Reviews
A Wonderful Time
We had a wonderful time on the boat. It was very comfortable and warm with the log burner on. Our son loved steering the boat too. Lots of lovely memories. Thank you
We loved our stay
We loved our stay on the narrowboat. We were staying on the coldest weekend of the year so far and we were cosy and warm all night. Communication with our hosts was great and everything was clear and easy to use. Great location next to the lovely towns of Trin and Berkhamsted. We would definitely recommend this accommodation!
Definitely a fun weekend
We had a long weekend on Narrow Escapes. There were four of us and a dog, and we had plenty of room. We were well briefed on helming and using the locks, and were guided through the first couple. Definitely a fun weekend with plenty of places to stop off and have a drink or a meal, or just stay on board and relax!
A pleasure to stay on
A lovely boat , with a nice kitchen , shower and comfortable bed and very clean , simple to use , and a pleasure to stay on . Gareth’s lesson was very good and he explained it all in layman’s terms , putting us at ease prior to setting off. Lovely canals and riverside pubs for dinners , great wildlife to see and many nice other canal boaters to give advice.
Fantastic floating mini break
A great experience and I am a first time canal user. Narrow Escape had everything we needed and was a nice home for our three nights four days adventure. Before settling off Gareth provided excellent tuition and advice and we had no trouble along the way. Enjoyable relaxing and very peaceful break right on your doorstep and I recommend this holiday to all
We were welcomed like family members
We were welcomed back as though we are part of the family, they knew us not just by sight but also by name, and as before the boat was clean and tidy, can' wait for our next adventure later this year.
Wonderful Experience
We hired Narrow Escape for a week in March and what a wonderful experience it was. If you want to experience a slower pace of life, enjoy nature and need to re-charge your batteries, then I would most definitely recommend a trip with Chiltern Canal Boats. Gareth was patient and very informative when showing us what we needed to know about, whether that was operating the locks or navigating the boat itself. It was the first time we had ever been on a narrow boat holiday and will definitely be doing it again. If the only thing putting you off is the fear of not being able to do it, I would recommend you park those fears and give it a go. Gareth also was available by phone should you need anything, very supportive.
Delighted
We rented the 5 berth boat (Narrow Escape) for 3 nights and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The boat is very well appointed and Corrine and Gareth are delightful operators of this family run business. It was our first time skippering a narrow boat and operating locks, but thanks to Gareth’s expert, friendly and thorough hands-on training we tackled our watery adventure in confidence.
Great boat, no complaints
3 of us from Australia spent 4 nights on the Narrow Escape in June 2025. It was a wonderful experience. We had no boating experience and got Gareth on board as a skipper which was the best thing we could have done. He helped us so much with the locks and being "mature" people we would never have coped otherwise. It is something we always wanted to do and met all our expectations. We really recommend it. We do suggest you bring a lot of provisions with you on board as you do not necessarily stop each night near places to stock up. All in all a wonderful experience.
Mr
We really appreciated having Gareth doing all the work with locks etc while we just relaxed. He was so friendly and helpful with some great suggestions. His locally knowledge helped have a fabulous holiday.