‘Barging Round Britain’ with canal lover John Sergeant
Narrowboat enthusiasts andJohn Sergeantfansalike will soon be celebrating as the man who shimmied his way into the nation’s hearts on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ returns to our screens in April with anew series of ‘Barging Round Britain’. And as anyone who watched the first series will testify, Sergeant moves rather more gracefully on waterways than he ever did on the ballroom floor!
“Canal boating is a classic holiday,” says the former political correspondent, who traces the fascinating history of canals, meeting lock builders and families living on houseboats, and witnessing stunning architectural feats. “The British canal network is romantic and quite mysterious. You don’t know where these things are going and then you suddenly come across a tunnel that can go on for a mile – it’s pretty incredible.”
In his most spectacular journey in series one Sergeant cruised over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a thin bridge of water that carries the Llangollen Canal 126 feet over the River Dee in north-east Wales. “Going over the Aqueduct was a highlight. Amazing!” Sergeant recalls. Completed in 1805, this skinny passage is the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain, and took ten years to build. “It’s like a pencil,” he continues. “You look at it and you think, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ because there are no rails or anything. It’s magic.”
‘Barging Round Britain’isn’t Sergeant’s first go at being a helmsman, but the joys of dawn on a narrowboat are new territory. “I’m overnighting at least once on every trip,” he says, remembering a scene where he appears in his dressing gown on an empty canal. “There’s something amazing about waking up to complete silence. In one place there was nothing – nothing that way and nothing the other way. Just total peace and calm.”
“I’m very interested in history and there are moments when you get a real feel for the past on a narrowboat. It’s astonishing to have the canals still there and be able to use them. There’s no real equivalent. If all the steam trains were still working and you could go by steam all over Britain then that would be. But we can actually do that with canals. OK, they’re not horse-drawn, but the sensation and sights are exactly the same as when they were built. That is really something.”
Why not hire a narrowboat from Anglo Welsh’s base at Trevor on the Llangollen canal and follow John Sergeant’s “amazing journey” over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct? Our team of friendly canal holiday experts are available to take your booking. Please call us on 0117 304 1122.
Series two of ‘Barging Round Britain’ is on ITV from April 22. The first series is now available on DVD and the accompanying book, ‘Barging Round Britain: Exploring the History of our Nation’s Canals and Waterways’ has recently been published in paperback.
Behind the scenes at Anglo Welsh. The family that plays together stays together.
Listening carefully to our loyal customers tells us that people keep coming back to Anglo Welsh because of our fantastic range of narrowboats located at convenient bases on the most picturesque waterways in England and Wales. It also tells us that people value our customer service very highly. In particular, they appreciate the unwavering passion of our canal-loving team.
“People really appreciate being greeted by a familiar smiling face when they hire a boat,” says Carl Cowlishaw, Anglo Welsh’s Operations Manager, “and we do have an uncommonly large number of long-serving staff at our bases. There must be something in the water at Anglo Welsh – excuse the pun – but once people join us, they never want to leave!”
Carl himself soon qualifies for a gold watch, despite still being a youthful 42. “I am now in my 28th year on the canals,” he says, almost wistfully. “I first started working at Anglo Welsh in Great Haywood as a Saturday lad when I was 14. The plan was to earn enough money to catch the bus to Woolworths in Stafford and buy the latest chart singles. If memory serves me right, one of them was ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ by Kylie Minogue!”
“My musical taste has changed a bit since then,” he continues, “but my love of narrowboats and the sheer pleasure of being around canals hasn’t, and I think that applies to many Anglo Welsh stalwarts. Yes, we take our work seriously, but being around boats and on the canals also gives us enormous pleasure. They say ‘the family that plays together stays together’ and that definitely applies to the enjoyment you get as part of the Anglo Welsh family.”
Carl has been Operations Manager at Anglo Welsh since 2005, but before that he’d occupied just about every role going: apprentice, engineer, boat painter, hire fleet manager, base manager. Much to his chagrin, he now spends as much time on the road as on the water. “I visit all ten Anglo Welsh bases at least once a month and also spend time at our Bristol head office where bookings and customer enquiries are handled. But it’s not all admin, I get to monitor the winter maintenance and our boatbuilding programme, and I still try to get out on one of our boats at least once a week.”
