ABC Boat Hire has won the Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award, an independent seal of excellence, which recognises businesses that consistently deliver a world-class customer experience. Feefo established the Trusted Service Awards in 2014 to recognise brands that use the platform to collect verified reviews and receive exceptional feedback from their customers. The awards are unique because they truly reflect a business’s dedication to providing outstanding customer service by analysing feedback from real customers. Working with over 6,500 brands, Feefo is the world’s largest provider of verif ..read more

ABC Leisure Group has committed to provide the British Marine Advanced Marina Management Course in Gloucester this November to its Marina Managers from across the UK. British Marine regularly offer this course, but this is the first time they have provided the course with all delegates from the same organisation. This five-day course has been designed as a pathway towards Certified Marina Manager (CMM) and Certified Marina Professional (CMP) Certification. Further details can be found here. Manj Mahey, Head of Training for British Marine commented “British Marine are delighted to deliver th ..read more

Robert Largan MP for the High Peak has officially launched ABC Boat Hire’s new electric day boat at New Mills Marina on Friday 3rd November, with a short trip along the Peak Forest Canal. Robert Largan, MP for the High Peak, says: “The Peak Forest Canal makes an important contribution to the local economy, generating tourism, boating business and jobs. Nationally there are now more boats on Britain’s canal network than during the Industrial Revolution, including over 1,000 boats for holiday and day hire. “I’m delighted to be invited to see this exciting new electrically powered boat that w ..read more

Kings Orchard Marina declared finalist for Camping, Glamping & Holiday Park of the Year. Launched in 2006, Destination Staffordshire is a private/public sector partnership of major attractions, tourism businesses and local authorities created to develop and drive leisure and business tourism economies in Staffordshire. The tourism sector generates more than £1.87bn a year for the local economy, and supports 33,000 jobs, making it the fourth largest employer in the county. Kings Orchard Marina, part of ABC Leisure Group made the list of finalists for Camping, Glamping & Holiday Park of ..read more

After the success of the Boat Life show in 2022, they’re back at the NEC next year and so are we. This fantastic event is for the entire boating community to come together and celebrate their love of life on the water. It’s the perfect opportunity to re-connect with colleagues and friends, stay up-to-date, explore and discover the boats and equipment on show, including the latest and innovative models. Book your ticket today to see hundreds of boats and exhibitors! The show will take place from the 16th-19th February 2023 at the NEC, Birmingham.  Buy your tickets now ..read more

Crick Boat Show returns for 2023. The 2023 Crick Boat Show will take place Saturday 27th to Monday 29th May 2023. Friday 26th May will be the Trade & Preview Day when all boats and Quayside stands and much of the Show Village and Boating Marquee will be open to trade visitors and to Preview Day ticket holders.  ABC will be there showcasing our boats on Brokerage, as well as our other services including Onboard Energy and Holiday hire. Get your tickets here ..read more

ABC Leisure Group has acquired Springwood Haven Marina situated on the popular Coventry Canal. Springwood Haven is a relatively new marina situated in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, in a rural location, with 45 moorings along with the usual associated services. This is a notable development in the continued growth of ABC Leisure Group (15 marinas now within the group) allowing the company to maintain its position as the UK market leader in narrowboat hire as well as developing its status as the UK’s number one provider of inland marina and waterways services. Check out the Springwood Haven website ..read more

That is the question! The Basics – Narrowboat hulls are “blacked” to protect the bottom section of the boat from surface corrosion, the process can also offer some protection from electrolytic pitting and physical abrasion damage as well as maintaining a clean “traditional” appearance. It is usual in the industry for the base plate of the boat to be left unpainted. This is because the additional time and cost of cleaning off and applying a coating under the boat is deemed uneconomical as any coating on the underside is likely to be quickly rubbed off by abrasion against the canal bottom. Nar ..read more

ABC will be attending the Crick Boat Show this coming May Crick Boat Show is the only major boat show for the Inland Waterways offering the opportunity to view more boats at one time than anywhere else. It’s the biggest boating equipment market place with over 200 exhibitors. Date & time: Saturday 25th – Monday 25th May 2018, 10am until 6pm (5pm close on Monday) For privacy reasons Google Maps needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy. I Accept var map_fusion_map_62ad6cc302c8b; var markers = []; var counter = 0; function fusion_run_map_f ..read more

Crick Boat Show returns again for 2022 this June.  The 2022 Crick Boat Show will take place over the Bank Holiday of Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June 2022. Thursday 2 June will be Trade & Preview Day when all boats and Quayside stands and much of the Show Village and Boating Marquee will be open to trade visitors and to Preview Day ticket holders. Trade ticket applications will open in February 2022. For Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th June the Show is fully open to all. ABC will be there showcasing our boats on Brokerage, as well as our other services including Holiday hire. Get your ti ..read more