boat trip in bath uk

Pulteney Cruisers Ltd

We are running one boat, open top boat tours of the river avon at bath, we will be operating every day subject to river and weather conditions. timetable is below of our operating times., no pre-bookings taken unless for private hire - just jump aboard and pay on the boat, welcome to pulteney cruisers.

Pulteney Cruisers are the longest established boat tour operator in Bath. We have been running boat trips from Pulteney weir in the centre of Bath for over 50 years.

Our boats each seat 70 people & have a cafe on board. There is a sundeck or heated cabin depending on the weather.

We offer a scenic hour’s cruise up the River Avon to the village of Bathampton on our twin decked boats. The trip passes under the historic Pulteney Bridge & out into the beautiful Avon valley. There is an abundance of wildlife to see on the river including swans, herons, kingfishers & for the lucky few, otters!

On the way upstream the crew serve hot & cold drinks from the galley & on the return journey of each cruise there is a fascinating live commentary on the history, architecture & points of interest on the Avon.

We no longer stop at Bathampton.

2024 Timetable

• We dock 20 minutes prior for boarding
• 1 Hour Round Trip
• Departing from Pulteney Weir
• Check our Facebook page for daily running status

Please note:

Boats will be running when the river level will allow us to, if we have had a lot of rainfall this makes the river rise and therefore makes river conditions too dangerous to operate. 

If the green board is at Pulteney Weir we will be operating.

For any extra info needed email: [email protected]

Boat Departure Point

Pulteney weir bath, bridge street bath ba2 4at.

Unfortunately we are no longer stopping at Bathampton. We understand for many people this is very disappointing. This is for many reasons.

Prices for 2024

Afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea £18 per person (additional boat fare to be paid on board the boat) 

Homemade scones with jam and cream 

Sandwiches and rolls – cheese and pickle, ham and mustard, free range egg.

Minimum 2 persons- to be booked in advance. 

Private Hire

Private parties/weddings to the boatman restaurant, private hire for a one hour round trip.

• £550.00 Weekends Private hire is only available to parties wishing to board at Pulteney Bridge

Please Note

No seats can be reserved in advance, we operate on a first come first served basis unless you are to hire the boat exclusively (bookable in advance).

The timetable stated is the times the boat departs.

The boat is ready for boarding 20 minutes before the departure time.

Those that are first in the queue will be able to board the boat first.

Pushchairs and mobility scooters must be folded and cannot be taken on the top deck of the boat. Crew are happy to help those with limited mobility aboard but cannot physically lift passengers.

Well behaved dogs are welcome.

We do no allow customers to bring their own drinks aboard, we have a bar which we offer hot and cold drinks and snacks from.

WE DO NO ACCEPT LARGE GROUPS ON THE WEEKEND

Get in Touch

Come and jump onboard – no need to book. We sail from Pulteney Weir, accessed from the Pulteney Bridge steps.

• [email protected]

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Welcome to The Sir John Knill Boat Trips

Private Boat Trips in Bath

5* on Trip Advisor

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The boat will be exclusive to you and your group. With a licensed driver so you can sit back and relax. 

A 2 hour Cruise along a beautiful stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Electric motor so it is a quiet and smooth cruise.

Operates in all weather, can be fully enclosed for the chilly days and you can stay dry in the rain..

Pick up and drop off is a 10 minute walk from the city centre BA2 4EN

Toilet facilities on board. 

Connect to the boat via Bluetooth to play music.

Bring any food or drink of your own on board. No fee.

CANCELLATION POLICY 

You have up until 7 days before the trip to cancel and claim a full refund. Between a week and 48 hours there is a £50 cancellation fee. After 48 hours no refund is available.

Whatsapp Sam on 07932658130

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River Adventures

River Trips in Bath, UK

Discover | Explore | Experience

Explore the city of bath & its surrounding waterways.

Discover our canal side centre of fun for everyone in the heart of the historic Roman city of Bath at Sydney Wharf and also just outside Bath at Brassknocker Wharf, at the Somerset Coal Canal Visitor Centre. We're here to give you lasting memories to take away with you forever and show you there are different ways to enjoy a few hours, a full day, a short break, or just the ever-changing hustle and bustle of life along the canal.

