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ABC Boat Hire

ABC Boat Hire

ABC Boat Hire
4.5
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  • MarkTaunton
    Hillfarrance, United Kingdom76 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    ABC were very friendly and the boat was exactly as we expected
    I think it’s important before writing a review to remember the type of holiday a canal boat trip is The boats are narrow by definition , they have flush , chemical toilets that do require 2 ply toilet paper , the electric is only from a battery converter , so running the engine is necessary to use the microwave etc And finally the Boat company have no control of the weather We have been on five breaks on narrow boats , so we have seen a good cross section . The boat we had from ABC was well prepared and had a good inventory . Everything worked and it was clean The staff were more than helpful and the cruise notes gave good guidance on the river to canal locks etc We did a week trip , Worcester to Droitwich and down to the Severn . Then up the Severn to Stourport , on the Canal to Kinver and return and then back down the River to Worcester Droitwich and Stourport were both good to visit . The route through Kidderminster to Kinver was a contrast . The Black Star at Stourport was very good for food The Vine at Kinver was also lovely , but we only stopped for a drink So , if you like narrow boat holidays , I would recommend ABC
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 14 October 2023
  • Mark WIllis
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Happy sailers!
    Possibly one of the greatest experiences of my life, maybe even surpassing my marriage and the birth of our children! Not really of course, but such a relaxing experience and the level of customer service from first contact, booking, collection and return was faultless and friendly. I'm hooked on canal boats now and I have ABC Alvechurch to thank for that and I couldn't be happier! Thanks so much for a wonderful boat and a fantastic experience on our 25th wedding anniversary, why did we wait so long? Mark & Hazel.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 November 2023
  • holeinonesummit
    Bernieres-sur-Mer, France151 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Narrowboat Holidays
    Excellent narrowbaot hire for family travelling on the canals of Britain - fully equipped and safe for Novices of boat handling in/out of locks and tying up overnight on canal banks or marinas. Have kitchen and showers so ideal for families for a 2 weeks vacation visiting many tourist sites around UK. Most fellow narrowboaters are very friendly and cooperative and willing to help if you get into difficulties. Although I never had to ask for help except in the very first morning for familiarising myself with steering rudder different to a steering wheel.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 February 2024
  • Joanna K
    Scarborough, United Kingdom101 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent experience
    We collected our boat pied plover from Blackwater marina, we were both quite nervous as first time we had done narrow boating, we were given a tutorial from Sarah who is quite a character, The boat itself is very well equipped and cosy, nothing I could criticise. Although at first it can feel stressful as you get to grips with steering and navigating narrow parts, it adds to the fun and you soon start to build confidence. Everyone was helpful and as we were a 2 person boat people were happy to helped at the locks My advice would be buy a map so you are prepared in advance for locks and narrow parts where one may need to walk ahead, it also helps you with mooring up near facilities. Just a note if you stop at chrik for supplies, the M and S on Google is attached to a petrol station on a busy junction, but there is a waitrose in the Dobbies garden centre which does not come up on Google it's is 2 mins from the Poachers pub and easier to get to on foot/bike. All in all had a fab time and definitely had the bug. Ps the maps are £11.95 and can be purchased at the start.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 26 May 2024
  • JOwens6060
    Barnt Green, United Kingdom75 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great days hire from Alvechurch
    Had a days hire from Alvechurch. Staff were really friendly and explained things well and came down with us for five minutes to make sure we were happy with everything. Boat was clean and had electric heater and electric lights inside, essential for when going through the dark tunnels!
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 14 June 2024
  • Nish
    73 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Brilliant week!
    A group of 6 hired the boat from Nantwich for the week, aiming to get to Llangollen and back. The boat was really well equipped and comfortable. Despite the fact that we’re not newcomers to narrow boats, the handover briefing was very thorough and detailed - and that’s a good thing. The route we took was definitely challenging, with some long days and very narrow waterways as we neared Llangollen - but it was so worth the effort, especially cruising over the aqueducts. Highly recommend this company
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 9 July 2024
  • hoxtonhockler
    14 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun at a slow-pace!
    We hired Corn Bunting for 4 nights from Hilperton marina & chug-chugged our way into the city of Bath & back. A fantastic time was had by all the family, and we can recommend ABC Boat Hire highly. The boat was clean & well maintained. Staff at the marina were friendly & informative. This was our second trip using ABC - last year we hired a boat on the Mon-Brec canal which we can also highly recommend. Thanks ABC, we will be back next year at another one of your locations.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 3 August 2024
  • Floweryjo
    Cambridge, United Kingdom10 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great holiday with kids on Llangollen canal
    Had a great week canal boating with ABC Boat hire from Wrenbury Mill with our lovely boat Western Grebe. (thanks Lynn and Russ!!) Two kids (boys 18 + 12 yrs) got on boat and said "we're spending a week living in this?" Soon got with the programme and the many locks and really enjoyed it saying they'd do it again. Lovely time for them being away from the playstation getting exercise and fresh air. The Aqueduct was simply stunning. Although we turned at last turning circle outside of Llangollen, parked up and walked the 2 miles into the town. We were glad we did as route in to town by canal was single width. Also good for the legs!
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 31 August 2024
  • mawig2015
    Northamptonshire, United Kingdom17 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely relaxing day on the canal!
    Booking and handover done with ease. Had a lovely day on the grand union canal with family. Lovely relaxing experience. Able to cook sausages on board for brunch and stopped at canal side pub for refreshments at lunchtime. All together smooth experience and we all thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you ABC for the opportunity.
    Visited September 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 10 September 2024
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles382 reviews
Excellent
306
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DKHE2010
United Kingdom227 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Couples
My family and I hired the day boat Red Rooster from Goytre Wharf on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal recently. Having significant experience on the canals of England and Wales (Hiring and Ownership) over many years I was looking forward to our day on the Mon and Brec.
We arrived at Goytre Wharf as instructed, shown to our day boat and given the mandatory safety and boat operation instruction. The staff member was very thorough and covered everything that would be expected.
The boat is obviously quite old and is starting to show its age, inside the seating is uncomfortable and there are no front doors to keep the cold/rain out. We were unlucky with the weather on our trip (wet and windy) the small (car type) heater did nothing to heat the cabin so our party sat inside wrapped up trying to keep warm.
The engine really struggled powering the boat at times, almost stopping around bridges (I gave the boat many blasts of reverse to clear the prop- as advised) we found ourselves clock watching as we were fearful that we wouldn't make it back to base in time as we didn't appear to be making sufficient headway.
We have hired other day boats from ABC and Red Rooster falls well below the standards set by these, maybe it's time to retire Red Rooster and replace with a shiny new one?
Written 3 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RL021298
North Wales, UK9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
Perfect 4 day cruise for 4 people on a 49ft boat from Lowesmoor marina around the Droitwich Ring.

