John Rennie Restaurant Boat

A great holiday. An unfortunate beginning as our takeover was scheduled for 1500 so we booked dinner for 6 at 2000 three and a half hours away. Our briefing didn't begin until after 1600 and finished at 1640. When we reached our venue the menu was severely reduced and the kitchen closed before we could order dessert. Don't make assumptions about your first day!

As beginners we had a great time navigating an ambitious 58ft narrow boat, Carol Ann, along the canal between Bath and Bradford upon Avon. Very clean, warm and in good order throughout. John at the Monkton Combe depot was superb, giving us plenty of advice, support, instructions and tips. We had a small issue with the lock and Jack came out and dealt with it straight away. Great communication from the office regarding our queries prior and a courtesy call during to see if we were ok, thoughtful and appreciated. Excellent service all round, thank you. A most enjoyable trip. Would recommend.

We spent a few nights on the Queen of Hearts for a school reunion. It was brilliant. The boat was faultless both in its presentation and it's operation. The staff at Bath Narrowboats were superb too. Very relaxed, helpful and knowledgeable. We travelled down to Dundas Aquaduct and back during the weekend, stopping at a pub on the way. The weather was great and we found the other water users very friendly. Nobody on board had any experience using narrowboat before, but we had no issues thanks to the training by the staff and the helpfulness of other water users.

I've loved the thought of doing a trip like this since I was a kid having lived nearby the canals of Nottinghamshire. My family and I had a very special week celebrating my daugher's 21st. Being on Topsy felt so homely and being on the water definitely brought everyone together. The welcome hamper was fab and if we needed anything else, we nipped to Tesco which was a very short walk away. The staff were lovely and they were happy to help with anything we needed. I'd definitely do it again, maybe one Winter when we could use the log burner.

Fab Hols on the Waterways If you want your own mini cruise boat then this is it! We’re just back from a week on the ‘King of Diamonds’. We started our holiday in Bath at Bath Narrowboats. We had a great instructor, Keith who patiently explained how it all works. The boat is beautiful and well presented. Although we’d bought some food they had provided a brilliant hamper with bubbly, fruit, biscuits, water, milk, eggs and more. The linen was white with bathrobes which was a nice added touch. Although we had the double bed, there’s easily room for others, one of the other beds being a dinette which is the dining table that converts into a bed, wasn’t expecting that! The kitchen had everything including microwave and the luxury of a coffee pod machine. A note to remember which we forgot, you have to remember to start the engine in the morning as we flattened the battery. No worries though as they have a personal concierge call out who we rang who soon sorted us out. Off we went cruising. We were going a bit fast at one point and a random man on a boat wasn’t very happy but other than that everyone is friendly much like when you go camping. There are many stops if you want pubs, cafes and towns but we were happy to cruise along. Our first lock was scary but we were well taught by the team and we did it with another boat. You do have to fill with water every day but diesel is included. Tithe barn at Bradford was worth a visit and we had a great meal at Ravellos. We managed to cruise to the famous Caen hill flight but opted out of doing the 27 locks. We only used the diesel log burner once as it was cooler one night but it was warm and cosy inside. Evenings were spent with board games or downloading a film. They provide unlimited WiFi but can be dodgy in the valley which makes sense as you’re very much at one with nature at points! We finished our hols full of stories and will be back. Highly recommend if you want an adventure!

Amazing. Great. Fantastic!! Was it only a week. We needed more time with piloting with the big tite bends. 15 mins training to move a 72 foot vessel is not enough time. They need to take a bicycle a long and do harf a day with you. As lots of complaints from the naber's. A nice lady called Halen assisted us though.