So howhas the narrowboat sector changed in Carl’s three decades at Anglo Welsh? “People definitely expect a lot more these days,” he says. “To give you one example, we’ve installed wi-fi on the entire Anglo Welsh fleet for 2016. But in 40 years as a leading hire boat operator some things have hardly changed at all. People still come to us because they value the UK’s waterway heritage and enjoy the gentle pace of canal holidays. And they appreciate Anglo Welsh because we offer a large choice of boats and locations but still maintain the personal touch people expect from a great holiday.Early bookings are at a record-breaking high this year, so we’re busy preparing the fleet for an exciting summer season. And hopefully, our customers are looking forward to renewing acquaintances with some familiar faces!”
Our team of experienced and friendly canal holiday experts are available to take your booking.
No Experience? No Problem! Narrowboat holidays for novices.
They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle, and the same applies to canal boats. Once you’ve learned how to manoeuvre a narrowboat – and with help from Anglo Welsh’s experienced instructors, learning is a surprisingly straightforward procedure – you’ll never forget how. But be warned, once you’ve experienced a magical journey at the helm of a canal boat you’ll be hooked for life!
Over the last 40 years Anglo Welsh has taught more people to handle a narrowboat than you can shake a canal rope at, and we still love welcoming excited first-timers to Britain’s growing family of canal enthusiasts. In fact, one of the attractions of waterway holidays is that anyone can hire a canal boat with no licence or prior training**.
“If you’re 18 or over and willing to learn, we’d love to teach you,” says seasoned Anglo Welsh instructor Rod Bright, a popular figure on the canal boat scene who has been showing narrowboat novices the tricks of the trade for three decades. “We get people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities coming to us as beginners, but believe me, they all get the same thrill when they first take control of the tiller.”
So how does ‘day one’ on an Anglo Welsh narrowboat work? “First of all, we sit down over a cuppa and talk about which routes are most suitable for beginners,” says Rod. “Then we board the hire boat and show people where everything is: from the tiller, controls and engine to the heating and fuse boxes. Next we focus on safety procedures and canal etiquette. No Anglo Welsh instructor ever leaves a customer alone on a narrowboat without being 100% sure they’re capable of handling things on the canal without any risks.”
Next comes the practical instruction. “We set off along the canal and demonstrate how to steer the narrowboat, how to line up for bridges and navigate locks, and how to tie ropes for mooring,” explains Rod. “You move the tiller left to go right and right to go left which can throw people! When that’s all sunk in, we’ll set the boat up in a nice straight line and hand over the tiller. Once we can see the hirer feels confident and is in control we’ll wave them off on their first solo adventure.”
“Some people are off and running after 45 minutes’ instruction, others take longer; the key thing is we never rush people. And one advantage nowadays is that people often do advance research online which helps them to grasps things more quickly. Common sense and care is the main thing we impress on our customers; narrowboats may trundle along the canal at 4mph, but we’re talking 18-ton vessels, so some caution is required. Things happen more slowly on the water, but unlike driving a car you need to think ahead. Luckily, most canal boats are steered using a tiller at the rear of the boat. That may sound strange but it means that you can see ahead and also see what your boat is doing!”
“It is 30 years since I first steered a friend’s narrowboat and I’ve been hooked on the canal life ever since,” concludes Rod, who is now based at Anglo Welsh’s Wootton Wawen base near Stratford-upon-Avon. “It’s such an exhilarating way of spending your free time it gives me real pleasure helping people discover how easy it is to get started.”
Our team of helpful canal holiday experts are available to take your booking – whether it’s your hundredth time on a narrowboat or your very first go!
Please call us 0117 304 1122
**The Hirer must be aged 18 years or older. There must be two able-bodied people aged 18 years or over to take responsibility of the boat and crew at all times. Whenever the boat is driven by a person aged under 18, they must be under close supervision of a competent person aged 18 years or older.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, if you love canals – and the Anglo Welsh team is guilty as charged – you have to love Channel 4’s ‘Great Canal Journeys’, now back on our screens for a third series.
