Experience England, Scotland og Wales from the waterside

The canals and rivers of England Scotland and Wales stretches for over 2000 miles through some of most beautiful landscapes you can imagine.

ABC Boat Hire offers 31 different classes of modern narrowboats that you can rent from 16 bases spread across England, Scotland and Wales. The bases are situated in some of the prettiest areas Great Britain has to offer. Here you’ll be welcomed to your amazing holiday aboard one of the charming narrowboats.

ABC’s fleet of modern narrowboats doesn’t lack anything in equipment or comfort. Aboard you’ll have at least one bathroom with a shower, a fully equipped kitchen, TV, CD and DVD players and much more. There is also free Wi-Fi on the boats but as it runs on the mobile network, you might experience lack of coverage in some areas. The narrowboats exist in different sizes with room for between 2 and 12 people.

What is a narrowboat?
As is evident from the name a narrowboat is very – well narrow. They were originally built to transport goods on the narrow canals of Great Britain. They were in use until the railway network spread across the island and absorbed most of the goods transport. The small tunnels and locks of the British canals could be as narrow as 7 feet.

That is still true today. But what ABC’s modern narrowboats lack in width you get in length. The longest being up to 70 feet long. It might seem difficult to steer such a long boat, but it is surprisingly easy, and you’ll receive a thorough tutoring session about your narrowboat. Don’t be scared of booking a narrowboat even if you haven’t sailed one before.

The modern narrowboat has a larger aft deck. This way the person steering won’t have to be alone while doing so. There is usually a small terrace at the bow so that all passengers can enjoy the sun. Inside you’ll find a living room with sitting and eating space for everybody, a fully equipped kitchen, one or more electric toilets and showers as well as sleeping spaces with comfortable beds. Aboard the boat you’ll have everything you need to have a relaxing and comfortable holiday.

Info about fuel
The boat is ready fuelled for your holiday on arrival, but there is a fuel deposit payable with your holiday booking. This is £120 per week (£65 for a short break and £220 for 2 weeks) and is not included in the hire cost. When you return the boat to us, the balance is refundable after deducting fuel used. However if you have used fuel in excess of the deposit, you will be asked to pay the difference. We feel this is the fairest way possible as you only pay for what you use and there is an incentive to be more environmentally friendly. 

Please contact us if you have any questions about a boating holiday on a narrowboat.