So don't take our word for it, see what thousands of our customers are saying about us!
excellent friendly service. would recommend again - have used them every years for the last 7 years
26 Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your continued support over the past seven years! We're absolutely delighted to hear that you've consistently received excellent and friendly service from our team. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and it's always a pleasure to welcome you back each year. We look forward to helping you enjoy many more memorable canal holidays in the future. Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Good clear information on arrival at Blackwater Marina of the boat and it's features. Spotlessly clean and well equipped. Use of locks explained and manoeuvring advice given. Initially staff take you onto the canal and give short lesson/ instructions on handling before leaving you to enjoy the trip. Handover on return very easy . Would highly recommend using ABC as we will on our next trip.
26 Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! We're thrilled to hear you had a great narrowboat experience and that everything from the boat’s cleanliness to the handover process met your expectations. It’s great to know our team at Blackwater Marina provided clear guidance and helpful instruction to get you started confidently on your journey. We’re so pleased you enjoyed your holiday from Ellesmere to Llangollen, and we look forward to welcoming you back for your next adventure! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Excellent holiday week from Ellesmere to Llangollen
26 Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! We're thrilled to hear you had a great narrowboat experience and that everything from the boat’s cleanliness to the handover process met your expectations. It’s great to know our team at Blackwater Marina provided clear guidance and helpful instruction to get you started confidently on your journey. We’re so pleased you enjoyed your holiday from Ellesmere to Llangollen, and we look forward to welcoming you back for your next adventure! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Great service, very helpful and friendly
25 Oct 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We're so pleased to hear you enjoyed the service and found the boat well equipped and comfortable. It’s great to know the older style layout with the raised table and extra storage suited your preferences — many of our guests love being able to enjoy the views as they cruise along! We really appreciate your feedback and look forward to welcoming you back again soon. Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Very well equipped boat, we much prefer the layout of this older style boats as it has the raised table so you can see out as you go along and the extra storage space
25 Oct 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We're so pleased to hear you enjoyed the service and found the boat well equipped and comfortable. It’s great to know the older style layout with the raised table and extra storage suited your preferences — many of our guests love being able to enjoy the views as they cruise along! We really appreciate your feedback and look forward to welcoming you back again soon. Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Very good service the team at Gailey extremely friendly and helpful. Would recommend ABC to anyone wishing to hire from Gailey and we would use them again.
24 Oct 2025
Thank you for your kind review! We're so pleased to hear that the team at Gailey provided friendly and helpful service, and that the boat exceeded your expectations in both size and equipment — it’s great to know the layout worked well for your group. We really appreciate your recommendation and your tip about the Birmingham canal routes. Feedback like this is incredibly helpful for future guests planning their journeys, and we’ll be sure to pass it along. Looking forward to welcoming you back for another adventure soon! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Black country ring, low water levels, lovely countryside
24 Oct 2025
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad to hear you had a great holiday and that our staff and engineers were able to support you throughout your journey. It’s fantastic to know the boat was in excellent condition and well appointed — we take pride in making sure everything is ready for a relaxing and enjoyable trip. The Black Country Ring offers some beautiful countryside, and we appreciate you noting the low water levels — it’s helpful for us and future guests alike. Looking forward to welcoming you back for another adventure! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
We had a great holiday, staff and engineers were fantastic and really helpful. The boat was in very for condition, clean and well appointed.
24 Oct 2025
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad to hear you had a great holiday and that our staff and engineers were able to support you throughout your journey. It’s fantastic to know the boat was in excellent condition and well appointed — we take pride in making sure everything is ready for a relaxing and enjoyable trip. The Black Country Ring offers some beautiful countryside, and we appreciate you noting the low water levels — it’s helpful for us and future guests alike. Looking forward to welcoming you back for another adventure! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Lovely boat excellent size for 3 adults, very well equipped much better than expected. We did Black Country Ring and if at all possible we would advise going on Birmingham New Main line and NOT Birmingham Old Main line, have been on several canals and that one was by far the worst.
24 Oct 2025
Thank you for your kind review! We're so pleased to hear that the team at Gailey provided friendly and helpful service, and that the boat exceeded your expectations in both size and equipment — it’s great to know the layout worked well for your group. We really appreciate your recommendation and your tip about the Birmingham canal routes. Feedback like this is incredibly helpful for future guests planning their journeys, and we’ll be sure to pass it along. Looking forward to welcoming you back for another adventure soon! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Generally all was helpful and friendly. There as some confusion over the catering facilities on board - in particular we were assured there would be a frying pan available (for bacon butties) but this was not there on the day.
24 Oct 2025
Thank you for your feedback and for highlighting both the helpful service and the friendly atmosphere you experienced — we’re really glad to hear that overall things went smoothly for you. We’re sorry to hear there was some confusion regarding the catering equipment, especially the missing frying pan. Bacon butties are a canal holiday classic, so we completely understand the disappointment! We’ll make sure this is followed up with our team to help prevent similar issues in the future. We appreciate your comments and hope to welcome you back again soon for another enjoyable trip. Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Excellent as always, this was our 9th trip with ABC Boat Hire, never had any issues.
