Following the success of last year’s first such venture, we are pleased to announce details of our Pirate Days for 2025 with plans to run two consecutive days on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th May 2025.

Leaving from Braunston Bottom Lock, Braunston (postcode NN11 7HJ) at 10:00am and returning approximately 4:30pm, the fun-packed days are ideal for Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows, Brownies, Church and Youth Groups, with a maximum 10 young Pirates + two accompanied adult leaders. LNBP will provide the captain and boat crew.

Come dressed as your favourite Pirate and join in the fun for the day with Pirate crafts, games, treasure hunt and a trip on the canal including how boats go ‘up and down hill’ through canal locks. Buoyancy aids will be provided for everyone for use outside the boat.

Tea, coffee and squash will be provided but Pirates will need to bring a packed lunch.

Interested in coming aboard and joining the LNBP Pirate Crew?

Contact the Purple Pirate Captain  Denise for enquiries and to make a booking by emailing denise_w909@hotmail.com or  marketing@lnbp.co.uk

(Please note: these days and bookings are aimed at and designed for an organised group + leaders/supervisors, as opposed to individual children being dropped off)

The post Pirates Wanted – LNBP’s 2025 Pirate Activity Days appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

Our Pirate Days are a new event by LNBP Community Boating with plans to run two consecutive days either side of the Easter school holidays as follows:-

• Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27^th or Thursday 28^th March 2024.

and/or

• Tuesday 2^nd, Wednesday 3^rd or Thursday 4^th April 2024

Leaving from Braunston Bottom Lock, Braunston (postcode NN11 7HJ) at 10:00am and returning approximately 4:30pm, the fun-packed days are ideal for Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows, Brownies, Church and Youth Groups, with a maximum 10 young Pirates + two accompanied adult leaders. LNBP will provide the captain and boat crew.

Come dressed as your favourite Pirate and join in the fun for the day with Pirate crafts, games, treasure hunt and a trip on the canal including how boats go up and down hill. Buoyancy aids will be provided for everyone for use outside the boat.

Tea, coffee and squash will be provided but Pirates will need to bring a packed lunch.

Interested in coming aboard and joining the LNBP Pirate Crew?

Contact the Purple Pirate Captain  Denise for enquiries and to make a booking by emailing denise_w909@hotmail.com or  marketing@lnbp.co.uk

(Please note: these days and bookings are aimed at and designed for an organised group + leaders/supervisors, as opposed to individual children being dropped off)

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Our Pirate Days are a new event by LNBP Community Boating with two days on Thursday 1^st June and Friday 2^nd June 2023.

Leaving from Braunston Bottom Lock, Braunston (postcode NN11 7HJ) at 10:00am and returning approximately 4:30pm, the fun-packed days are ideal for Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows, Brownies, Church and Youth Groups, with a maximum nine young Pirates + two accompanied adult leaders. LNBP will provide the captain and boat crew.

Come dressed as your favourite Pirate and join in the fun for the day with Pirate crafts, games, treasure hunt and a trip on the canal including how boats go up and down hill. Buoyancy aids will be provided for everyone for use outside the boat.

Tea, coffee and squash will be provided but Pirates will need to bring a packed lunch.

The cost is great value too at just £5.00 per person.

Interested in coming aboard and joining the LNBP Pirate Crew?

Contact the Purple Pirate Captain  Denise for enquiries and to make a booking by emailing denise_w909@hotmail.com.

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Our Dewinterising Weekend is where many of our members converge to our mooring at Bottom Lock in Braunston, Northamptonshire to bring Lancelot and Guinevere out of hibernation from the winter to get them ready for the new boating season ahead.

Whether it was on deck (or on the roof) or down in the gallery, our team were hard at work with cleaning inside and outside and making sure L and G were looking in prime condition and in good working order for what promises to be another busy season in prospect.

As well as making them look spick and span from the rigours of a cold few months, the weekend also involved making sure L and G were in good mechanical and running order and ensuring both boats had all the necessary equipment clean and in place to ensure our upcoming client group guests have everything they need for their trips.

