Reviews
Paul Webster
13:30 20 Nov 23
Excellent from start to finish. First time boaters and John was incredible with his support, knowledge and instruction. Always on hand to help with any questions including the best pubs! Highly recommended and looking forward to a summer trip! Thanks,John and the team!
Roy Minton
14:02 13 Nov 23
Had a 3 night break on River dancer with my 3 sons we all really enjoyed the trip and John who was our contact couldn't have been more friendly or helpful would recommend to anyone..Thank you..
Michelle Egge Bailey
11:55 11 Nov 23
Myself, Partner and Pooch spent 3 Amazing nights on Emily .Expert Tutition and guidence and support from JohnHe went above and beyond with teaching us everything and recommended great places to stop and eat.Emily was clean, comfortable, cozy, well equipped and very warm with everything you need, She was lovely.Best experience ever.It was all abit daunting at first especially the locks but with the help of John's expert knowledge and support we had the most amazing time, We loved the gorgeous scenery and chatting and waving at everyone, it's a bit special "Canal time" perfect.Thankyou and we are already planning to come back in the spring for longer this time.I thoroughly recommend great experience and magical memories made x
Daniel Wilton
17:23 10 Nov 23
Beautiful way to spend an autumn weekend. John is a sound lad, on the end of the phone when needed. Luckily not needed much, and the team at the base were fantastic. Tuition was fun and crucially, informative. Hopefully you'll meet Steve along the way who works for the Canal & River Trust. Another top bloke. This was my first barge holiday and I loved it so if you're thinking about giving it a go, I can't recommend these guys enough.
Paul Buckton
09:31 09 Nov 23
During October 2023 half term my family had a fantastic 4 nights on New Dawn. The boat was clean, and everything other than food was provided. As complete novices to being on the canal, the instruction given when we picked up the boat was excellent and set us up for the week. We obviously had some questions as the week progressed, and John was really helpful at the end of a phone to answer our questions it was great to see such professionalism and customer service. The boat was very comfortable and warm even in October. I'd recommend the Boat Co North to anyone, and if you have no experience, I wouldn't worry about it as I've said the instruction given is exceptional. Hope to see you all again in 2024.
Tracy Flanagan
09:26 10 Nov 22
We hired Charlotte for 4 nights from 24/10/22.Exceptional:John - Incredibly friendly and helpful. He was an absolute hero during our trip when we ran into one or two unforeseen issues (due to canal/lock disruptions - not the fault of White Rose). His experience and knowledge of canal life was evident and we picked up some real top tips from him. Our trip wouldn't have been anywhere near as great without him.The canal, cruising, mooring spots, other boaters, and CRT volunteers along the way - all fantastic.Great:Mike/Holly - Met us on the morning of our departure, both really friendly and helpful, talked us through everything on the boat and Mike accompanied us through our first lock and made sure we were confident before leaving us to it. Mike was also really helpful and accommodating on our return, giving us a quick tour of their other boats so we could compare for next time.Good:Charlotte was a lovely boat on the whole. In need of a bit of a spruce up perhaps in terms of decor, but was end of season soo perhaps to be expected and not an issue for us. A little bit "Travelodge" in choice of colour scheme/pictures, but really very pleasant and comfortable.The handwash provided in the bathroom smelt divine, and the towels were lovely (big and soft).Not so great:Communication prior to our trip was poor. We knew there'd been canal closures due to the hot summer and we wanted some reassurance and advice around how this might affect our cruising. Unfortunately response to our email queries was pretty much non existent - we emailed 3 times with the same query and never received a reply. We actually started to worry that they'd gone out of business! Turns out internet connection at their temporary base wasn't great which probably didn't help, but to receive no reply at all!!?On the subject of temporary base - we did receive an email just over a week prior to our trip advising of this, and that we would need to pay £30 to park our car there whilst on the boat. This was an unexpected cost as the website clearly states that they have their own lock up where parking is free. We understand the move of base was out of White Rose control, but we booked our trip well before then, and felt they should absorb the parking cost in the circumstances, or still allow parking at their usual base and transport customers to the temporary base (not a million miles away). At the very least, the website should have been updated to reflect the situation and we could have been advised of the additional cost much sooner than we were.In terms of the boat itself:We searched high and low for spare bin liners when the bin became full. Couldn't find them anywhere - ended up emptying a carrier bag we'd taken for dirty laundry to use as a bin liner instead. When we lifted the full liner from the bin to replaec it, there in the bottom of the bin was... yes you guessed, a spare bin liner. In the cupboard with dustpan, brush, spare loo rolls etc would have been a more obvious place to store spare liners in our view.Whilst looking for the bin liners we came across a folder full of information on Charlotte and other really useful stuff. Maybe they just forgot but we weren't told about this and only discovered it towards the end of our trip.Definite lack of hooks on the boat - e.g. in the bathroom for your towels, near the stern door for coats etc.Obviously White Rose have had challenges to overcome this year, with canal closures and operating from a temporary base, which in turn clearly affected our own experience in some ways. Definitely room for some improvement (and I hope our comments are read as intended... constructive/helpful). Overall though, really great, and would definitely re-book.
Mark Blood
12:23 04 Oct 22
Excellent. Four of us on a boat from Fri to Mon. Cooker, shower, fridge, microwave, audio system (with Bluetooth). Comfortable and slept well. Idyllic. Lost electrical power at one point but John was straight out and fixed it. The next day we ran aground but John guided us out of that one too. No worries about support as they truly look after you - even to guiding you through the first lock or two. Marvellous :)
Ian CROMACK
23:08 15 Jun 22
What a great trip! We received excellent service from Holly and John at White Rose Canal Holidays. Our 20-ton beast of a narrowboat, Charlotte, was comfortable and beautifully equipped - she had everything we needed for our week-long round-trip from Leeds up to Skipton.The weather might not have been optimal (Yorkshire in May!) and we might have slightly underestimated the workload involved in negotiating the endless locks and swing bridges, but it was SO WORTH IT! The scenery was exquisite, and everyone we met along the way was super friendly.We had zero boating experience before booking this holiday, but if you are reading this and wondering if you should take the plunge, GO FOR IT! Do a bit of reading, watch some YouTube videos, take advantage of all the advice and help you will be offered along the way, GO SLOW, and enjoy every moment.Thanks, White Rose!
Paul Brown
12:40 08 Jun 22
Hired a narrowboat with a group of friends from White Rose for a weekend break and had a fantastic time! This was our first time on the canals and had a few worries concerning boat and lock operations, but the friendly staff did a great job of putting our minds at ease and provided us with 2 hours tuition before setting off on our own (great job Holly and Pirate John 😁).I would say that if you want a purely relaxing trip then this may not be the holiday for you. Operating the locks and bridges can sometimes be hard work if there are no Canal & River Trust volunteers around to help, but the scenery is amazing and there are some great pubs enroute!Would highly recommend using White Rose Holidays... they're based close to the railway station and there are supermarkets nearby to fill the cupboards before heading into the countryside. We are definitely going to book again with you guys! ❤️ 👍🏻👍🏻
hethsie stovie
13:28 27 May 22
Highly recommended! Fantastic, friendly knowledgeable staff! Great tuition for boat hire and pretrip training videos! Fabulous holiday and beautiful boat river dancer. Check it out!
