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Experience - Sowerby Bridge start
"Everyone we met was so helpful & amazing, extremely patient & friendly. We loved the scenery on our way to Hebden. The pubs & shops in Hebden Bridge were lovely." - Levett, York
"We had a brilliant time, enjoying the leisurely pace and quiet along the canal." - Standing, Cumbria
"Worked many of the locks with other cruising groups - which was a great experience!" - Matthew, Cumbria
"Beautiful! Green, sunny, baby ducks, very friendly people." - Julie, Rutland
"Beautiful scenery." - Pell, Lincoln
"Scenery was beautiful! Nice to have lots of pats with the dogs too." - Mottley, Oxford
"Thought those living on their boats were helpful and very friendly. Brighouse marina was excellent." - Warne, Suffolk
"People were really friendly and helpful with locks etc." - Pound, York
"Enjoyable, other boaters were very helpful in giving advice." - Piggott, Suffolk
"The Hepworth gallery was very good and the National Coal Mining Museum well worth visiting." - Woodward, Rutland
"Highly recommend a boating holiday, great fun what ever the weather for all ages (77-15 for us). Enjoy amazing view, walking, cruising or playing games with family on board. Relax with a drink or a brew inside and out. Great fun all round ." - Pritchard, Sussex
"Fantastic! Absolutely loved the peace and tranquillity and being surrounded by birdsong." - Sutton-Haigh, Cumbria
"Amazing experience. Wildlife, beautiful waterways, weeping willows, 40's festival." - Lambert, Buckingham
"We had a fabulous week on our canal boat. Loved every minute. Lovely lush countryside. Mostly great weather." - Ewan, Cumbria
"Thank you all for a lovely weekend in the Norfolk boat. We had an absolute blast and appreciated all your help & organisation." - Cannings, Norfolk
"Pleasant scenery, friendly people, very helpful CRT staff and a few nice restaurants in Leeds, Doncaster, Brighouse to eat in along the way." - Tomkins, Cambridge
"Easy to moor in Wakefield - visit to Hepworth gallery excellent." - Martin, Lincoln
"I just wanted to say that we had a great boating experience this week. The communication from you both was great. It was so much fun with some hard work thrown in. We will definitely repeat the experience again." - Cumming, Bedford
"What a fantastic holiday, good pubs, friendly people and lovely scenery. We will be recommending you to everyone we know." - Loveridge, Lincoln
"Mostly kept moving, children with us for the first few days, so locks were a dream, a bit harder once it was just the two of us." - Inns, Bedford
"Amazing scenery, nice people on the water." - Celia, Cumbria
"Surprisingly green scenery, friendly people, good pubs, interesting navigations." - Barber, Huntingdon
"So many friendly boaters!" - Behnke, Suffolk
"We managed to get to Selby (train to York). Lots of fishing! (My husband caught an eel.)" - Rachel, York
"Visited Robin Hood's Grave as we own an archery club. Route was great for first timers." - Durance, Cumbria
"Brighouse to Sheffield, to Selby, to Leeds to Sowerby Bridge - oh and a trip down the Dewsbury Arm for fun! The River Don was far more scenic than expected esp round Conisbrough. Enjoyed locka on A&C. All CRT staff met were all lovely." - Spencer, Bedford
"A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone at Shire Cruisers from me and my 11 year old grandson. We had a great week on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. It was lovely to chat with other canal boaters when we moored up each evening and to be able to have a meal at a canal side pub. We saw kingfishers and we had a lot of laughs and fun along the way.
A very enjoyable holiday and an excellent alternative to screen time. We will definitely be back." - Ferguson, Norfolk
"Lovely wildlife: pigeons, geese, ducks and... a kingfisher - fab! New wildlife today - a friendly otter popped up to say Hi!" - Louden, Suffolk
"We enjoyed most the opportunities we had to moor overnight by ourselves to enjoy the peace, watch the swans and ducks." - Taffa, Norfolk (Australia)
Experience - Barnoldswick start
"Thank you again for everything you did to make our trip possible. Everyone who came thought it was one of the very best we've had." - Allen, Somerset
Food & drink
"The landlady at BrandyWine was very helpful, allowing us to eat a take away in the pub. Food in Stubbing Wharf was very good." - Standing, Cumbria
"Navigation Inns & Flower Pot good beers." - Julie, Rutland
"Excellent Indian takeaway at Elland. Lovely coffee & cake from Moonbeam boat café." - Clark, Lincoln
"Stopped overnight at the Bingley & Navigation Inn." - Piggott, Suffolk
"Navigation Inn, Mirfield - canalside pub, good cask beer selection. Al Nawab Indian restaurant - very good." - Jenkins, York
"Broad Cut Navigation pub v. good - great Sunday lunch." - Martin, Lincoln
"Had meals at The Navigation very good. Meals at Jeremys very good." - Savage, York
"Stopped @ Brookfoot Lock and ate at Casa (lovely)." - Inns, Bedford
"Notable pubs Navigation tavern & the Bingley." - Celia, Cumbria
"Overnight at Horbury Bridge next to The Bingley – delicious street food. Ate at Bridge Inn, Wakefield – fine. Dusty Miller – excellent with a 20+ minute walk uphill." - Balchin, Sussex
"Meze in Brighouse - very good med food. Brook's in Brighouse." - Sharkey, Lincoln
"Good pubs, especially The Bingley and The Navigation Tavern." - Rachel, York
"Stopped at Bingley and Navigation Inn." - Durance, Cumbria
"Dinner at The Navigation on night one &another Navigation Inn on night 3." - Cheri, Buckingham
