Bath Canal Boat Company

Fantastic time on the Grand Cru widebeam for 5 days cruising down the Kennet and Avon canal. The owner, Peter, was really lovely and super helpful - he talked us through everything we needed to know before we set off and joined us for the first 20 minutes to ensure we were comfortable with the boat and steering. We had one minor query during our 5 day trip, but Peter was available on the phone and easily talked us through the minor issue so we were able to quickly sort it ourselves.There was just 2 of us on the boat, who were new to canal boating and we can’t recommend it enough! We were able to navigate the locks and mooring ourselves. The pictures of the Grand Cru don’t do it justice, very clean and spacious, we would definitely use Bath Canal Boat Company again. Beautiful canal and lovely locals - a fantastic trip!

We had a lovely stay on Premier Cru which was such a beautiful boat. The boat was spacious, clean and cosy and we especially liked the wood burning fire. When we arrived Peter was so welcoming and made us feel at home. He showed us how to drive the boat and gave us all the info we needed for our stay. I will be hoping to come back soon only next time for longer!

Amazing canal. We hired a boat and spend there 3 weeks in total and see so much beautiful places. Truly amazing...

As a group of 4 and our whippet, we enjoyed 7 days on the Bath Avon canal. We hired premier cru and although the weather could have been better we had a lovely time . Peter's attitude towards his hirers is top notch and nothing was too much trouble . If anyone is worried about the steering and the locks , don't worry it'll all make sense after a few hours . Go and enjoy, it was on our bucket list for years . Thank you Peter. Extra footnote...anyone travelling by motorhome be aware of the clean air zone in Bath . We came up in our compact motorhome so we could pack all our stuff ( x4 adults) . 26 days later got hit with a £60.00 pound clean air zone fine and a surcharge of £10.00 . Didn't notice the signs, too busy watching the sat nav. Ouch !

It was OK but probably wouldn't use again.Good is that it's a pretty spacious and comfortable interior and the owner is friendly. Also the canal is has a great mix of features two aquaduct and great views and nice pubs.Not so good is that the engine broke down one day in, fortunately while stationary and not in a lock, but could have been dangerous if it happened while we were cruising or descending a lock.Also the size of the boat (18 tonnes) and the narrowness and shallow sides of the canal mean this isn't a relaxing boat to drive. It means progress needs to be particularly slow and careful so you cannot get particularly far. The size of boat means you risk running aground when mooring in quite a few places and this isn't that obvious. Also the steering gets worse as speed increases despite a lack of weed hatch (I opened the hatch and investigated as it I couldn't believe it should be that wobbly at speed).Briefing suggested we grease the propeller shaft in morning but after electrics ran out quickly first night I had to work out that the bilge pump was working hard to empty the bilge where water was leaking quite fast. This didn't make it a terribly relaxing sleep with a child in board. Second night I had to run engine for an hour around midnight to recover power and worked out that I had to grease the propeller shaft at night too (using my phone torch - when a hand torch would have been much better).There aren't life jackets (though the owner offered to fetch one from home) or torches (which I turned out to need given the leaking bilge).The first (and only) lock we managed was Bradford on Avon and fortunately there were trust volunteers to help. But that first lock is very challenging due to lack of visibility and major road to cross. As we were one man and a 13yo I was surprised the owner didn't give more information about how we might better negotiate that rather than chatting through the diagrams of lock operations. If we had got to it on the first day there wouldn't have been volunteers and it would have been a lot harder.Then there was the price which at 600 for a couple of days (and no offer of money back for the 4 hours lost due to engine failure though I was offered to extend my trip by time lost but of course I couldn't do that). This four hours could easily have been more were it not for a passing farmer who oversaw a service of the engine to remove water in the fuel line. TBH I only carried on the hire when the farmer told me that the engine would now be OK as it had now a good service. It made me wonder when the engine had last been serviced TBH. Having said this the owner did come out within 90m of my call and worked hard to fix the issue, but I would have rather the boat had been serviced before I used it.This can be a good holiday for a group of adults to share driving and cost and deal with grounding and possible engine failure. But I wouldn't be inclined to take kids on one of these boats or have a small crew as I did.Personally I will be looking for a narrower shorter boat from a larger company with a better maintainance record next time.

Absolutely brilliant weekend. We hired both Grand Cru and Premier Cru for a weekend trip to Bradford-On-Avon and back. Peter was brilliant, great communication and very helpful. Would love to do it all over again - highly recommended!

We have just had an amazing 5 days on the Premier Cru!Highly recommend- apart from great places to visit on the Avon & Kennet Canal, everyone you meet are so friendly and helpful if it's your first time experience of a canal holiday. Topped off with a very comfy bed, roll top bath, log burner and a chilled bottle of gorgeous sparkling wine in the fridge, Peter our host could not look after you anymore! We will be back!

We rented the Grand Cru. 55' long & 10' wide. It is big for a canal boat, lots of room inside. Light switches are on the ceiling so don't rent if you are short.

Hired a boat for a day for a birthday party. Managed to take it up to Dundas Aqueduct and back, with time to moor up and have a picnic and to stop for a cheeky pint at the George Inn in Bathampton on the way back. Service was fantastic and the boat fully served our needs with adequate kitchen, seating & toilet facilities

Fantastic time away with my family, highly recommended. The bath canal is one of my favourite places to visit in England and this was the first time I went to hire a wide beam via Bath Canal Boats. Pete was an amazing host and very charming. He made my mother feel at ease as it was her first time steering a boat. Let's just say she drove it a lot better then her car. The boat itself is lovely and caters for everything you could possibly hope to have on a canal boat, the acoustic guitar was our personal favourite touch. I fully recommend mooring up down the canal and stopping by a local pub for the complete English experience.We have already made plans to book again later on in 2018.