So don't take our word for it, see what thousands of our customers are saying about us!
Very well appointed boat, reasonably comfy. Layout suited our crew extremely well. It is showing its age, and double bed had gap between the 2 matresses.
06 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. The flexible layout on our Owl Class is really useful for large families and couples and it's great to hear that it suited your crew. The singles mattresses, when joined together to make a double, should be secured by a zip locking system and it is disappointing to hear that this may not have happened when you boat was set up for you. The Marina have been contacted to ensure that this is rectified in the future. We hope to welcome you back onboard again soon.
12 Oct 2018
The overall Canal Boating experience was awesome. Lots of beautiful countryside and wonderful English pubs and beers. We plan on doing another Canal Boat cruise next year, perhaps in Scotland. But our particular boat, Ashes Lark, left much to be desired. Our bathroom sink drain leaked horribly and soaked all the toilet paper stowed beneath the sink. We could never get the drain stopper to stay down, so the sink was completely unusable for the week. Our shower had virtually no hot water. So we essentially were down to 1 and a half baths for the week for four people. And the bed frames kept sliding apart, creating a gap in the middle of the bed into which I or my wife fell into in the middle of the night, making for POOR nights sleeping. They definitely need to add some sort of a strap to hold the bed frames together. And the boat's rudder was terribly misaligned. We had to lean full-strength into it full time to keep the boat from veering an extremely hard right. That meant we had to take turns driving the boat as it wore us out. Then one morning the boat wouldn't start, the battery was dead. Were were able to contact the ABC folks who walked us thru how to undo the battery isolation switch, so we did get going eventually. But the boat was apparently mis-wired as running the heater drained the starter battery instead of the auxilliary battery. So that could have been a disaster that would of cot us hours and hours of time waiting for a battery jump. We also found that we would have had no idea where to go or what to do if we hadn't accidentally purchased the separate Guide Book for our route. ABC never stressed how important those maps were, and clearly should have. The guide Book should perhaps either be included or a mandatory purchase. I'm not sure all of these issues are purely related to our specific boat, but they sure made the trip a lot more difficult than it should have been, especially the separately beds part (which made for sleepless nights). Perhaps all canal Boats are this way, this was just our first experience with them. But if you go, be sure you're NOT on the boat named Ashes Lark. Leaving from this marina was great as there was an Aldi's and an Asda Superstore directly across the street, so getting our groceries was a snap. And having the ability to leave your car there all week without a parking fee was clearly a bonus. We opted to do the Stourport Loop, a seven day venture thru 117 locks. In retrospect, it was a bit too much. A longer ten day span for the loop would have allowed us more time to enjoy the countryside and more pubs. Instead we had to push, push, push everyday. Not what we wanted to do on vacation. This was clearly our own fault, and we'll plan better next time.
06 Oct 2018
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. Your comments have been forwarded to the Marina to ensure that the issues you have mentioned have now been resolved. During your handover your proposed route should have been discussed and a suitable map/guide suggested. We are pleased to hear that you did enjoy your holiday and that you are planning to take another canal boat break again next year. Our Customer Services Team will be contacting you in writing.
19 Oct 2018
Another great holiday with ABC Boat Hire. A little hitch at the start as we were told the boat had been set up ready for us and pointing in the right direction, unfortunately it wasn't the direction we were intending to travel and it cost us a couple of hours. Always check your maps before setting off. Luckily it didn't spoil the holiday.
06 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed another holiday with us. Sorry to hear your boat wasn't set up in the right direction, but happy to hear that it did not spoil the enjoyment of your holiday. We hope to see you again soon.
11 Oct 2018
Never give highest mark! Good trip
06 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Happy to hear that you had a good trip. Perhaps if you book with us again in the future we can achieve that highest mark. We hope to see you again soon.
11 Oct 2018
Lovely boat, friendly and helpful staff and beautiful weather
05 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We are happy to hear that you a lovely holiday, with beautiful weather and that you found our staff at Aldermaston so friendly and helpful. We hope to see you again soon.
11 Oct 2018
We had a great time. The handover was slick and informative. Boat was clean and comfortable. Apart from uncontrollable giggles putting up the beds, everything went very smoothly. 24 locks to Kilby bridge and back, one tunnel twice and a swing bridge. Everyone had a great time and so relaxed on our return we were possibly not safe to drive. Would do it again
05 Oct 2018
Thank you for your great feedback. We are happy to hear that you found your handover so informative and that you found your boat so comfortable. It sounds like you had quite an experience on the canal with a lot of variety, even if the giggles did delay you getting your beds up! We hope you managed to get home safely after such a relaxing holiday. We hope to welcome you aboard again very soon.
