Held over the Easter school holidays, these now-annual day trips are an extension of our regular weekend and midweek residential trips, designed to provide a fun introduction for youngsters to our local canals in and around Braunston alongside the ever-popular theme of pirates.

For this trip we had the pleasure of the company of members of Rhythmic Expressions Dance Academy based in Daventry who really got into character for what was another very successful and highly enjoyable trip as you can see from the pictures below.

Many thanks to ‘Purple Pirate’ Denise and her Captain Paul from LNBP for managing the trip and keeping the crew in order and waterways safe!

And thank you also to Chirelle and everyone at Rhythmic Expressions Dance Academy for coming along and really getting into the spirit of the day. It was an absolute pleasure to have you, and we hope to see you again soon.

• For more details about future Pirate Days with LNBP and how you can get your children’s centre or youth and community group involved, email us at marketing@lnbp.co.uk.

The post In pictures – Pirate Days 2026 appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

To read our latest update, click here

• If you would like to be added to our distribution list to receive our e-Newsletter, please email us with your details at marketing@lnbp.co.uk.

The post Latest e-newsletter now available online appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

Rachel Spruce will be undertaking the challenge of The London Marathon MyWay on Sunday 26^th April 2026.

The TCS London Marathon MyWay provides the opportunity to complete 26.2 miles however and wherever you wish (except indoors or on a treadmill) on Marathon Day. The start line can be wherever you choose, as long as you can complete the distance from 00:00 to 23:59:59 BST on Sunday 26 April 2026

In Rachel’s case, she will be walking the towpath of the Grand Union Canal, starting from Napton and heading for her ‘finish line’ at Stoke Bruerne via Braunston, all to raise money for LNBP Community Boating.

To find out more and sponsor Rachel in her efforts, head to her Justgiving page here

And you can follow Rachel’s progress on Strava – which includes her training and the actual walk on the day, by clicking this link:- Check out Rachel Spruce on Strava

• We are sure you will join everyone at LNBP to wish Rachel all the very best of luck with her challenge and we extend our thanks to her for all the efforts in aid of LNBP.

The post Rachel’s London Marathon MyWay for LNBP appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

Once again our team will be at the ever-popular Show for what promises to be another busy Whitsun weekend.

Organised by Waterways World in partnership with the Canal & River Trust and Crick Marina, the three-day Show offers a great day out by the water for all the family and showcases 300 exhibitors from across the canal and inland waterways industry.

Held at Crick Marina in Northamptonshire, this year’s Show will once again be held over the late May [Whitsun] bank holiday weekend which for this year is across Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th and Monday 25th May 2026.

Once again there will be a Trade and Preview Day 24 hours before on Friday 22nd May when all boats and Quayside stands and much of the Show Village and Boating Marquee will be open to trade visitors and to Preview Day ticket holders.

Among the wide variety of stalls and entertainment on offer during the three public days, there is opportunity to take a boat trip with us as we will once again be operating the hugely-popular Trips Boats. Visitors to the Show can enjoy a short boat trip with us from the Marina and along the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal aboard canal boats which are once again run by our volunteer team of skippers.

The half-hour trips are free, but we welcome and greatly appreciate donations in lieu, with trips running every 10 minutes from 10.10am each of the three days of the show.

As these trips always prove very popular, our advice is to book with us once you arrive at the Show. You will find us at Stand F0 by the quayside where you can up your tickets  from our team who can tell you more about we can do and offer, answer any questions and take enquiries for potential community group shrt break trips and longer holidays for 2027 (and 2028!)

For more information about the 2026 Crick Boat Show and to buy tickets in advance, go to their website HERE.

We look forward to seeing you at Crick.

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The post Come and see us at the 2026 Crick Boat Show appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

If you have been following our posts on our website and also across our social media channels of late, you will have seen the transformation from when we left Lancelot in the skillful and capable hands of our friends at Hillmorton Boat Services has been amazing to watch.

