So don't take our word for it, see what thousands of our customers are saying about us!
Everyone connected with ABC boat hire in Aldermaston were really helpful and friendly. When we picked the boat up the lady in the office and the young man who explained about using the boat we’re both really good. On our last day we had to call for help due to a navigation error on our part. The lady who answered my mobile call for help and the manager in particular who came to our rescue were very good and we got to see an expert in action handling the boat! We then again needed help turning the boat before returning to the boatyard. Once again the manager came to help us without any complaint and was cheerful and smiling throughout.
17 Jun 2025
We were three brothers aged between 66 and 74 and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Just the 3 of us had not been away together before and our 4 night trip gave us a real adventure! We had lots of aches and pains at the end if the trip but this didn’t detract from our enjoyment. We enjoyed the camaraderie between the 3 of us and with our fellow canal boat travellers. We’ll be talking and laughing about the trip for many years to come.
17 Jun 2025
Perfect from start to finish. Excellent safety briefing and great intro to the boat. We were all experienced narrowboaters but we learnt stuff too. Friendly team. And we loved Masked Lark. Great new boat and she handled wonderfully.
17 Jun 2025
4 night short break. Our route to Shardlow and back was scenic and enjoyable
17 Jun 2025
Great support and service from the Team at Gailey wharf. We have used ABC for many years and will definitely use them again.
17 Jun 2025
Lovely boat , excellent condition
17 Jun 2025
The canal was very shallow, overgrown, barely any tie-up points, hours of motoring to get to a turning point. All of which could be improved on if the will was present. The shop didn't have any basic supplies, eg teabags, again easily solved. This is most definitely not for beginners when even experienced boaters were having problems.
17 Jun 2025
Badly maintained canal, and water so shallow impossible to navigate without grounding, very few tie-up points making it difficult for 2-man crew. I could go on. Certainly not a trip for the inexperienced.
17 Jun 2025
Service was great. Boat in excellent shape. Only downside was the pre trip training. If we had not been with friends we would have been in trouble. The gentleman gave little information about actual driving. Certainly not enough for the tunnel and locks we immediately encountered.
17 Jun 2025
The quality of the canal itself was not good. It was overgrown in many places making it very narrow. Combined with the vast numbers of bridges, it made navigation hard work for the driver. Much of it was silted up at the sides making passing another boat extremely tricky. The actual boat was a little tired internally. The water filter did not work well. The drinking water from it had an unpleasant taste. We had to collect drinking water directly from the canal-side taps. The scenery is beautiful. The canal-side information boards were great for understanding the original purpose of the canal. The volunteers at the locks were extremely helpful.
17 Jun 2025
Previously stated on last page
17 Jun 2025
The personnel handing over the boats were very helpful. On the return, I waited over 15 minutes to be acknowledged in the shop even though personnel had seen me standing there.
17 Jun 2025
Staff were super friendly, welcoming and gave us first timers a lesson before we set off. The boat itself contained everything you could possibly want. The only downside is that we would have liked it to last longer. It's not the cheapest of holidays, but there is nothing like it!
16 Jun 2025
Boat contained everything you could possibly want. We made our own brekkie and lunch then moored up and went for dinner each evening.
16 Jun 2025
We had a wonderful time with ABC boat hire, all the staff were so friendly and helpful. Very thorough with teaching us how to use the boat, recommending routes and places to stop etc. when we had any queries whilst on the boat, they were just a call away and always positive and easy to talk to or get advice from. Boat had everything you could need and more on, very well equipped. We had a great time and would 100% recommend and use again!
15 Jun 2025