Husband and wife team Timothy West and Prunella Scales are self-confessed ‘canal nuts’, and despite their advancing years (he’s 81, she’s 83) and Prunella’s fragile health, they have no intention of hanging up their canal ropes. Married for 53 years, the thespian couple have created a lifetime of memories on stage and screen (who can forget Scales’ arch portrayal of Sybil in ‘Fawlty Towers’?), but away from acting they have lived a very different life exploring the stunning waterways of Britain by canal boat.
Each episode of ‘Great Canal Journeys’ reveals the rich and diverse history and culture of canal life, explores the beautiful scenery of Britain’s landscapes and wildlife, while giving Timothy and Prunella the chance to recreate some of their most treasured family moments. It proves to be a charming insight, not just into their lifelong passion for narrowboats, but also their half-century love affair, a relationship laced with poignancy now that Prunella suffers from Alzheimer’s.
One of the first ever journeys featured on ‘Great Canal Journeys’ was a trip on an Anglo Welsh narrowboat along the Oxford canal where the couple took their first boating holiday as a family with sons Sam (actor Samuel West) and Joseph more than 40 years ago. Another memorable canal trip took Prunella and Timothy back to their honeymoon destination, Llangollen in North Wales, now Anglo Welsh’s largest base.
Cruising along by narrowboat, the couple have also revisited the picturesque Kennet and Avon canal in the West Country, which they helped saved from closure a quarter of a century ago. In the current series, they travel from Birmingham to Braunston, Northamptonshire for a festival of canal boats and to unveil a plaque to a late friend and canal campaigner.
Last year it was revealed that Scales’ Alzheimer’s means she can barely remember any of her 53-year marriage to West, but as her still doting husband explains, “Pru doesn’t remember things very well, but you don’t need to remember things on the canal because you can enjoy things as you see them, so it’s perfect for her really.”
“Do I know where we’re going or why we’re going there?” asks Prunella at one stage. “Well, sometimes I do, but sometimes I just want to watch the countryside float by.” Relaxing on a narrowboat, cruising along a canal, watching the world go by … ‘Great Canal Journeys’ shows that canal holidays are a heartwarming way to spend time with your nearest and dearest, whether you’re young newlyweds or lovebirds in your dotage.
Our team of helpful and friendly canal holiday experts are available to take your booking.
Please call us 0117 304 1122
Our Canal Boat Hire Base on the Llangollen Canal at Trevor
Becca Strong, Admin Manager at Trevor on the Llangollen Canal, tells us why the canal life is in her blood…
Alongside picturesque routes and stylish narrowboats, Anglo Welsh is also renowned for the calibre and commitment of its dedicated staff. ‘Vocation’ is the watchword for a professional team who not only live and breathe canals but are rooted in their local communities. The dynamic duo at the helm at Trevor in Llangollen, North Wales are no exception. Base Manager Matt Anderson first joined Anglo Welsh as a 13 year-old Saturday boy in the mid ‘90s, but he is a narrowboat novice compared to his partner and Trevor’s Admin Manager Becca Strong!
“I grew up in a canal side house alongside the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a stone’s throw from Trevor’s wharf, so you could say that canals and narrowboats are in my blood,” says Becca. “My grandad, dad and brother all worked for British Waterways (now The Canal & River Trust) and I first set foot on a narrowboat when I was just 3 years-old. The local waterways have been a big part of my life ever since, so joining Anglo Welsh in 1994 was a real thrill and a proud day for my family.”
Becca and Matt moved back to Trevor in July 2015 after 1o years managing Anglo Welsh’s Tardebigge base in Worcestershire. “It’s great to be back home where we both started,” says Becca, “and we’re relishing the challenge. Trevor is now Anglo Welsh’s largest base with a fleet of 19 holiday boats, including our new Constellation class ‘Aquarius’, 4 day boats, and 10 full-time staff, all of them genuine canal boat enthusiasts.”
“Everybody at Trevor is looking forward to a busy year and we’re already taking bookings for Valentine’s Day, the February half-term and Mother’s Day. As for the peak summer season, it will be all hands on deck and all boats in the water, so I recommend booking early! The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct’s World Heritage status means we are an international destination these days, so as well as locals we get visitors from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia and even from Holland, where they know a thing or two about canal boats!”
