Guide To Black Prince Holidays

We hired the boat for a week and went up the wheel and along the canal to Edinburgh. Just be aware that there is limited mooring space along the canal, and it’s not really possible to moor along the towpaths due to the reeds; so make sure to plan your stops ahead of time and don’t be surprised if you have to keep going to find another spot.

The boat was is pretty good condition (considering it’s a hire boat) and had plenty of amenities (including plenty of USB ports and an inverter for laptop chargers, a small fridge/freezer, gas stove/oven, diesel-powered hot water, plenty of kitchenware, a stocked-up bathroom with a macerator toilet and shower, and pretty comfy bedding). The staff at the hire base were also very helpful in explaining how everything worked and accompanied us up the wheel.

However, I would recommend bringing wet-weather gear for going through the tunnels and in case it rains as none is really provided.

This holiday should only be taken by someone who has previous narrowboat experience.

The emphasis should be to provide the appropriate waterproofs to cater for wet weather when steering.

The mooring stops were sometimes congested with not a lot of alternative stops.

Overall, underwhelming and labour intensive would be my overall opinion for a holiday that was meant to be relaxing.

We had a great short break cruising down the Caldon Canal to Froghall and Leek. The boat was top notch and the team was great at explaining things to us (first time boaters). Recommendation: book the signature version, they are slightly newer and the interior really nice

Lovely chap here helped us out today. Thank you!

We booked a narrowboat for 11 days at Black Prince Holidays. Despite being “overseas customers” from Germany we didn’t have the slightest problem booking a boat at their site. Everything was well prepared and we were even informed beforehand of stoppages in the canal system and alternative routes so we would be able to plan ahead if necessary.

Upon arriving at Festival Park Marina we could first park close to the moored boat so our family of 5 could easily transfer our luggage. As Black Prince had already queried our intended route and our narrowboat experience some days before, the personnel took that into account and adjusted their induction accordingly. The boat had also been readily moored outside the marina and in the right direction.

We then had a wonderful holiday on the canal and the boat “Saffy” carried us flawlessly around the 4 Counties Ring (and a bit of the Macclesfield). On the last day we had again absolutely no problems returning the boat. The people at Black Prince were again very friendly and helpful. We just paid the fuel and traveled home. Black Prince later also contacted us about our forgotten camera on the boat and sent it back. Thank you!