Canal Boat Escapes

2011-11-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well there we have it season over for another year !

It has been a lovely season with thankfully no major dramas such as water shortages or sinkings.

We have been running 8 boats all of which have performed well. Green Man heads the leaderboard as the most reliable boat with not a single call out (apart from a toilet blocked with the guests wet wipes). Most of the other issues on other boats were small faults fixed within an hour.

No Turning Back has been retired and will be spending her days pootling around the canals of the Midlands after our trainers Janet and Robert delivered her to Nantwich.

We are now taking bookings for 2012. If you want to save a little, book by the end of 2011 and pay the 2011 price - see more at:

http://www.canalboatescapes.co.uk/narrow_boat_hire_prices.htm

Karen, Richard, Isabel and Edward are now going on a well deserved holiday. Boating of course !

Hopefully see you in 2012 !

June is almost over and we still have water !

2011-06-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

We are rapidly approaching the half way point in our season. It has been very different to 2010 with only a handful of stoppages which didn't hugely affect our guests and the best bit - plenty of rain. The reservoirs still have a healthy amount of water in them to feed the canal. Our biggest fear following the dry season we had in 2010 was that customer confidence would be reduced. This has not materialised with holidays booking well.

Our Lancaster base is proving a hit with the guests who have holidayed on this glorious lock free canal. Many of our guests are seasoned hirers who have long wanted to try the Lancaster and Canal Boat Escapes top drawer service is proving popular.

We have increased the fleet to 8 boats to meet the demand with a good variety to suit all. They range from the traditional 2 berth Doug Moore built 'Strumble' to the brand new 8 berth 'Florence' - the only 8 berth narrowboat in the north with 2 bathrooms (rather than 1 bathroom and a 2nd toilet) In between be have a good mix of 4 berth pet friendly and pet free boats.

2011-03-16T05:27:00.001-07:00

OK, so we aren't the best bloggers in the world.

We have had a really busy winter. We have completed a new build boat which has now entered the fleet. She is a tug style narrowboat and named Isabel after our daughter.

3 boats have been lifted out of the water and given a good hull blacking to ensure they are kept in tip top condition

A New Hire Base on the Lancaster Canal

2010-11-15T07:56:00.001-08:00

Exciting news from the team at Canal Boat Escapes

From March 2011 we will also be based at Catforth Wharf (pictured) on the Lancaster Canal

More to follow soon......

Karen and Richard

visit our website at http://www.canalboatescapes.co.uk/

2010-09-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Today saw our first boat retirement. Genevieve was a beautiful ex-Challenger semi-trad. She has done 2 years sterling service with only a couple of breakdowns (a broken throttle cable, a faulty electrical switch) and the odd rope around the prop. Not bad for a boat of 1997 vintage. We look after our boats which means 2 things, happy guests and less call outs.

She has gone to Harrals brokerage and a group of intrepid guests took her over the Huddersfield Narrow, down the Macc and then down the Cheshire Locks. This was Gen's first and last passage through Standedge with Canal Boat Escapes and the crew had nothing but praise for the efforts of the BW team.

Genevieve will be replaced by Isabel, our stunning 50ft Tim Tyler Tug with trad engine who is currently in build.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

Hurrah - the canal is open for business again !

2010-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

HURRAH !

The locks at Greenberfield have been re-filled and the Leeds Liverpool Canal is fully re-opened from tomorrow.

We have had an excellent temporary base at Selby and are hoping to cross-market their hire boat for the 2011 season.

For now, our boats are slowly making their way home. Strumble and Rosa May are already on the Leeds Liverpool and will be back in Barnoldswick by the weekend. Grace made her first passage through Standedge tunnel on Monday 20th September and should be back in Barnoldswick by mid-next week. Genevieve is being retired from the fleet and is currently sailing to the brokerage in Cheshire.

Genevieve's departure will make way in 2011 for Isabel, our brand new Tim Tyler tug complete with vintage engine. She is truly stunning and will be the enthusiasts dream.

No Turning Back has had a good year with lots of one way trips between Barnoldswick and Hebdon Bridge. She will be re-painted this winter and should look as good as new.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

Moved to Selby - for now anyway !

2010-08-12T03:39:00.000-07:00

Our move to Selby has gone very well with a wonderful Dunkirk spirit from our guests in helping us move the boats. Here are a couple of shots of the move to the new stamping ground.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

It's raining but we've run out of water........!

2010-07-18T01:27:00.001-07:00

It must have been a low news week in the UK as, following the press release by British Waterways, we have been mobbed by the press. Why? The Leeds Liverpool Canal is fed by 7 reservoirs and to say they look like puddles after some drizzle is an understatement.

