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ABOUT US
Postal address:
Shire Cruisers, The Wharf, Sowerby Bridge, West
Yorkshire HX6 2AG, England
Company Name:
Shire Cruisers is a trading name
of Britannia Narrow Boats Ltd, registered in England and Wales
1462318, registered address above.
VAT no. 333 5525 70
Directors: Nigel Stevens MBA, Susan Stevens BA ARCO
Telephone:
01422 832712
Overseas tel: + 44 1422 832712
fax: 01422 839565
Email:
info@shirecruisers.co.uk
See what the
Press
has to say about our holidays.
Boat
names
The boats are named after counties. The rules say that
if the county has 'shire' in the name, we don't use that
bit. So we can have 'Devon' but not 'Wilt'. By the time
you leave out Bedford, which sounds like a truck, and
things like West Midlands, you get a limited list, so we
recycle old names of happy boats.
Here's a complete list of all the boats we have run. |
Boatyard
Sowerby Bridge Wharf was built by the Calder & Hebble
Navigation to serve Sowerby Bridge and - up a steep hill
- Halifax. The Rochdale Canal was soon joined on, and
Sowerby Bridge was an interchange point between boats of
different gauges. For details of how the buildings were
restored, so that now as well as our facilities there
are more people working in the converted buildings here
than in the canals' heyday, see click. |
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A LITTLE
HISTORY
Shire Cruisers was started in
1973, with two boats. We bought the firm in 1980, by when there
were about ten boats of very varied origin. We had cramped
premises, few tools and fewer spare parts.
We were immediately lucky with the first of a long line of
highly competent and hardworking staff, who set us on the road
to improving the firm's boats and service. We soon started
fitting out our own boats, Hereford (1) being the first in 1984.
We gradually acquired the other firms operating on our site,
thus gaining access to a large covered dock in an old warehouse
(with a very leaky roof, now comprehensively fixed), and to all
the private moorings.
In 1985 the restoration of the Rochdale Canal had advanced to
six navigable miles around Hebden Bridge, so we put a hire boat
there, thus becoming one of the first fleets to offer short
breaks. We also started one way trips across the L&L.
By this time we were getting known. We have been very fortunate
with our customers, and have a loyal following. When hirers
buy their own boat, or share in an Ownership, we are glad to see
them back as moorers.
We were active - with many others - in the campaign to restore
the Rochdale Canal, and were thrilled when it was reconnected to
the national network here in Sowerby Bridge in 1995, and then
all the way through in 2002. The Huddersfield Narrow came along
too, thanks to tireless work by the Canal Society, local
authorities and BW. So then we had the South Pennine Ring, and
we have made the most of this superb opportunity. Despite many
difficulties, we have helped large numbers of boaters explore
these canals, which score top marks for scenery even if their
physical condition is not yet as good as everyone wants.
Our team has grown stronger all the time, and provides high
skills and excellent service to our customers, both hirers and
owners. We are enormously grateful for their loyalty and
commitment.
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