Frequently asked questions

Expect to take up to two hours to find out where everything is and put your belongings on board, get acquainted with the safety rules and learn how to manoeuvre the boat. If, due to unavoidable delays, you are likely to arrive later than 6.00pm, please call us to let us know. The boat must be returned by 9.00am to disembark by 9:30am on the final day of your holiday. You are welcome to moor at the wharf on the evening before handing back your canal boat.

Due to the very low bridges on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, bikes are not allowed to be stored on the roof of your canal boat. Therefore the only place for them is on the front or back deck but not all our canal boats have sufficient space. We have divided the boats into three groups (below): those where two bikes could be stored without much inconvenience to your space aboard, those where two bikes could be stored but in doing so will cause inconvenience, and those where we believe bikes are not viable at all. Please note that a maximum of two bikes are permitted.

Canal boats where there is space for two bikes without much inconvenience to your deck space
Harrier
Owl
Kestrel

Canal boats where there is space for two bikes but they WILL inconvenience your deck space for general seating, etc
Eagle
Condor
Osprey
Peregrine
Puffin

Canal boats where there is NOT enough space to accommodate bikes, unless they are folding bikes
Hobby
Buzzard
Hawk
Merlin
Heron
Kite

One possible explanation for this wider gauge is that the standard 72ft canal boat used in the 19th century would have been unable to navigate the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal due to the contour nature of this waterway. So in order to maximise cargo carrying capacity and cope with shallow draught, the width of boats on this canal was increased from the standard 6ft 10inch to 9ft. To answer the question though, all our wide beam boats can easily navigate the entire Monmouthshire and Brecon canal. At only 8ft 6inch wide they are 6 inches narrower than the boats originally used to transport cargo on this canal.

We have a cottage for a couple, and a cottage that sleep 6 people in three bedrooms. Both are 5-star and are located at Llanfoist Wharf near Abergavenny. Take a look at the cottages.

In Abergavenny you'll find Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose.
In Brecon, there's Morrisons.

 

The cars are parked, free of charge, within a secure gated area.

For details of the hundreds of items aboard, please take a look at this inventory.

Alternatively, you may send us a completed booking form (found inside our brochure) with credit/debit card details or a cheque made payable to Beacon Park Boats Ltd. You need to pay 25% of the total price as a deposit at the time of booking and the balance is be paid eight weeks before the date on which the holiday is due to start. If your holiday starts within 8 weeks the total price is payable at the time of booking.

We sometimes offer these holidays at a special rate and promote the offer via social media or our e-newsletters. To subscribe to our occasional e-newsletters, simply add your email address to the Newsletter Signup box which you'll find on the right-hand side of each web page.

 

On receipt of the written cancellation we will endeavour to re-book the boat for the holiday period and, if successful for the whole or part of the period, we will refund the relevant proportion of the money paid less £50 to cover office administration. Please see point 21 of our Conditions of Hire.

this inventory.

Choose the boat and dates you’re interested in, then click the ‘hold’ button, which is next to the 'book' button. After you’ve filled in your details, we’ll hold that provisional booking for you. If you’re booking over 6 months in advance the booking will be held for 14 days, if 3-6 months in advance, we’ll hold it for 7 days, and if less than 3 months, we’ll hold it for 3 days. Your provisional booking will appear in yellow on the website calendar, and will automatically be released if you do not confirm the booking during the hold period. We'll email you the details of your provisional booking as a reminder, and explain how to confirm your booking online. So there's no reason to miss your preferred boat.

In order to encourage advance bookings and to help you budget for your holiday, we now accept interest-free monthly payments for bookings made at least 6 months in advance. An initial deposit confirms the booking, then you spread the cost of your holiday over monthly instalments, up until two months before the departure date. There’s no complicated administration. Just choose ‘instalments’ when making your booking online. We take an initial deposit from your credit/debit card and, thereafter, monthly payments for set amounts are taken from the same card. Each time the payment is taken you’ll receive an email confirming the transaction. These interest-free monthly payments are available for online bookings only. Of course, you can still choose to pay an initial deposit and the full balance two months before your holiday date. Whichever suits you best.