23 Oct 2025
Thanks so much for choosing ABC Boat Hire again for your ninth trip! We’re really happy to hear that everything went smoothly and that you had another great holiday on Turtle Dove from Aldermaston Wharf. We appreciate your continued support and can’t wait to welcome you back for more canal adventures soon! ABC Boat Hire
23 Oct 2025
No problems at all. great.
23 Oct 2025
Thanks so much for choosing ABC Boat Hire again for your ninth trip! We’re really happy to hear that everything went smoothly and that you had another great holiday on Turtle Dove from Aldermaston Wharf. We appreciate your continued support and can’t wait to welcome you back for more canal adventures soon! ABC Boat Hire
23 Oct 2025
We had never boated on the Kennet and Avon canal so this was a new experience. I booked online and thought the video walk throughs of the various boats were helpful in deciding which boat to hire
23 Oct 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We're delighted to hear that your return to canal boating was such a positive one, and that the Kennet & Avon Canal offered a lovely setting for your family holiday. It’s great to know the online booking and boat walkthroughs helped with your decision, and that the boat itself exceeded expectations — especially with the added comforts like WiFi, central heating, and improved bathrooms. We’re so pleased you had a relaxing and memorable time cruising from Hilperton to Bath, and we look forward to welcoming you back again for another adventure soon! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Our son suggested we hire a boat for a family holiday. We used to have canal boat holidays when our children were young but had not hired a boat for some years. We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the boat. The beds were comfortable, bathrooms were much improved, it was well equipped, there was even Wifi and central heating. We had a very thorough run through the boat's amenities and a welcome reminder of how the locks and swing bridges operate. We took the boat from Hilperton west onto the Avon in Bath and back again and had a lovely time in this lovely part of the country. Looking forward to doing it aagin.
23 Oct 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We're delighted to hear that your return to canal boating was such a positive one, and that the Kennet & Avon Canal offered a lovely setting for your family holiday. It’s great to know the online booking and boat walkthroughs helped with your decision, and that the boat itself exceeded expectations — especially with the added comforts like WiFi, central heating, and improved bathrooms. We’re so pleased you had a relaxing and memorable time cruising from Hilperton to Bath, and we look forward to welcoming you back again for another adventure soon! Many thanks, ABC Boat Hire
27 Oct 2025
Thanks for a great week! The boat has been amazing! We’re mainly writing this review so the next guests will be attentive on this and don’t sail the wrong way. That’s also the reason for the one star, so people read it. The canal is collapsed completely at the Cheshire Ring in Little Bollington. We experienced that it was by a coincidence that ABC boathire told us before we left the marina, when we said our plan A was Cheshire Ring. We also met a ABC boat going north towards the collapse and asked them if they knew and they hadn’t heard anything. The collapse is not expected to be fixed in the near future and it will be recommended that ABC boathire mention this to their guests every time. Another critical point and good to know is that if you are planning to do the Four Countries ring then you have to prebook to get through Harecastle Tunnel in Kidsgrove at latest one day in advance before noon (12:00pm). We planned to do Four Countries ring as our plan B in collaboration with ABC boathire, but they didn’t mention that pre booking was mandatory. This resulted in us coming to the tunnel Sunday afternoon and next possible entrance was the following Tuesday. Which ruined our plan B so we had to turn around and reschedule everything once again. There were no apologies from ABC boathire when we called them about our disappointment. It felt like they abdicted their responsibility in telling us this very relevant information beforehand and instead were met by a rude attitude. This review is mainly to inform the future boat renters and secondly as a constructive critic that ABC boathire with succes can inform to guests in the future for a better experience. A side note; a shame that the Anderton Boat lift is not working right now - that was why we chose Anderton in the first place. But this is our own fault.
23 Oct 2025
23 Oct 2025
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry your holiday was affected by canal stoppages. ABC Boat Hire cannot guarantee specific routes, as the Canal & River Trust (CRT) carries out essential maintenance to ensure the safety and operation of the waterways. All our customers are responsible for checking planned or current stoppages before and during their trip via the CRT website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices Details and links are also provided in your booking confirmation. As outlined in Section 22 of our Terms and Conditions: “Acts beyond the parties’ control”, we cannot be held responsible for unforeseen disruptions. With 16 marinas within the UK and Wales, we always aim to minimise inconvenience and, where possible, relocate customers if all routes from a marina are closed The Bridgewater Canal has been out of action for over a year and is expected to remain unnavigable throughout 2026. Our staff at Anderton Marina have been reminding all customers of this on arrival to help them plan alternative routes. The Booking Office is always on hand to provide information or guidance about any routes.
27 Oct 2025
