Your Floating Hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

News about Reed Boats in 2005.

April.

I am writing this newsletter at the new basin in Llangollen during a rare day off. We have had a very hectic, but enjoyable first month.

We started badly. Last month I told readers that we had just been let down by our crew. This happened three more times!! Each time two people were keen to come, and then at the last minute had to withdraw. Finally I had the help of friends to move the boats up to Market Drayton for our first guests. Here thankfully we were joined by Gareth and Dia to crew for a month. However they joined us late on the Friday night ready to start cruising with guests on the Saturday, and neither of them had even seen a canal boat before! Real hands on learning. However they have stuck.

Highlights of this last month of cruising were:

• Being at Chester Wharf as some of the old working boats came down on their way to the Easter gathering at Ellsemere port.
• Traveling up into Wales on the Llangollen, the daffodils in our roof tubs magically opened as we approached Wales, very apt since they are the national flower of Wales.
• Cruising on the lovely quiet Montgommery Canal.
• Crossing over the highest aqueduct on the system three times.
• Watching the countryside come to life as Spring arrives.

However for me the edge was taken off when I trapped my finger in the rear doors and cut the end off. It meant a trip to A & E at Shrewsbury hospital. But the boats carried on, my wife coked dinner that night, but service was back to, almost normal, the next day.

We now have no guests for this next week so we will move the boats quickly, twice the rate we go with guests, down to Norbury junction were we will lay over for a couple of weeks. During that time ...

• We will have some small jobs of work down at the boat yard there.
• Two new crew members, with previous hotel boat experience, will come and look us over with a view to crewing for us for the rest of the season.
• I can touch up paint work etc.

N. B. The boats will be open to the public on Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st May and Monday 2nd May at the boatyard at Norbury Junction in Staffordshire, near Market Drayton. The Shropshire Union Canal Society also has a festival there on the Saturday and Sunday and the Anglo Welsh Hire boats are also available to look round. If you are thinking of a canal holiday,or just want to see what we look like come and have a look. There will be coffee or tea and cake or biscuits on offer as well as a chance to see over both boats and to meet us.

(P.S. If you come and see us at Norbury that weekend and book a holiday with us while you are there we will give you a 10% discount!)

Newsletters for 2005
January / February

Newsletters for 2004

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martin@reedboats.co.uk