In addition to the various jobs and tasks in hand, the weekend is also a good social occasion with members coming from various parts of the country both locally and from further afield. And after the events of recent years where face-to-face gatherings have been at a premium due to Covid, it was great to a few people for once in real life and not virtually on a Zoom chat camera as has been the case.

Below are a few picture taken by our Press and Media Officer Karl  

Also check out our Facebook page (here), Twitter (here) and Instagram (here) for some additional videos.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to a highly successful and productive Dewinterising Weekend.

We (and L and G) now look forward to welcoming our client group guests for the coming season, starting this very weekend.

• LNBP Community Boating have some remaining dates in their 2023 calendar for community groups and organisations to enjoy a weekend or midweek residential trip on Lancelot and Guinevere.

• For further details on availability and to make a booking, head to our online booking page here

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The post In pictures: Looking after Lancelot appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

The restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic means our activities are still on hold, but we are brightening up our look for when we are back into service.

 
No doubt many of you have taken the opportunity during the lockdown period to undertake some decorating in and around the home. Well, so have we!
 
With our two boats Lancelot and Guinevere still not permitted to venture out on the canals with our client groups, we have instead taken the opportunity to give one of them a new coat of paint and undergo some maintenance work which was otherwise scheduled for later in the year.
 
Thanks to kind arrangement at short notice, Guinevere was taken the very short distance from our mooring at Bottom Lock and into dry dock for works to get underway.
 

 
See the images below to see how things are progressing
 

 

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Keen to help, LNBP offered them the use of a boat for a day for the children to experience the canals from their own village.

Following an exchange of paperwork documents, a homework sheet was sent to the children to research aspects of the history of the canals, questions ranging from what is the difference between a river and a canal to why did Navvies drink so much beer.

To the big day itself. On Monday 8th October, LNBP’s Bookings Officer Nigel Smith went into the school and delivered a talk to the children concerning canal history, as well as providing them with a safety briefing to the children.

Following that, it was time to get outside and by the canal.  Braunston Primary School is a short distance from the top of the village down to the canal and on a beautiful day like it was it is a lovely stroll. A walk from school to the Braunston Stop House was made by the teachers and ten children to meet up with one of our boats, Lancelot. The children were taken in groups of 10 at a time from the Stop House along the canal towards Napton to the winding hole and back to Braunston.

As well as watching the world go by, waving to passers-by and other boats, and spotting various animals and nature, all of the children were also given a chance at steering under the supervision of Peter Page, LNBP Chairman.

After the trip and saying our goodbyes, for the pupils it was back up the hill and back into the classroom, no doubt ready to tell their schoolmates and later their mums and dads of the great time they had (the big smiles on the boats reflected that).

Overall it was an extremely enjoyable day had by all, not least by Nigel and Peter from LNBP. The pupils of Braunston Primary School were a wonderful, friendly, inquisitive and well-behaved group and a credit to the village school.

A huge thank you to them and also Ms. Sawyer for arranging the visit and trip with us

And it seems they have been busy back in the classroom, with some wonderful ‘thank you’ letters being sent to us.

Click the gallery below to see just a sample of some of the great letters we have received.

The post From classroom to the canal with Braunston Primary School appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the canal boat trip on Thursday. The group we took had a really relaxing day – watching the scenery, steering the boat and socialising and got lots out of the experience. Please pass on our gratitude to our skipper, Pete, too as he was really patient and helpful, particularly with Harrison, who thoroughly enjoyed getting to steer for most of the day – quite the expert now.
Thank you once again for the opportunity.
 
Annie
Young Adult Carer Worker

 
 
All in all, it was another great series of days with our Taster Trips, and we hope to see all our guests back with us again for a longer trip or short break in the not-too-distant future.
 

Would you and your group be interested in a short break to sample life on a the canal and life at a quieter, more peaceful pace?

For further details on available dates for autumn 2017 and also 2018, click here

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