From this…

See more here

To this….

See more here

To this…

See more here

And now the work has been fully completed, two of our esteemed boat skippers Brian and Kevin collected Lancelot and steered her from Hillmorton ‘back home’ to our mooring base at Bottom Lock in Braunston.

Our sincere thanks to the team at Hillmorton Boat Services for undertaking this work for us. Lancelot looks amazing.

And soon it will be Guinevere’s turn too!

But not just yet; we have a busy season of bookings and eager boaters to look after between now and November!

• To check out Lancelot and Guinevere’s availability for 2026 and 2027 for your community group’s short break residential holiday or weekend, head to our online Booking Page here.

The post In pictures: Lancelot gets a new coat – complete and home again! appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

* And if are not around by the cut, you can of course find out more about us here on our website. 

The post Dewintersing weekend this weekend appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

It comes on the back of our recent call and invite for new volunteers to get involved with us for 2026, which you can see here.

With the help of Rugby-based copywriter Karl Quinney who deals with all our press and media requirements and engagements, details subsequently sent to a range of local and regional media have so far yielded a great level of coverage and from it, a handful of interested enquiries.

Our story and coverage has been presented online and in print with the following:

• Daventry Express, here
• Northants Telegraph, here

• Northampton Chronicle and Echo, here
• Rugby Advertiser (Warwickshire World), here

Their coverages have also in turn extended to their social media pages of Facebook and X/Twitter where they again have also received great traction and engagement for both them and ourselves.

Thank you to all of those publications for their kind coverage and support. It is very much appreciated.

• For more details about volunteering with LNBP, contact our Chairperson Paul at chair@lnbp.co.uk to arrange a chat and see how you can be involved and how we can help you in return.

The post LNBP in the media appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

You will have hopefully seen our earlier progress posts (here) and (here).

Now see the contrast from this….

…to now this from pictures taken by one of our project skippers Kevin with the team at Hillmorton Boat Services earlier this week.

* Like Lancelot’s new refreshed look?  Then why not see the boat first-hand and bring your community group to enjoy a short break or holiday on him.

Whether you use the services of one of our Project Boat Skippers or self-steer yourself (with the relevant CCBM),  we know you will love your time exploring our region’s waterways and everything they offer on board.

To find out more, check availability for 2026 and 2027 and discuss what we can offer and tell us about your group’s requirements, call our Bookings Officer Nigel on 07783 002073 or email at bookings@lnbp.co.uk.

Or you can check avaialbility and make a booking online here.

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The post In pictures: Lancelot gets a new coat – a further update appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

You will have hopefully seen our recent post showing the early stages of Lancelot being stripped down in the dry dock (if not, you can see pictures here)

Well, things have moved on and here’s the latest pictures from one of LNBP’s project skipper Kevin who along with colleague Brian paid a visit to our friends at Hillmorton Boat Services to see the great progress being made.

As you can see, great progress is being made and thanks to the team at HBS for really moving this on.

Look out for more pictures and a further update next week.

The post In pictures: Lancelot gets a new coat – progress update appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

Far from it.

We are busy as ever behind the scenes preparing, in this case, for the 2026 season which starts in February.

The close season does provide us with enough of a window to undertake one of our more time-consuming and costly jobs which thankfully do not happen every year.

This is the repainting of our boats Lancelot and Guinevere.

However, for various reasons we can only get one of the two painted at the moment, so it was Lancelot that got the nod to be first to shipped off to our friends at Hillmorton Boat Services near Rugby.

So, in mid November once our last booking for the 2025 season and subsequent Winterising Weekend had both been completed, Lancelot made the short trip from Braunston up the North Oxford Canal to Hillmorton Locks for the work to be done.

Here’s a few photos from the early stages below

Look out for more photos on Lancelot’s progress to follow.

And rest assured, Lancelot will be spick and span and ready for February and our first booking of the 2026 season.

The post In pictures: Lancelot gets a new coat appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.