Pulteney Cruisers run a 1 hour round trip up and down the Avon River. It goes under the Pulteney…read moreBridge and exits Bath quite quickly, and into more of a nature river cruise than a city cruise. You'll some lovely greenery, private back yards of the wealthy riverfront homeowners, and some beautiful majestic swans...and a few average looking ducks. While not a "must do" during your Bath explorations, it is very relaxing to take in a bit of nature, and sit for an hour if your legs and feet are exhausted after so much walking in Bath. £14/$19 seems just about right.

Review Title: Disappointing Cruise Experience - Not Worth the Money…read more We queued for 40 minutes with my child, only to be met with rudeness from staff who insisted he finish his ice cream before boarding. Once on the boat, the promised commentary was inaudible -- we couldn't hear a single word over the microphone. This was particularly frustrating as we had hoped to learn some history of Bath together. Instead, the focus seemed to be on selling drinks and snacks, with little care for the advertised experience. When several of us raised concerns afterwards, staff dismissed them and hurried us off. The seating was uncomfortable, and overall the short cruise felt poorly managed. Sadly, this was a complete waste of money. I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for an enjoyable or informative trip.

Spending some time on the River Avon via the Bath Boating Station will always be a highlight of my…read moretime in Bath! The Bath Boating Station offers rowing, canoeing, and punting available for 1 or 2 hours (during nicer weather, of course). After your time on the water, you can enjoy their beautiful green grounds which have several picnic tables with shades. The last boat hire is at 4:30pm! Heads-up: also, they have a strict timing policy, so if you return ten minutes late, you will be charged for another hour. Bookings are strongly recommended to guarantee you'll get what you want regarding boat style. We didn't, but it worked out in the end: we originally wanted to go rowing, but they didn't have any available, so we chose canoeing instead (which is something we're actually familiar doing). We felt comfortable in the boat, appreciated their help getting in and out of it, and had - what we thought - was a leisurely row all the way down to the Bathampton Toll Bridge (which is about 2+ miles upstream). Lots of wildlife to look at, including loads of kingfishers and ENORMOUS swans attempting to get on every stand-up paddle board. Beware the Boss Swans, friends! Would recommend; seems like it's super family-friendly, great for hen dos, and a lovely way to spend a sunny couple hours in the area!

Foolishly entered bath boating station today when it was clearly closed. For which I apologise…read more However I was met by an angry response from the owner - I guess this ranting individual was the owner - which was entirely inappropriate, especially as he was shouting right in front of my two young children. Needless to say, he won't be getting any of my money now or in the future. Hope he treats you better.

We loved our trip on the Premier Cru. The boat is so spacious and comfortable to live in, the wood…read morestove was great, the boat is so well-appointed it just made it really easy to stay on the boat. The beds are comfy, the kitchen had plenty of space to cook dinner; the only negative is that we had to leave!

We visited Windsor yesterday and my husband felt it would be nice to do a river trip in the…read moreafternoon. The choice was a 40 minute trip or a 2 hour trip. As there was not much difference in price he opted to book us on the 2 hour trip. Below decks there's a bar/tearoom and toilets. Most people opted to sit on the top deck. This has plastic seating in the first 5 rows and the back rows have padded seats. Although it was a sunny day, it was cold whilst we were sailing - had I known we were going to do a river trip I wouldn't have worn a sun dress as I got quite cold! It was a pleasant trip. Commentary was via a pre-recorded cd talking about the sights and history to be seen along the bankside and it's quite fascinating to see all the lovely houses on the waters' edge. We asked for tea and cakes which was brought to us by the Captain's 'mate' a pleasant young lady with hair dyed green! It was an enjoyable trip aside from the fact that I'd taken my 5 year old granddaughter for whom the trip was just too long. She enjoyed going through the Bray Lock gates but at that age they don't understand the incredible engineering and history behind it. I would definitely recommend a river cruise if you want a relaxing afternoon but do take a blanket or some warm clothes!

Quite a pleasant cruise. Commentary is recorded and a bit too detailed for most people. Seats are…read moreplastic, so don't expect comfort. On the whole satisfactory.

There is so much to do and see in Roath Park that each activity almost warrants its own category…read more One of the things to do is take you kids to the playground. A few words of warning though - if you go at the obvious times your kid may have to wait for a go of a swing or a slide as it gets pretty popular. My advice is to go there on a sunny weekday afternoon rather than a weekend and you're child is guaranteed the run fo the place. There is a variety of swings, a big slide built into the banking, a small slide, climbing frames, roundabouts all you need to keep you occupied for an hour or so, sorry I meant all you need to keep you children occupied - I didn't have a go on any of them honestly!

Such a cute park! I had tons of fun with my aunt and 2 younger cousins on the pedal boats (word to…read morethe wise : AVOID the algae, we ended up getting trapped and had to get a friendly couple to push us out XD). The boat is also quite a workout, we ended up getting lazy and making the 8 year old and the 12 year old pedal, classic haha! Lovely place to walk around, had a playground for the kiddies. Very enjoyable hour or so spent here.