BW have to maintain the puddles at a minimum of 10% to preserve the wildlife and suchlike. Accordingly, from Monday 2nd August the canal will be closed from Wigan to Gargrave - NOT ALL OF IT as some of the press have mis-interpreted !

We will have to relocate should this happen and in order to meet the terms of a hire operating licence have decided to move to Selby. This will ensure we can continue to offer our guests a great holiday with some lovely scenic routes to choose from (there is actually more choice then where we currently are)

Boats will start moving towards Selby from next weekend and touch wood we haven't had any cancellations so far.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

2010-06-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

May was an odd month. One week it was freezing with snow and our diesel heating consumption going through the roof, the next blazing sun with poor little Strumble struggling to keep her cool.

Different to last year - where have all our famillies gone? Not sure if it was election fever (or should that be fear) but we have seen a notable absence of famillies with most of our guests being couples or multiple couples. To this end, we have implemented some attractive discounts on our lovely 6 berth boat Genevieve.

The lack of rainfall has meant restrictions on the lock opening times but at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk we are working actively with British Waterways to minimise any disruption to our guests. Indeed, rather than our normal collection time of 3pm we are pulling out the stops to have boats ready for 2pm in order that our usual training which includes 3 locks can take place on the day of arrival.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

2010-05-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

I knew this Ashes to Ashes style launch of us into the 21st wouldn't be smooth. We really do need to post more on our blog here at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk.

Do you think that products of shy and conservative parents have a 'flatliner' where it comes to shouting about themselves - or is that too controversial for a sedate blog?

Well, it is high time we throw caution to the wind and share our recent successes.

We have now received the prestigious 5 star rating from Visit Britain which recognises our passion to provide the best possible accommodation, and the highest accolade.

One of the nicest comments we receive from seasoned boaters who have holidayed with us is "wow, we love the extra's" and from those who have never boated before is "we were so nervous and your training was brill, so much so, we ended up helping other boaters !"

Then, if we weren't giddy enough, in April we were awarded the 'Most Outstanding Micro Business 2010' at the Pendle Business Awards.

Which is nice......

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

Early Season Highlights

2010-04-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

Our season has started nicely with guests enjoying holidays on Strumble, Grace and Rosa-May. The 2 small boats are proving particularly popular as we book short breaks on these. The winter weather seems to have returned but checking with our guests if everything was OK yesterday the response was 'the stove is wonderful and we are moored up watching the world go by with snow on the hills in the background'

Lovely !

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

2010-03-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

Very very pleased by the news we received today. Visit Britain's inspector undertook the bi-annual inspection of Grace a couple of weeks ago and our efforts have paid off. We upgraded her late in 2009 to meet the criteria of the 5 star hire boat and following a couple of minor points we have been awarded the prestigious 5 star grading.

Booking for Grace are doing very well and the longer holiday appears to be popular. We have guests planning to undertake the South Pennine ring and a family travelling to Llangollen and back.

The paintwork is now complete on Strumble and she looks truly stunning - like a 'proper' Dougie Moore boat in a combination of British Racing Green, cream and a red roof.

Richard and Tom (our engineer) will be taking Strumble to Sheffield in April to collect, in the traditional way, our new shell from Tyler-Wilson. This will be the first boat we have fitted out from scratch and we are somewhat excited at the prospect.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

Preparing for the 2010 Season

2010-02-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that a month has passed since our first post. We have been busy since then preparing 2 of our boats for full repaints. Grace has not been painted since leaving Black Prince in 2008 and we are not sure when Strumble was last painted.

Both have been taken to bare metal in parts and photos of Strumble are pictured.

Check out the latest on our website at www.canalboatescapes.co.uk

2010-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

We have made it our resolution to be less like the luddites and start a blog in 2010.

So here it is.

Here at Canal Boat Escapes, we are currently closed to cruising due to the installation of lock ladders. Despite this, winter cruising is still not an option due to large amounts of ice on the canal.

The winter maintenance has now started and thankfully there isn't too much to do. Grace will be receiving a full re-paint in Feb and Strumble a half paint (roof and the outer band of the cabin sides).

This year we have added 'No Turning Back' who will operate on a one-way basis between Barnoldswick and Hebden Bridge.

We had a great week in October bringing 'No Turning Back' from Whittington on the Llan-g. The weather was stunning. Unfortunately, the 2nd half of the trip was dismal for the Bronte Boats crew who took her from Manchester to Hebden.

We wonder what 2010 will bring in terms of bookings to us at Canal Boat Escapes. The hire industry reported encouraging figures for 2009 but hopefully continued low interest rates and the dismal value of the £ against the Euro may encourage holidaymakers to stay in Blighty.

Richard & Karen