DESTINATIONS RIVER THAMES FAMILY HOLIDAYS


FAR LEFT: Le Boat Horizon 3


HOW TO SELL Ship shape


Le Boat offers a range of


vessels, so ask as much as you can about your clients to match them to the right boat.


Go the distance Suggested itineraries are a good guide to how far


customers can travel and what they can do in the time they have.


No returns Boats can be dropped off


at different Le Boat bases, so clients don’t have to plan a round-trip.


Help needed Reassure


inexperienced boaters that


vessels are easy to control and help is usually at hand when using the locks.


Sail the world


Le Boat also operates in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and


Ireland, and has recently added Canada.


LEFT: The Hayhurst family on the sun deck


the countryside, punctuated by towns where the river’s locks and crossing points are located. The locks are fantastic places: tidy,


well-maintained by the lock keepers and usually with a cafe or pub nearby – perfect for the weary sailor after a day cruising on the river. The Thames offers free moorings but also some eye-wateringly expensive ones (notably the one by Hampton Court), so it’s advisable not to leave it too late to find a spot, particularly on a warm summer’s evening when lots of people are out enjoying the river. During our short break, we used


free moorings in Walton-on-Thames, Hampton, Kingston upon Thames and Shepperton. The only time we struggled to find one was the first night, as we got used to reading the map, controlling the boat and navigating locks. It was nearly dark by the time we had tethered our boat to the riverbank and wandered to The Anglers pub for a well-earned gin and tonic.


 SLOW TRAVEL On joining the boating fraternity, you quickly realise there’s an entire culture invisible to anyone not on the river. As people buzz around in the real world, river living is a haven of calm and there’s a true feeling of life in the slow lane. In three days on the boat, we


travelled no farther from home than we would on a day trip by car, but we were experiencing life at a pace that


56travelweekly.co.uk2 May 2019


As people buzz around in the real world, river living is a haven of calm and there’s a true feeling of life in the slow lane


modern living rarely affords. And that, after all, is what holidays are about. Book it: A three-night Little Thames Short Break on a Horizon 3 costs from £644 in October. The price includes towels and bedding, boat-handling demo, technical support and lock fees. Bike hire is available at £6 per day for adults and £4 per day for children. leboat.co.uk


What did the kids think? Millie, 13


The best thing about our boat was the outdoor space, as we could cook and eat our meals on the top deck. I spent a lot of time on the sun deck reading and sunbathing. I really enjoyed seeing everything from a different perspective – I had never seen Hampton Court from the Thames and it was interesting to view it from that angle.


Seth, 11 I liked that you could travel anywhere along the river – we visited some pretty locations and nice places to stop and eat. We had to work as a team to use the locks. My job was to throw the rope over the side to secure the boat, which took a while to master, but I got help from the lock-keepers. In the end, I managed to get the rope around the bollard first time.


Zac, 10


The river was a friendly place because people on other boats and on the riverbank would wave as we passed by. I liked spotting the wildlife and seeing the fish swimming by from the back of the boat. Helping with the locks was fun and I also enjoyed it when our grandparents and cousins came to visit us on the river.


PICTURE: CYRIL BRUNEAU


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