ABC staff were excellent and providing a full explanation of what to do and where to go etc so we set off on a clockwise route out of the marina.

The weather was perfect and our first stop at the Camp Inn we enjoyed a drink listening to some local live music along with a resident peacock and geese!

We would highly recommend this route for a short weekend break or similar as its the perfect balance of duration with locks and pubs etc along the way without being busy.

All in all and excellent long weekend with thanks to all the staff.
Written 17 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Janboy21
Nottinghamshire, UK96 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 • Couples
a week on the Llangollen canal taking the boat from Whitchurch Marina.
The marina staff in reception and on the jetty were fantastic. They gave us a great, friendly
welcome and dealt with all of the admin quickly and easily. The engineer gave us a full briefing on the boat and it's systems and accompanied us novices to the first lift bridge on the canal to check we were ok.
Our boat, 'Inca Wren', was clean, had a great layout and was warm and comfortable. There was everything you could need in terms of equipment, bedding and towels. There was a small welcome pack of essentials like toilet roll, cloths and washing up liquid too.
The canal to Llangollen is twisting and shallow in places and the boat handling does take a bit of getting used to. Do expect a few bumps and knocks to the boat as you go along and try to keep patience with those onboard!
We did meet some very kind and helpful people as we progressed along but there were also a couple of so called "canal people" who were quite vile to us for reasons known only to themselves. Thankfully they were in the minority. We managed to get to our destination and back safely (it was most definitely more relaxing on the way back!) and arrived back in Whitchurch in good time to hand the boat back. Again the staff in reception and on the jetty were great and we even got a refund on our unused fuel. All in all it was a nice experience and certainly a different type of holiday to what we've done in the past. ABC boats at Whitchurch Marina were great to deal with and I'd happily recommend them.
Written 3 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

johnbetts9
Offenham, UK103 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Family
Fantastic 4day break from Gayton marina to Milton Keynes and back .
Staff were excellent from start to finish.
Instructions were made easy to understand and demonstrated very well. The boat was spotlessly clean with enough kitchen wear . Beds were very comfortable. Showers were adequate and hot . please don’t expect a power shower experience .
We had 4 adults and 2 teens and we managed very well over the 4 days. We were very lucky with the weather so didn’t need to use the provided waterproofs except going through the bills worth tunnel. Plenty of places on route for food and drinks .
Overall excellent service throughout
Many thanks
Written 26 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Extraordinary619046
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Family
Great family day out from Alvechurch. Not only was it value for money, the day trip floated the boat of the teenager and octogenarians on board. Boat was easy to steer and really well equipped for the day for our on board picnic. Staff are super friendly and helpful too.
Written 16 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