Experience with us a narrowboat to stay on, hire or holiday on. Hire a bike or a canoe and explore the canal. Cruise in an electric boat with your family and friends. Choose from a fleet of Anglo Welsh Narrowboat Holiday boats from two bases. Why not stay with us on a luxury wide beam boat or narrowboat. We offer skippers to chauffeur you should you not want to cruise the boats yourselves. Celebrate in style on the John Rennie cruising Restaurant boat, choose from various menus, dance to your favourite music or live musicians. There is a cafe at our Brassknocker base called The Angelfish that offers fresh food, drinks, ice creams & there are a choice of hampers that can be pre-ordered and then delivered to the boats prior to hire as well.

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What travellers are saying

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Prosecco Boat Trip - over 18’s

• 2 glasses of Prosecco Sparkling Wine
• Alcoholic drinks (additional drinks available to purchase)
• Dogs are not permitted onboard the boat
• 9C3V9JHQ+66F, 9JHQ+66F Bath, UK Tours start at Bath Quays Waterside, adjacent to Avon Street Carpark. We are 1 minute from Bath Bus Station and Broad Quay (Road). 5mins from Bath Spa Train Station. Look out for the orange flag by the waterside.
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Near public transportation
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Minimum age is 18 years
• Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival
• Subject to favourable river conditions. If cancelled due to unsuitable conditions, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
• Most travellers can participate
• At this current time, we cannot guarantee on any trip where you will be sitting, internally or externally, or that you will be able to move around within the boat.
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travellers
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
• Pulteney Bridge

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• You'll start at 9C3V9JHQ+66F 9JHQ+66F Bath, UK Tours start at Bath Quays Waterside, adjacent to Avon Street Carpark. We are 1 minute from Bath Bus Station and Broad Quay (Road). 5mins from Bath Spa Train Station. Look out for the orange flag by the waterside. See address & details
• Pass by River Adventures River Avon Kennet and Avon Canal St John The Evangelist Church Pulteney Bridge
• You'll return to the starting point

• robe159 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Brill Bridgerton Tour Did the Bridgerton tour with Olivia as our guide. Very enjoyable tour. Headsets helped to bring the experience to life. Read more Written 6 April 2024
• jessicajP8667GJ 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Bridgerton is the best We did the Bridgerton tour. Olivia was AMAZING! Funny, friendly and really knowledgeable. The tour was 90 minutes long but it didn’t feel like that it went so quickly! Would highly recommend! Read more Written 6 April 2024
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• carlabX4659YK 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Perfect end to the weekend Such a Great experience from start to finish ..Boat ride was very relaxing and serene and such perfect weather both hosts on the boat were very helpful and informative.. We then did the walking tour with the young lady she was fantastic, she was very clear and had a great sense of humour to add..loved all the information she gave us...highly recommended...keep up the great work guys 😊 Read more Written 8 October 2023
• tanyahQ5144HD 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Fantastic, friendly and informative. What a lovely walking tour we had of Bath with Olivia, she was fun, enthusiastic, observant, engaging and very knowledgeable of the city and its heritage. The boat trip, although short, was beautifully guided and very informative. We had spectacular picture opportunities and the cappuccino onboard was really nice too. We would definitely recommend this to family and friends. Thank you 😊. Read more Written 5 October 2023
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• 522subathras 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Could improve not for slow walkers or older people Hi, I booked this walking tour in Bath on 30/9/2023. We were a group of 18 to start. By the time we ended the tour we were only 9. Some left inbetween as they had some work but some of them got lost. The girl who took us cared less, she was quick to walk not loud when explaning.I understand it is a 50 min tour. I think it is better to mention it is gonna be quick or it is not suitable for slow walkers. I have done many walking tours but this was different. Read more Written 1 October 2023
• Y3739ZNbrendah 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Informative and fun Highly recommend this tour for a great overview of Bath! Two lovely young women (college students) lead the experience. They were knowledgeable, professional and entertaining! Enjoyed having both the river perspective and walking experiences. Read more Written 15 September 2023
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• antyung 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Both River Adventures as operator and Tripadvisor as agent were unreasonable Our family booked and planned to join this trip on August 05, 2023 at 10:30 am. Due to bad weather and the difficulty to locate the precise docking place (with just a flag of a person's size along the river bank as signage in a rather quiet area), we could only arrive at the assembly point at 10:32am. When we were there, the boat embarked and was far away from the docking place which could barely be seen from the dock. The only ground staff over there of River Adventures felt sorry for us and told us the cruise company had back to back schedules and was in a hurry to get started. As a matter of fact, we were late but I did not expect that the boat would depart sharply at 10:30am as 10:30am was never mentioned as the departure time. It occurred to me that 10:30am was the assembly time and it would take at least a few minutes to get the participants to go onboard and embark for the trip, but the boat was far away from the docking place when we were there at 10:32am. The ground staff could verify that we were there at 10:32am and she told us to write to River Adventures for a refund. We wrote to River Adventures immediately to talk about the situation and they NEVER REPLIED. Without getting a reply from River Adventures, we wrote to Tripadvisor for a refund, and they simply rejected because we were late. We told Tripadvisor that we didn't argue we were late at the assembly point (notwithstanding the place was hard to find), it was not sensible to us that the boat was already far away from the dock when we got there at 10:32am. It was Tripadvisor's position that we should have taken 10:30am as the boat start/embarkment time (despite it was never mentioned anywhere from the descriptions or the confirmation). When we further argued that nowhere from their event description or confirmation that the time was referred to as boat start/embarkment time, Tripadvisor stopped replying. We regretted that we were late but did not expect the boat to depart from the dock at 10:30am sharp without any reminder. We felt offended that River Adventures never replied to our complaint and Tripadvisor cared more about River Adventures than the customer experience. If you are interested in this activity, I would recommend you to get there well in advance as it will take more time to find the place as advised by Google Map and the boat will start her engine probably at 10:29am. Alternatively, use another more trustworthy agent like GetYourGuide than Tripadvisor which cared less. Read more Written 31 August 2023
• I347WXdonnaw 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Lovely trip The crew on the boat were very helpful and our walking tour guide was very knowledgeable. Nice walking pace and not too far so would suit most abilities Read more Written 31 August 2023

