★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Wren - Cactus Wren from Falkirk Marina
We had a good time, but tons of issues, as previously mentioned. Not as worry free as I would expect from a well run tour operator.
17 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Wren - Cactus Wren from Falkirk Marina
Overall, they did a good job. We rented from Falkirk Wheel. We learned that the Scottish Canals is the subcontractor there, so it really does not matter who you rent from (Black Prince or Marine Cruises), the staff assisting you (checking you out, maintaining the boats, etc) will be the same. We did have a maintenance issue with the boat, the heater would not work (October is a bit chilly). We did get it fixed the next day. I would say the communications was not great. We left multiple messages at the main office and they NEVER responded. The emergency contact number did get our heater repaired, but it took them a long time to respond, making us more nervous than we needed to be.
And no fault on ABC, but this location seems to have a lot of maintenance issues with the canal itself. The run up to the Helix/Kelpies was supposed to be operational, but they have blown 2 deadlines. When we booked it was supposed to be open (their 2nd deadline) per the Scottish Canals, confirmed by ABC. No one told us otherwise from ABC until we picked up our boat and the Scottish Canals website did not have a no-go status either. A lock failed on the Forth & Clyde basically closing it down. Again, no status updates ever on the Scottish Canals website. We had appointments to go that way (i.e. for people to work the Bonnybridge lift, and the following lock), but no one called to let us know that was no longer possible. We had a 2 week rental, and a schedule and we had no time to prepare for the changes, even though Scottish Canals, and therefore the ABC office staff at Falkirk knew that we were assuming to go that direction and it was no longer viable. We found out during our boat walk through, having no choice but to go towards Edinburgh (Grand canal). We had promises from multiple people to give us updates, which they never did. Every time we asked for info, we got different stories. The day before we were able to traverse the F&C, we had people telling that the divers were assessing the damage, when it actually was fixed for at least a day. We saw a lot of wear and tear on all the facilities, from showers, to moorings to locks. So our experience may not be an anomaly. We had a leak into the engine compartment due to a known issue, that we were not told about at check out and was the cause of our heater failure. The bow rope was too short for lock operations.
17 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Bar Tailed Lark from Anderton Marina
Please see previous comment.
16 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Bar Tailed Lark from Anderton Marina
Just completed a 10 day cruise around the 4 counties ring. We have been with ABC many times over the years and been from Anderton Marina on two occasions before. Everything was well organised and the staff were helpful and friendly. However, the boat despite being clean and well equipped had seen better days and needed refurbishment. The upholstery was becoming shiny, the woodwork was starting to look worn, the grill on the cooker would only work if you stood and held the button in and one of the shower heads would not sit it the fitting as it become slack with use. On top of this the movement on the rudder we excessive and would not rotate through 180 degrees and banged and vibrated when the boat was steered. We had a great 10 days but felt let down due the above. I’m not sure if the condition of the boat was down to the marina or ABC but given the price of the holiday quality control needs to be better.
16 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Foxy Lark from Springwood Haven Marina
A good trip but disappointed with the general standard of boat
16 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Foxy Lark from Springwood Haven Marina
Hand over good but general cleanliness poor leaks under sinks mould in showers cooker very greasy and grill wouldn’t stay lit and knobs which weren’t the original kept falling off
16 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Gull - Common Gull from Gailey Wharf
Good instruction from all on the boat and locks. Boat was spotless, beds comfy, great showers and toilets, kitchen enabled enough space and tools to cook for 4 of us. Engine was quiet and the heating worked well.
Maybe a canal map book would have been useful but a friend lent us one.
14 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Gull - Common Gull from Gailey Wharf
Great service and boat, clean and well set up on a lovely piece of canal.
14 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Flappet Lark from Anderton Marina
Quiet canals, lovely scenic countryside and interesting places to visit
14 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Lark - Flappet Lark from Anderton Marina
Very friendly and efficient. Marina staff were excellent, the boat was very clean and well prepared
14 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Swift - Mottled Swift from Gailey Wharf
Very enjoyable trip and everything went to plan
13 Oct 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Your recent holiday on Swift - Mottled Swift from Gailey Wharf
Fantastic service from the local team. They worked very hard to get the boat ready which was late back due to a broken lock. ABC central team also very helpful in arranging a back up option which fortunately was not required. Boat was alo the best we have ever had.
13 Oct 2026