scfcboy
Bridgend, UK17 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Couples
Nice boat and friendly staff. Hired the boat for four nights and travelled from Alvechurch to Gas street basin in Birmingham and back. Nice relaxing break. However this was spoilt somewhat with the cost of fuel used for about a twenty mile round trip. Over £90 was spent on Diesel and Red diesel at that - the fuel costs are eyewatering to say the least and cannot be climate friendly at those prices. Will not be using that company again that is for sure!!
Written 22 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sheeerab
London, UK13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
Husband, my sister and I, took my elderly parents for a 3 nighter from Gailey marina and we had a wonderful time!
The boat, the Rodulf, had everything you need for a weekend trip and was well appointed.
We stopped at a couple of pubs along the way and had decent meals; the Hartley at Wheaton and the 3 hammers golf club bistro which also had good decent food.
Apart from the wonderful, thrilling and sometimes terrifying experience of driving the boat, what made the trip so enjoyable was all the staff; the abc staff at Gailey we’re so heart warmingly fabulous that we want to go there again, also the staff we met at the golf club and later at the 1911 cafe. Plus, all the other boaters we met on the way, just a great experience.
Thank you abc boat hire.
Written 24 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

pete B
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Family
The boat was lovely and we very much enjoyed the initial experience. However, on our 2nd day of 3, we suffered problems with the boat due to metal and clothing becoming tangled around the propeller and the engine overheating. Despite only being 20 minutes drive from the marina and giving accurate and detailed information of a car park 10 minutes walk away from our location we were left for 6 hours before an engineer finally came to assist us. Apparently the previous engineer had spent 2.5 hours trying to find us without success... this wasn't helped by him not having a mobile phone!

Chris, the engineer, who did come to us was extremely helpful and was able to find us quickly. He said that due to the state of the canals these issues are very common.

Sadly the following morning we only managed 30 minutes of travel before the engine again overheated and we had to wait for Chris again... ultimately having to leave the boat with our possessions and my parents, in their mid 70s, and had to walk to find a taxi back to the marina.

Whilst I appreciate that mechanical issues are unavoidable, what I was extremely disappointed by was the lack of communication from Darren, the ABC manager, the disorganised approach (apparently sending out an engineer without a mobile phone), and the fact that due to the delays in dealing with these issues we spent half of our holiday stranded, waiting for phone calls and help that didn't come.

In summary, the boat was lovely but if you have to depend upon ABC for assistance I'd advise narrow boating elsewhere.

I've held off submitting this review to see how they responded to my complaint. Their response was to offer me £50 which, in my view, hardly makes up for a ruined holiday.
Written 27 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kathryn B
Runcorn, UK21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
We hired a narrowboat from ABC Boat hire from Blackwater Marina on the Llangollen canal for a 1 weeks holiday. Our boat was ready and waiting when we arrived, beautifully clean, well presented, looked new and with every thing that we would need for our holiday and a few extras including toiletries. Staff very friendly and informative showing us over the boat and explaining how everything operated, included a very good safety instruction. Our boat performed well over our holiday with no problems. All in all an excellent boat hire company, professional and knowledgeable staff and we would highly recommend them.
Written 4 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joanna K
Scarborough, UK101 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
We collected our boat pied plover from Blackwater marina, we were both quite nervous as first time we had done narrow boating, we were given a tutorial from Sarah who is quite a character,
The boat itself is very well equipped and cosy, nothing I could criticise.
Although at first it can feel stressful as you get to grips with steering and navigating narrow parts, it adds to the fun and you soon start to build confidence.
Everyone was helpful and as we were a 2 person boat people were happy to helped at the locks
My advice would be buy a map so you are prepared in advance for locks and narrow parts where one may need to walk ahead, it also helps you with mooring up near facilities. Just a note if you stop at chrik for supplies, the M and S on Google is attached to a petrol station on a busy junction, but there is a waitrose in the Dobbies garden centre which does not come up on Google it's is 2 mins from the Poachers pub and easier to get to on foot/bike.
All in all had a fab time and definitely had the bug.
Ps the maps are £11.95 and can be purchased at the start.
Written 27 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ABC BOAT HIRE (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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