So having being born and raised in the shadow of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, does Becca have any personal recommendations? “The stretch of canal from Trevor to Llangollen is really stunning with breathtaking views over the valley, beautiful churches, lush countryside and lovely, winding waterways. A crew from ‘Visit Wales’ were here recently filming the aqueduct for ‘The Year of Adventure’ campaign and I can tell you, even seasoned professionals are knocked out by the natural beauty here.
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, nicknamed the ‘Stream in the Sky’, carries the Llangollen Canal 38 metres (126 ft) above the River Dee. Cruising on a narrowboat without even a handrail on the aqueduct’s south side to obstruct your view of the valley below, you will feel like you are suspended in mid-air!
Our team of helpful and friendly canal holiday experts are available to take your booking.
Please call us 0117 304 1122
Go “Interstellar” with our new ‘Constellation’ fleet
Hot on the bow waves of our popular Bond Class boats, we’ve continued listening to what’s most important to our customers and in 2016 we are reaching for the stars with the first six narrowboats from our exciting new ‘Constellation’ class.
Currently being constructed in Yorkshire by Silsden boats, these awesome new stars of our fleet will feature the same exacting standards of craftsmanship, comfort and finish as our Bond Class fleet.
Constellation boats will include: full-size showers; a range of flexible and private berths; solid fuel stoves on the four and six berth boats; a large TV and Wifi; spacious kitchens with modern fittings and lighting; and a smart new livery.
Available from our Bradford on Avon base on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Wiltshire from Easter 2016, the 12-berth ‘Andromeda’. For short break holiday destinations, choose from the World Heritage Status City of Bath or the base of the Caen Hill Flight. Pewsey, Great Bedwyn or Hungerford can be reached on a week’s holiday.
The new four-berth ‘Aquarius’ will to be based at Trevor base on the Llangollen Canal in Wrexham from 11 March. Short break destinations from this popular location, just two minutes from the World Heritage Status Poncysyllte Aqueduct, include Ellesmere, Llangollen and Whitchurch. On a week’s holiday, boaters can cruise on to Wrenbury or Barbridge.
At Wootton Wawen, the new four-berth ‘Aquila’ will be available for hire from 18 March. Our Wootton Wawen canal boat hire base is on the Stratford Canal near Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire, offering short breaks to Stratford or Hatton, and weekly cruises to Warwick or Birmingham.
Bunbury will offer the four-berth ‘Carina’ 6 May and six-berth ‘Cassiopeia’ from 25 June. This base on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire provides short breaks to Chester, Whitchurch or Anderton Boat Lift and weekly cruises to Llangollen, the Four Counties Ring, Caldon Canal or Macclesfield.
Finally, the 12-berth ‘Delphinus’ will be at our Oxford base from 13 August offering canal boat holiday-makers the chance to travel along the River Thames in luxury, heading to Lechlade, Oxford or Wallingford on a short break. On a week’s holiday, Henley is in reach on the River Thames or Banbury on the Oxford Canal.
Constellation narrowboat hire prices start at £695* for short break on a boat for four and £995* for a week. Call us on 0117 304 1122 to find out more.
*Price includes damage waiver but not fuel. Fuel deposits are £50 for short breaks and £90 for week long holidays.
With spooky tunnels, dark cuttings, creepy locks, misty towpaths, plenty of bats, frogs and toads, and many a ghostly tale, Britain’s 200-year old canal network provides the perfect backdrop for a haunting Halloween.
From Roman centurions and drowned boatmen to eerie figures and shrieking boggarts, there are plenty of haunted destinations afloat to get your spine tingling. Here are our top seven:
There’s something in the dark at Betton Cutting…Betton Cutting on the Shropshire Union Canal near Market Drayton has always had a dark reputation among boating people, with a shrieking spectre seen and heard there. And Tyrley middle lock, just beyond Market Drayton, is reported to have its own helpful resident ghost that at night will push the lock gates shut behind passing boats. ***Market Drayton is 19 hours and 19 locks away from our Great Haywood base on the Trent & Mersey canal in Staffordshire.