11 Oct 2018
Our first narrowboat experience was brilliant. The team at Aldermaston Wharf were great, talking us through the facilities and most importantly how to drive the narrowboat! The Village Weaver narrowboat was the perfect size for a couple and made it easier to navigate through the locks being a little smaller. We did the route to Newbury and back which was lovely, quite a few locks, so an extra pair of hands would have been helpful, but so many other boaters and passersby were happy to help.
05 Oct 2018
Thank you for your great feedback. It sounds like you really enjoyed your maiden voyage on the canals! We are happy to hear that you found our team at Aldermaston so helpful and friendly and that you enjoyed your holiday on the Village Weaver. It sounds like you picked a great route for your first time and received plenty of help from fellow boaters. We hope to see you again very soon.
11 Oct 2018
We had a lovely week and the staff at ABC were very helpful.
05 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. It sounds like you had a great week and we are happy to hear that you found our staff so helpful. We hope to see you again soon.
11 Oct 2018
Nobody forewarned me that a nearby bridge was out of operation and we found this out by accident just before taking the holiday. It completely changed the plans we had and could have meant that one of our party would have literally missed the boat. The boat itself had many broken latches and catches on doors, meaning that there was a constant banging throughout our trip caused by doors swinging with the motion of the boat. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the boat was clean and well equipped. The maps included in the welcome pack could have provided more detailed information in terms of moorings and water point locations.
05 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We hope that the change in your plans did not spoil your enjoyment of your holiday. We do endeavor to contact customers about stoppages prior to their holiday but restrictions are normally discussed as part of the boat handover. We do encourage customers to check the Canal & River Trust website before their holiday to check for any notices that may affect timings if they have a particular route in mind. Despite the issues with the latches and catches it sounds like you still had a great time on board the Hawk Owl. We are glad that you found our staff so friendly and helpful and that they provided you with a clean and well equipped boat. We do now have an app you can be set up on and download for our holidays. This contains a map with various points of interest on your route. We hope to welcome you back again soon.
11 Oct 2018
staff, boat, area, price all top notch!!! Hoping we can do it again.
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. I am happy that you found all of our services top notch and that you enjoyed your holiday from Falkirk. We hope to see you again very soon.
11 Oct 2018
Tcondition of the canal,shallow&weedy
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the conditions of the canal. We do mention in our hire brochure and when booking that the levels can feel shallow compared to other canals. We hope to see you again very soon.
11 Oct 2018
The boat handover was handled by 4 different people at start. This lead to delays and repeated instructions. We also made it clear we were heading South to end of the canal, but were not told at anytime the canal was blocked not far from Open Hearth pub by building work.
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Sorry to hear about the delays in your hand over and hope this didn't affect the enjoyment of your holiday with us. We do endeavor to contact customers about stoppages prior to their holiday but restrictions are normally discussed as part of the boat handover. We do encourage customers to check the Canal & River Trust website before their holiday to check for any notices that may affect timings if they have a particular route in mind. We hope to welcome you back for another holiday very soon.
11 Oct 2018
A very enjoyable experience. The lost star was mainly due to the boat layout with the crew preferring the table and dinette at the front of the boat to enable them to sit inside and see ahead.
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. It is good to hear that you enjoyed your holiday with us. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like the layout of the boat. All of our boats, including the layout options can be viewed on our website prior to booking. There is also the opportunity to have a virtual tour of the boat so you can see what they look like inside. We hope to see you for another holiday soon.
11 Oct 2018
fantastic holiday. Boat equipped with everything
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed your holiday and that Tyne Sven contained everything you needed. We hope to see you again soon.
11 Oct 2018
Great week on a well maintained, well equipped boat. Only minor gripes. One set of the waterproofs needs replacing and the trousers ought to be drawstring waist... Had to put a belt round to keep them up as they're XL. Also would strongly prefer modern, inflating life jackets over the bulky orange ones. Also have a suggestion - it's great that towels are provided, and that their are places to dry them. However it's not great that they're all the same colour. Having different colours would enable people to easily identify their own.
04 Oct 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Glad to hear you had a great holiday from Gailey on the Horned Grebe and that you were happy with everything on board. Sorry to hear that you had a few issues with the waterproofs and towels and that you found our life jackets too bulky. I will pass your feedback on to our team at Gailey. We hope to see you again soon.
10 Oct 2018