The Canal centre is the HQ of the restored Basingstoke Canal, which runs for 32 miles from Greywell…read moreVillage in Hampshire to Woodham in Surrey, where it joins the Wey Navigation, which links it to the River Thames. As well as a display about the history of the canal, there's a small shop selling maps, basic toiletries and snacks for those on the adjacent campsite, games for children and souvenirs. The site has a small, popular cafe and a car park, and the centre has toilets. It's the starting point for walks along the canal towpath and those kayaking and canoeing along the canal. There's a small campsite adjacent. The canal itself was completed in 1794, running from the Wey Navigation to a basin in Basingstoke. It was never a commercial success, being undermined by competition from the adjacent railway from the 1830s. Commercial use ceased in 1910 and the canal gradually fell into disuse. It was used by nearby army camps during World War One. After the war, the efforts of a local man, AJ Harmsworth, maintained it for pleasure use and he purchased the canal in 1922. On his death in 1947 it was sold. Efforts to maintain the canal continued, but breaches in 1957 and 1968 ensured that it was essentially derelict by the 1960s. The Greywell tunnel, just short of Basingstoke had already partially collapsed in 1932, cutting the canal from its original destination. A campaign to restore the canal resulted in its purchase by Hampshire and Surrey Councils; restoration began in 1977 and it was opened in its current form in 1991. The Greywell tunnel remains closed and now houses a colony of protected bats, making restoration of the section to Basingstoke unlikely. The canal is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildlife. Because of this and water supply issues, there is a limit on lock opening times and the number of boats allowed to use it. Short distance pleasure cruises are, however, operated from the canal centre.

The canal centre documents the history of the Basingstoke canal through dioramas, video, photos and…read moreinformation boards. An interactive model shows how a lock works. There's a cafe and small shop, plenty of parking and they cater for children with colouring pens and paper. At Christmas, they offer Santa cruises to take you and the kids to see Santa's secret grotto hidden in the woods a 10 minute ride from the centre. This year it was extremely well organised and Santa was very convincing and highly entertaining telling jokes, singing Christmas songs and talking to the children individually. The circular grotto (shed) was large, well protected from the elements, heated and strewn with hay. The canal centre was decorated too and the 'elf noticeboard' displayed all of the elf's qualifications such as sleigh driving and gift wrapping together with 'elf and safe tea' notices. Well worth the £10 per head including a quality reading book gift from Santa. If you want to book, do so early as tickets sell out very quickly.

This company has harbour tours that cruise around the naval base at Portsmouth. The trips are…read moreusually 1 hour long. Its a great way to take in the history past and present. The Arc Royal can be seen. It sits looking old and neglected. It is one of the smallest aircraft carries in the world! The companys vessels can be booked for private functions such as weddings. The boats start at 86 seats up to 500 persons. Some tours are seasonal.

Every child, however citified, has an inbuilt need to crab. Picture, if you will, a particularly…read moresmall Cyberman: put a kite string in one hand, and a bucket with some old bacon rind in the other, and watch that terrifying glint take over the eye. Snowhill Creek's crabbing pond is pleasingly located a) under some barbed wire and b) by what looks like a giant swamp. It's a BRILLIANT place for children to exert their need to be kings without them getting into trouble. Mercifully, the only creatures at risk here are the crabs, and they're old hands at this game. The poor things are in and out of the water so often they may as well be hired out for Old Spice adverts. (NB: Small Cybermen + water can often have dodgy consequences if left alone, so obviously go along with them) With the gentle clink of the Creek's boats in the background, there's a ritualistic furrowing of brows as bacon is attached to kite strings and unwound into the water. Crabs often lurk against the walls. Some of them are tiny, some of them are impressively large (well, ish, but to a five-year-old they look like giant sea monsters armed with chainsaws). It's a beautiful location, and a simple English tradition. Everyone should go crabbing at least once, and several hundred bonus points if you go here.

We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our day cruise on the Thames. The warmth and hospitality…read morewas excellent and made mum;s 60th birthday really special and personal. Really recommend this!

From the owner: Myrivercruising is a family run business.We make it our aim to go that extra mile to make each…read morecruise special and tailored to clients' requirements. The atmosphere onboard is relaxed so our guests can relax as we cruise along the beautiful Thames. Last year, we were filming for channel 4's 'Four In A Bed' on our brand new hotel boat Geanna. The TV guests were all hoteliers and we were delighted and very proud to have won. Our boating holidays are different as we understand that guests would like luxury on holiday and don't want the stress of 'driving ' the boat. So we drive the boat and then once at guests' destination, we leave to let guests enjoy their own space. Our business has grown and this year sees the exciting launch of boat Gina and our new narrowboat holidays where guests can drive the boat themselves or we can skipper it for them. tyhe idea of our business is to make everything user friendly so you can unwind and relax.