Mind out for the Monkey Man at Norbury…look out for the hideous black, shagged coated being known as ‘The Monkey Man’ on the Shropshire Union Canal at Bridge 39 near Norbury. This fearful figure is believed to be the ghost of a boatman drowned there in the 19th century. ***Travel down the Staffs & Worcester Canal then north on the Shropshire Union Canal from our base at Great Haywood, a journey of 36 miles and 14 locks, which takes around 13 hours.
Get the chills in Chester…at the City’s old Northgate, where the canal was dug into part of the town’s moat, the ghost of a Roman centurion has been sighted guarding the entrance to the City. ***Hire a canal boat from our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, reaching Chester in seven hours, passing through nine locks.
Prepare to be spooked at Blisworth Tunnel…the 2.81km-long Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire has spooked a number of boaters over the years. The tunnel’s construction began in 1793, with teams of navvies working with picks and shovels. After three years of toil they hit quicksand and the tunnel collapsed, killing 14 men. A new route was found and it eventually opened in 1805. But chillingly, over the years some boaters travelling through the tunnel have reported seeing eerie lights and a second route opening up. ***The Blisworth Tunnel is 26 miles and 16 locks from our Stockton base on the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire, a journey which takes around 10 hours.
Look out for the ghost of Kit at Kidsgrove…a shrieking boggart, the ghost of Kit Crewbucket murdered there, is said to haunt Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove. ***Harecastle Tunnel is 22 miles and 18 locks from our Great Haywood base, a journey of around 10 hours.
Watch out for an Aqueduct Apparition…the World Heritage status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal in Wrexham is said to be haunted by an eerie figure sometimes seen gliding along the towpath on moonlit nights. ***Boaters can reach the Aqueduct in 20 minutes from our Trevor base on the Llangollen Canal.
Beware the ‘bloody steps’ at Brindley Bank…another eerie place on the Shropshire Union canal in Staffordshire is Brindley Bank. The site is said to be haunted by a woman – Christina Collins – murdered there in 1839 whose blood ran into the canal. The stain still reappears to this day. ***Brindley Bank is just three miles and two locks from our base at Great Haywood.
Anglo Welsh’s top 10 Canal Boat Holidays for 2016!
1. Visit Oxford afloat aboard ‘Delphinus’…from our Oxford base, it’s a tranquil three-hour cruise along the River Thames to moorings at Hythe Bridge, perfect for exploring Oxford’s city centre. Part of our new ‘Constellation’ fleet, the luxurious 12-berth ‘Delphinus’ will be available to hire from our Oxford base. With more space to chill out inside and extra room to relax outside, plus a large TV and Wifi, this stylish boat is perfect for extended family holidays or a city break afloat for groups of girls or boys. New ‘Constellation’ boats will also be available at Trevor, Wootton Wawen, Bunbury and Bradford on Avon.
2. Mark the Leeds & Liverpool Canal’s Bicentenary…in 2016 it will be 200 years since the magnificent Leeds & Liverpool Canal was completed. Stretching for 127 miles, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was the earliest of the trans-Pennine canals to be proposed and the longest in Britain built as a single waterway. From our base at Silsden on the Leeds & Liverpool, on a short break canal boat holiday-makers can head east to reach the Sir Titus Salt’s model town at Saltaire, passing through the Grade I Listed ‘Bingley Five Rise’ locks. On a week’s break, boaters can continue on to Leeds, mooring close to the Royal Armouries Museum, home of our national collection of arms and armour.
3. Rome around Roman Bath…from our base on the Kennet & Avon Canal at the historic town of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, boaters can reach the World Heritage City of Bath in seven hours. Stunning examples of Georgian architecture, including the Royal Crescent, the Roman Baths where the thermal water still steams today and a thriving programme of festivals, including the International Music Festival which runs from 20-30 May 2016, are just some of the many things to see and do there.
