The Purple Boat Narrowboat Holiday Hire

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Reviews

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  Cherie Powell

  This was a great experience for our first time on a narrowboat. The purple boat is a good size for two adults. We had our two dogs with us and we were very comfortable. The size of the boat made steering and navigating the locks easier than it might otherwise be. Sue gave excellent advice and took us through the first lock, which gave us confidence to go on to manage the others. The galley was well equipped with a full size fridge , hob grill and small oven. We only had a few days so travelled from Shardlow to Burton through the Derbyshire countryside. We stopped at several pubs for food. The Crewe and Harpur and the Dragon being our favourites. All the people we met along the way were friendly and helpful so we never felt rushed and came back feeling relaxed.

  27-04-2023
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  David Monk

  What an experience!! Sue was lovely and very clear on her instructions during the induction. It was very helpful to be taken through the first lock by Sue as this helped with our confidence for future ones. We can’t recommend this enough. Our 10 and 12 year old girls came with for the first 2 days and they loved it. Despite it being a relatively active holiday working the locks, it’s the most relaxed I’ve been while away. As a side note, the canal boat community is one of the kindest and helpful I’ve come across.

  27-09-2022
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  Gordon Conway

  As a family with two young children taking our first holiday on a narrowboat the Purple Boat was absolutely perfect. Sue's daughters took us carefully through all aspects of the boat and then saw us through our first lock and quite honestly I don't think they left anything else or could have done the job more courteously or more perfectly. Some of the initial (2 boat) locks are quite hard work so you need to send someone with a few muscles to do them but later single boat locks were fine. We ate aboard some nights and used a couple of the many available pubs on other nights but did find it worthwhile to book ahead as all the pubs were well booked up. Great walking around the Branston Water Park and the visit to the Claymills Pumping Station were both excellent and FREE and the stopover (and cinema) at Waterside Marina were greatly appreciated by the children. Great week and pleased we chose a smaller boat like the PB for our initial narrowboat experience as all easily manageable but enough space to be comfortable and all thought of even down to the USB charging plug and umbrella. Well done Sue and family.

  27-08-2022
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  Elaine Keen

  Sue was the perfect host for our 6 nights on The Purple Boat, for me, my husband and our sweet old dog. Sue was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Communications before, during and after the trip were excellent. The boat was perfect in every way and kitted out with absolutely everything we could have needed. The layout was great and huge bed incredibly comfortable. We had no previous experience, so took a while to get used to the locks, but wherever we were, there was usually a friendly boater to advise us. The slow pace of life was just what we needed to wind down and as we were so lucky with the May weather, had some lovely scenery every day. Nice having so many pubs to moor up near every night! Thanks for everything Sue!

  27-05-2022
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  AM A

  We hired The Purple Boat from Friday to Sunday at late notice after being let down on a booking with another hirer. As complete novices we were grateful for Sue’s guidance and detailed information - including her suggested routes that were printed off ready for us. We were lucky to meet another couple and shared the locks up to Willington - which made life a lot easier and was also good fun. The boat is compact but well equipped. The bed was surprising comfortable and the facilities all worked well. We appreciated the central heating which warmed the boat up very quickly and the hot water with good pressure. The oven worked well as did the 12v converter which allowed us to watch TV and use our normal devices. The deck is a good size and our dog loved sitting out there watching the boats go by. All in all a wonderful weekend away and a highly recommended boat hire for anyone wanting to give it a go!

  27-05-2022
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  Susan Brewer

  Had an amazing short break we loved it would highly recommend for your first time on a boat and Sue was very helpful

  27-05-2022
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  Rhona Bradford

  Sue greeted us warmly and gave us very clear instructions. Our navigator found the boat very easy to manoeuvre and the instruction book very useful. While the boat is perhaps a little snug for four adults the beds are comfortable and we were provided with good quality bed linen and towels. The shower was much better than expected. The kitchen space is small but well equipped and it was well used during our week. We enjoyed sitting on the larger than average stern deck area watching the sun go down while relaxing with our g&ts.

  27-05-2022
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  Andy Wright

  My wife and I have just had a lovely week aboard the purple boat with our dog Del. The boat itself is very well equipt with everything you could possibly need, when we collected the boat Sue ran through everything we needed to know and gave us some pointers on places to visit on our trip and how to tackle the locks and navigate the waterways safely, She is very knowledgable and keeps the boat in first class order and spotlessly clean. I have no hesitation in recommending Sue and the purple boat for a relaxing and perfect week or few days away, she even managed to sort the weather for our trip, perfect Autumn sunshine every day ;-) Thank you. Andy & Penny

  27-05-2022
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  Proud British Vet-086

  What Wonderful, Pleasant People to Hire a Narrowboat from. The Boat itself is Truly Amazing and Beautiful in Every Which Way Possible. We had the Absolute Pleasure of Sharing 3 of the Big Six Locks with the Owner, So Our Feelings are From First Hand Experience. All The Very Best, And Thanks. Martin and Di x NB Fragil

  27-05-2022
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  Juzzy Pegg

  Grabbed an opportunity to tick off something we have always fancied trying with a last minute cancellation. Fully equipped with everything you could need. Sue gave us excellent tuition to start us off on our fantastic mini break. Very understanding and easy to contact with any questions should you require any advice.

  27-05-2022