A Beginners Guide
to Canal Boating
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This page last updated 20/2/2000
Mail me direct if
your query isn't answered here
Here I will try and give you a list of hire companies where you can make contact via the net. Some I have used myself, all I will have seen in my travels on the Canals and spoken to hirers of their boats. If you see them listed here it means I have heard nothing adverse about them. If they are not listed, it does not necessarily mean I have heard bad things - it may be they are not on the net, or have asked me not to link to their site. There are also some links to Hotel Boat companies where they do the work and you enjoy. Ideal for the single person or perhaps the less active who still wish to get afloat.
Something well worth bearing in mind when planning your holiday is that for bank holidays, and school holidays the more popular boats tend to get booked very early. So it is worth booking as early as you can - even to the point of doing so the winter before if you have very explicit requirements. Many hire companies offer substantial incentives to do this.
Some hire companies may bless me for this, but for what its worth when I used to hire, I always found that sending for several brochures - even if it may be next year before you finally get afloat - is a good idea. You are then usually put on the companies mailing list for next years brochures to be dispatched to you as soon as they are published, along with any late booking bargains they may get this year.
HIRE COMPANIES !! -IF I HAVE MISSED YOU, AND YOU WOULD LIKE A LINK PLEASE E.MAIL ME
Multi-base companies
ALVECHURCH
BOAT CENTRES - Large multi base company. A class act among hire boat operators having some of the most
up to date boats available. I have hired from them several times myself, before
becoming part owner of "Osprey" and can offer a personal
recommendation.
Their hire charges may be at the upper end of the spectrum, but you certainly get what you pay for.
They are also cater especially for Overseas holiday makers and have a special page on their website with information for them
ANGLO - WELSH - Large multi base company.
VIKING AFLOAT - Large multi base company
BLAKES - Booking agent for many companies, especially the single base ones. Brochure gives a good overall idea of where to cruise and the various options available in boat design.
HOSEASONS - Booking agent for many companies, especially the single base ones. Brochure gives a good overall idea of where to cruise and the various options available in boat design.
Single base companies
SHIRE CRUISERS - Great base for exploring the quiet of the more northerly waterways. A family run business which I can wholeheartedly recommend having used them myself. (while Shire cruisers only have one base, they do offer a facility for one way cruising on the Leeds - Liverpool)
KATE BOATS - Excellent family run hire base situated in Warwick, so ideal for several of the more popular holiday cruises. Top quality boats with a "country cottage" feel to them. Again personally recommended having used them myself several times
CALCUTT BOATS - A single base company with 25 years experience in the hire market. Some would say their boats are functional, rather than stylish, but I don't think anyone would doubt that they offer excellent service and value for money with their fleet of boats which demonstrate they have learned from their years of experience, just what is needed by the average family or group hiring a boat. Again I have used them, and apart from their lack of "traditional" or "cottage" feel would recommend them totally. Situated centrally to the heart of the canal system.
| MIDDLEWICH NARROWBOATS - A long established single base company. Their boats are perhaps the closest to a "traditional boat" available for hire, with some even having Boatman's cabins at the rear, a truly enchanting glimpse at how the people who lived and worked on the canals in their heyday lived. I have never hired form them myself, but never cease to admire the look of their boats, and have only heard good from those I have spoken to who have used them. Well situated to make the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (pictured opposite) the center point of your holiday. |  click on picture to see larger image |
A Hotel boat is as the name suggests a
floating hotel. They tend to be narrow boats and operate in pairs (one towing
the other) They offer accommodation for around ten people. often with en-suite
facilities. All meals are provided for you, and unless the urge takes you, there
is no need to do any of the hard work of working the boat yourself. Just sit
back and enjoy! The boats cruise most parts of the canal system on a
"roving basis"
They attract all sorts of people as guests. Young and old. Single, couples or
groups. While I have never been on such a holiday myself, speaking to those who
have, leads me to believe that many people return again and again.