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Great trip down the Staff & Worcester canal though some lovely scenery. Great pubs and services along the way. Battered chips at Cookley chippy, excellent
17 Jun 2025
Thank you for your wonderful review! It’s fantastic to hear that you and your family had such a great week exploring the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. We’re so pleased the narrowboat had everything you needed and that the helpful staff made your experience even smoother with their training and support. And yes—those Cookley chippy battered chips are a real treat! We’re delighted everything from the service to the scenery and stops along the way made for such a memorable trip. Hope to welcome you aboard again soon for more family adventures!
20 Jun 2025
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
What a heartwarming and wonderfully detailed review—thank you so much for sharing it! It’s fantastic to hear that the team at Aldermaston made such a positive impression throughout your journey, offering not just support and expertise, but genuine care and good humour in every interaction. We're especially glad you got to witness canal boat mastery in action when it was most needed! But what truly shines through is the spirit of your trip—three brothers setting off on a long-overdue adventure, embracing the quirks, challenges, and joys that come with life on the water. Aches and pains aside, it sounds like you made memories that will keep you laughing for years. That’s the kind of magic we absolutely love to be part of. Here’s to more wonderful adventures—together or solo—whenever the waterways call again!
20 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
What a heartwarming and wonderfully detailed review—thank you so much for sharing it! It’s fantastic to hear that the team at Aldermaston made such a positive impression throughout your journey, offering not just support and expertise, but genuine care and good humour in every interaction. We're especially glad you got to witness canal boat mastery in action when it was most needed! But what truly shines through is the spirit of your trip—three brothers setting off on a long-overdue adventure, embracing the quirks, challenges, and joys that come with life on the water. Aches and pains aside, it sounds like you made memories that will keep you laughing for years. That’s the kind of magic we absolutely love to be part of. Here’s to more wonderful adventures—together or solo—whenever the waterways call again!
20 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
What a fantastic review—thank you for sharing! It’s brilliant to hear that even as experienced narrowboaters, the team’s safety briefing and introduction still brought fresh insights. Masked Lark is a real gem, and we’re thrilled she impressed with her handling and comfort throughout your scenic four-night cruise to Shardlow and back. Sounds like a perfect blend of expertise, exploration, and enjoyment. Here’s hoping your next journey is just as memorable—we’d love to welcome you back onboard soon!
20 Jun 2025
4 night short break. Our route to Shardlow and back was scenic and enjoyable
17 Jun 2025
What a fantastic review—thank you for sharing! It’s brilliant to hear that even as experienced narrowboaters, the team’s safety briefing and introduction still brought fresh insights. Masked Lark is a real gem, and we’re thrilled she impressed with her handling and comfort throughout your scenic four-night cruise to Shardlow and back. Sounds like a perfect blend of expertise, exploration, and enjoyment. Here’s hoping your next journey is just as memorable—we’d love to welcome you back onboard soon!
20 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
Thank you so much for your continued loyalty and kind words! It’s always a joy to hear from returning guests, and we’re thrilled that the team at Gailey Wharf once again delivered the great support and service you’ve come to expect. We’re delighted the boat impressed you with its excellent condition—it’s just what we hope for every time. Looking forward to welcoming you back onboard for your next adventure!
20 Jun 2025
Lovely boat , excellent condition
17 Jun 2025
Thank you so much for your continued loyalty and kind words! It’s always a joy to hear from returning guests, and we’re thrilled that the team at Gailey Wharf once again delivered the great support and service you’ve come to expect. We’re delighted the boat impressed you with its excellent condition—it’s just what we hope for every time. Looking forward to welcoming you back onboard for your next adventure!
20 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
Great service, great narrowboat with all the facilities you will need. Training given by very helpful staff. Safe parking onsite.
17 Jun 2025
Thank you for your wonderful review! It’s fantastic to hear that you and your family had such a great week exploring the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. We’re so pleased the narrowboat had everything you needed and that the helpful staff made your experience even smoother with their training and support. We’re delighted everything from the service to the scenery and stops along the way made for such a memorable trip. Hope to welcome you aboard again soon for more family adventures!
20 Jun 2025
First trip on a canal boat and we loved it. After a good introduction, we started the journey. Managed locks and lift bridges without any problems. Met a lot of friendly people on the canal. A fantastic experience that most likely will be repeated.
17 Jun 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience! We’re thrilled that your first canal boat adventure went so smoothly—from the warm welcome and thorough introduction to navigating locks and lift bridges like seasoned pros. It’s lovely to hear how friendly and welcoming everyone was along the way—that’s one of the true joys of canal cruising! We’d be absolutely delighted to have you back for another journey whenever you’re ready to set sail again.
20 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
Thankyou for your feedback. I can confirm I have forwarded your comments to the customer service department.
20 Jun 2025
Previously stated on last page
17 Jun 2025
Fantastic customer service received. Really friendly team at Springwood Haven, could not have been more helpful and supportive for our first experience of narrow boat breaks. Lovely narrow boat with every resource you could need. Lovely finishing touches with welcome package, information and flowers. Informative hand over and supportive induction. Professional, supportive and friendly service, thank you all this made such a difference to our experience.
17 Jun 2025
Thank you ever so much for this glowing and thoughtful review! We're absolutely thrilled that your first experience of a narrowboat holiday was such a restful and enjoyable one. It’s fantastic to hear the Springwood Haven team made you feel so supported from the get-go, and we’re delighted that the boat and those little finishing touches helped set the tone for a memorable trip. Knowing that the handover and induction left you feeling confident and cared for truly means the world to us. We’d be overjoyed to welcome you back on board for another brilliant break when you're ready to cruise again!
20 Jun 2025
