Our public horse-drawn trips on the Kennet and Avon Canal last from two to three hours and operate seven days a week, from Easter to the end of September. You can just hop on if we have any spare seats – but it’s best to book in advance, so that you guarantee reserved seats.

 

A group of up to eight people can enjoy the freedom of the Kennet and Avon canal with self-drive day-hire on our traditional style 9m (30ft) narrow boat, Cygnet, which is built to a very high specification. Everyone gets a great view, the main passenger area can be opened up to enjoy the fresh air. It is available for hire most of the year.

Take a journey into the past

The Kennet Horse Boat Company brings you two ways to enjoy a leisurely boat trip on one of England’s finest canals – a nostalgic horse-drawn barge journey or a self-drive narrow boat experience. They’re both great ways to escape from the madness of modern life and experience the slower pace of yesteryear. Just sit back and soak up the beauty of the countryside from a totally different viewpoint. For more information, please call 01488 658 866 or email us.


We offer a family ticket (2 adults & 2 children) for a 2 hour horse-drawn public trip for only £30.00.

Find out more about our public trips here.

Bonnie Retires and Monty Joins The Team

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Our faithful shire horse Bonnie has retired this year and is enjoying a well earned rest in the field.  We have welcomed Monty, our new cross shire horse, to the team.  He is progressing well and we hope will prove to be as good as Bonnie has been for all these years – thank you Bonnie!

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  • We were a couple on the Kevendy's coach that visited you on Tuesday. We would just like to say how much we enjoyed the trip on your horse drawn barge and the lovely afternoon tea you provided. You certainly worked hard in getting the lovely Monty to keep going in the darker parts of the tow path! Again thank you for a lovely relaxing afternoon.

    Kind regards John and Sarah Sarling.

    I should like to thank you all at Kennet Horse Boat Company, including of course the magnificent Freddy, for the lovely trip we had on the canal last Tuesday. Our members had a wonderful time and we are grateful for the kindness and consideration shown to those needing a steadying hand getting on and off the barge. We appreciated being able to get off at the lock and watch proceedings from the lovely old bridge, and were much impressed by the nonchalant manner Steve and his assistant leapt between the barge and the bank - do they ever fall in?

    We were lucky in it being a lovely afternoon but the welcome and friendliness shown to us made the afternoon very special - thank you.

    With best wishes, Ann Ireland

    I would like to thank you, Steve and the other colleagues who gave us such a very pleasant trip on the canal on Saturday. All the guests enjoyed it very much and some are intending to return again when they have the opportunity. I will certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a "different" trip.

    Please pass on my thanks to Steve with whom I caught a few words at the beginning and end. I think most of my guests would have been very happy to have returned on the boat! Thanks again.

    John Hicks, Russet Lodge, Brimpton

    I just wanted to say my husband and I really enjoyed our trip along the canal yesterday, made more interesting by the difficulties caused by the wind, making us more aware of the problems faced years ago by the early canal users. The young man leaping on and off other barges seemed to have an enviable amount of energy!! He certainly needed it for the return trip, oh to be young again. The scones and cake were beautiful.

    It was our first trip out for a few weeks, my hubby is terminally ill, and had been very ill with a chest infection which had bowled him over, making us pretty well housebound for a period of time, I was so pleased when he said he felt able to do the trip yesterday, and even more pleased that we both enjoyed it so much. Thank you so much, and big hugs to Freddie too!

    Marion Kemp

    Thank you to the whole team. It was the most pleasurable experience through from booking to going on the trip and to coming back and discussing it. We’ve had the most fabulous time and it is thanks to your wonderful team that it is so smoothly run and such a successful day out.

    Many many thanks and hopefully we will do it next year and the year after and for many years to come.

    Esther Redhouse

    On July 21st we had the great pleasure of being aboard your horse drawn boat...what an amazing day for us. We wish to thank you all for a memorable time celebrating my husbands' 80th birthday with friends and family. You even had a word with the "Man upstairs and got the weather right!! Without exception all said what a great experience it was for them.

    I would like to say a big THANK YOU to you all..Steve, Shirley and the young man "steering" at the back...sorry but your name eludes me at the moment.

    We really had the most wonderful time and please give and extra pat for Freddie who was indeed a STAR!

    Thank you very much all of you from the Young family and friends