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Prosecco Boat Trip - over 18’s provided by River Adventures

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Hire charges for Grand Cru and Premier Cru are the same. Grand Cru is available at 1.00pm on the day of hire until 9.00am on the last day of hire. Premier cru is available from 3.00pm until 11.00am. Both boats sleep six: Grand Cru has two double rooms and two single sofa beds in the living area. Premier Cru has one double room, one room with two single beds and two single sofa beds in the living area. The boats are 55 foot long and ten foot wide opposed to a narrowboat which is six-foot-ten inches wide. There is more interior space in Grand Cru and Premier Cru than a 68ft narrowboat. You will find the boats provide a level of decor, spaciousness and comfort more associated with a floating cottage.

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Afternoon tea - Bath Forum

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After your advice please, best place in Bath for afternoon tea, happy to push the boat out for a great venue, where its all about great food.

Looking ahead at either October time for a birthday or early December, where possibly there may be a Christmas theme afternoon tea.

Many thanks in advance.

4 replies to this topic

Consensus of replies from last mention of afternoon tea in Bath enquiry on 6th March is

https://www.sevenrooms.com/experiences/thepumproombath/dining-at-the-pump-room---afternoon-tea-ticket-7078302124

Hi WisseyHobbit

Many thanks for taking the time to reply, it is appreciated I did see the recent recommendations on the Pump Rooms afternoon tea and it does look lovely, and it is a definite contender, but I am keen, if possible for other recommendations too, as other recommendations I have looked at on here do seem from much older posts possibly now out of date information. Thank you again.

Perhaps, also consider and current

https://ivycollection.com/restaurants/the-ivy-bath-brasserie-and-garden/#aboutsection

Afternoon tea is in other menus.

Incidentally, we have usually stayed at the (newly refurbished)

https://butcombe.com/the-george-inn-somerset/

which has a 'bus stop outside, is a 20 minute bus ride into the centre of city, and avoids any parking issue. Hope it helps for later in the year.

WisseyHobbit many thanks that is fab, thank you for taking the time to help me.

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