4. Cruise the Cheshire Ring…in 2016 it will be 40 years since the Cheshire Ring was restored. Travelling 97 miles, through 92 locks, it takes around 55 hours to cruise this superb canal ring. From our base at Bunbury, the journey can be done on a two-week break. Head north from Middlewich passing the Anderton Boat Lift (AKA “The Cathedral of the Canals”) and on to Preston Brook and Warrington, before turning east to Manchester. The route runs past the world-renowned football stadiums of Old Trafford and the Ethiad, then out of Manchester onto the Macclesfield Canal, where peace and tranquillity returns as the canal becomes a quiet sleepy route through gorgeous rolling hills.
5. Travel through Shakespeare country…in 2016 will be 400 years since the death of the Bard. To mark the date, take a cruise through the Warwickshire countryside, starting at our Woowen Wawen base near Henley in Arden. It takes six hours, travelling through 17 locks to reach Stratford upon Avon where narrowboat holiday-makers can moor up at Bancroft Basin, close the Swan Theatre and other Shakespeare hotspots.
6. Commemorate the Brindley 300…in 2016 it will be 300 years since the birth of James Brindley, one of the greatest engineers of the 18th century. Brindley built 365 miles of canals, including the Trent & Mersey, Coventry, Oxford and Staffordshire & Worcestershire canals. From our base at Great Haywood, at the junction of the Trent & Mersey and Staffs & Worcs canals, canal boat holiday-makers can remember Brindley with a short break to Fradley, meandering through the Trent Valley and passing the grounds of Lord Lichfield’s Shugborough Hall. Or on a week’s holiday, boaters can reach historic Market Drayton, home of the gingerbread man, passing through the beautiful ‘Tixall Wide’, bursting with wildlife.
7. Celebrate the Year of the Monkey with a visit to Chester Zoo…beginning on 8 February 2016, it’s the Chinese year of the Monkey. It’s said that those born under the year of the Monkey share the animal’s intelligence, wit, inventiveness and problem solving strengths, as well as its playful nature. Celebrity Monkeys include Leonardo da Vinci, Mick Jaggar, Charles Dickins, Macauley Culkin, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross and Mel Gibson. From our base at Bunbury, Chester is a delightful seven-hour and nine-lock cruise away, passing through rolling Cheshire landscape. Once there, canal boat holiday-makers can celebrate the year of the Monkey with a visit to Chester Zoo, home to a variety of monkey species, including Spider Monkeys, Sulawesi Macaques and Howler Monkeys.
8. Visit the World Heritage Status Pontcysyllte Aqueduct…the Llangollen Canal’s incredible Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales is truly one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. Its cast iron trough is supported on iron arched ribs and carried 38 metres high above the Dee Valley on 19 hollow pillars. In 2009 it was granted World Heritage status, putting it on an equal footing with the Great Barrier Reef and Taj Mahal. From our base at Trevor, the aqueduct is a 20-minute cruise away. Boaters can then continue east to reach the Ellesmere Lakes, also known as the Shropshire Lake District and then head back west to the delightful town of Llangollen, with its fascinating Steam Railway Centre.
9. Head to Devizes and the Caen Hill Flight…from our base at Bath, Fox Hanger Wharf, at the base to the magnificent Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes, is 10 hours and eight locks away. Devizes is an historic market town with a colourful medieval past and plenty of good eateries. It’s also the start point for the gruelling annual 127-mile long Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race, beginning on 25 March in 2016.
10. Potter along to Stoke Bruerne canal village…from our Stockton base on the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire, the pretty canalside village of Stoke Bruerne is 13 hours and 17 locks away. Stoke Bruerne is home to a variety of historic pubs and eateries, a treasure trove of canal curiosities at the Canal Museum, the southern end of the spooky 2,813-metre long Blisworth Tunnel and the popular Village at War event, held each September.
We offer a range of different types of holidays such as City Breaks, Relaxation Cruises and Popular Destinations
So why choose Anglo Welsh?
Over 55 years providing unique canal boat holidays in England and Wales.
Modern and spacious narrowboat and wide beam barge hire – from 2 to 12 berths.
Wide choice of narrowboat hire locations and canal boat holiday destinations.
Canal boat holiday routes for novices & experienced boaters.
Flexible holiday booking, no hidden costs.
Family friendly and pet friendly holidays.
Great days out on the water.
Luxury canal boat hire and Thames boating holidays.
Anglo Welsh. So much more than narrowboats
...but don't just take our word for it
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