"White Cross Inn very friendly and welcoming. Dinner at Navigation Tavern - excellent food & service and walk back to berth. Breakfast: lovely hot dog & sausage sarnie from canal hotdogs mooring at Mirfield. Birtyhday dinner at Jeremys - very nice - good food and excellent service." - Louden, Suffolk
The boats
"The boat is so well-equipped & clean, home from home." - Levett, York
"Very impressed with 'Cumbria' - exceptionally clean and tidy." - Standing, Cumbria
"Modern facilities - bathroom above expectation for a canal hiliday. Comfortable double. Boat is clean and very good condition." - Matthew, Cumbria
"Very impressed with hot water & central heating. Excellent kitchen facilities." - Julie, Rutland
"Loved it. Lots of storage. Great boat." - Warne, Suffolk
"Excellent. So much storage & everything you need. Everything in very good condition." - Clark, Lincoln
"Our boat was excellent the best we've hired, comfortable and asy to steer." - Woodward, Rutland
"First class! You've thought of everything. Warm and comfortable and supplied with everything we needed." - Sutton-Haigh, Cumbria
"Excellent condition, good layout for us 3 travellers." - Ewan, Cumbria
"A good boat, easy to handle." - Tomkins, Cambridge
"Excellent standard, very clean & comfortable, lots of storage, everything in good working order." - Martin, Lincoln
"The boat was TERIFFIC. Thanks for the upgrade to the 2 separate bedrooms (absolute thumbs up)." - Savage, York
"The Lincoln is awesome, what a great little boat. All equipment provided, everything worked perfectly." - Loveridge, Lincoln
"A really nice, well appointed boat, lots of space for the family &am guinea pig! Shower was fab (not expected), all facilities really nice," - Inns, Bedford
"Amazing - we love Cumbria." - Celia, Cumbria
"Lovely boat." - Barber, Huntingdon
"Sussex was brilliant & fitted out beautifully." - Balchin, Sussex
"Great, had everything needed. Super comfy beds, Shower & hot water great." - Durance, Cumbria
"Excellent storage. Lovely way the table was stored away." - Spencer, Bedford
"The Norfolk was very comfortable and had everything we needed - a real home from home." - Ferguson, Norfolk
Service
"Thankyou to the staff who were really friendly, welcoming and extremely helpful." - Levitt, York
"Staff at the boatyard have been really friendly & helpful." - Matthew, Cumbria
"Brilliant all the way through. Highly recommended will come again! Thank you." - Julie, Rutland
"Communication regarding our booking was good & helpful." - Pell, Lincoln
"Nigel was our man, as the canal level had dropped, therefore needing locks opened to lift levels." - Mottley, Oxford
"Everyone at S.C. was very friendly and helpful." - Warne, Suffolk
"A brilliant experience start to finish. Thank you." - Sutton-Haigh, Cumbria
"Always helpful." - Tomkins, Cambridge
"The whole team was very friendly and approachable." - Martin, Lincoln
"Helpful with temporary start and finish point arrangements." - Barber, Huntingdon
"Your staff are delightful & Susan, the owner allayed all our fears." - Balchin, Sussex
"We had to finish a day early as needed to be home by Thursday night. V clear handover instructions from Nigel - thank you." - Louden, Suffolk
"Advanced and ongoing information was very comprehensive." - Cheri, Buckingham
Information Pack
"Lots of videos and ideas to help us get excited about the cruise and be aware of what to expect." - Matthew, Cumbria
"Found the booklet by John Lower was our friend on the boat giving good details on locks & things to do." - Mottley, Oxford
"Very helpful as were the maps and detailed handbook on board - which we used lots." - Warne, Suffolk
"Excellent. So friendly & informative staff on the phone as well." - Pound, York
"The manual was very helpful." - Brooks, Worcester
"Encouraged us to review some more websites on narrowboats ie Tim west & Prunella Scales." - Piggott, Suffolk
"Highly comprehensive information, some of which became clearer once we were underway but all essential details covered and well explained." - Martin, Lincoln
"This information prior was very good - gave a lot of information and what to expect." - Savage, York
"Good info for beginners (which we are/were)." - Inns, Bedford
"Very responsive to emails, quick reply." - Spencer, Bedford
Handover
"Brian was clear and informative. There was a lot of information, but he made it easy to understand." - Standing, Cumbria
"Really good to have the 1-to-1 handover and lock guidance. Felt that we could get into the holiday quickly." - Matthew, Cumbria
"Marvellous. Very helpful." - Julie, Rutland
"Dave was very relaxed & informative. Explaining to us novices in layman terms." - Mottley, Oxford
"Great teachers and made us feel confident about what we were doing. Excellent." - Warne, Suffolk
"Staff were fantastic. Susan kept us up to date prior to the holiday. Email & phone contact great. Geoff was fantastic helping us with the boat." - Sutton-Haigh, Cumbria
"Staff pleasant and very helpful and informative." - Ewan, Cumbria
"Thorough handover of the boat. All explainded v. well." - Tomkins, Cambridge
"James's overview was great." - Lambert, Buckingham
"Dave explained everything very clearly - friendly, up-beat approach." - Martin, Lincoln
"Simon's instructions regarding the boat were awesome." - Cumming, Bedford
"Excellent. Everyone did a great job, very helpful and left us feeling confident on our journey." - Loveridge, Lincoln
"Was good, loved hands on aspect." - Parker, Suffolk
"Really good especially due to the fact that it was moved to Brighouse." - Spencer, Bedford