AM on the morning of check out. I’m afraid to say that the answer is always a negative because, behind the scenes, there is simply too much to get done in very little time. A holiday narrowboat takes between 3-5 hours to prepare for the next guests (unlike the 20 minutes needed for a hotel room.) These so-called Turnaround Days Read more