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.

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.

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.

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.

We look forward to seeing and welcoming you and your community group to Braunston and aboard Lancelot and Guinevere in 2026.

With all the very best wishes for the year ahead,

The Trustees and Executive Committee
LNBP Community Boating at Braunston

The post Happy New Year appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

We look forward to meeting again and seeing you in 2026.

With all the very best wishes for the season,

From, The Trustees and Executive Committee

LNBP Community Boating at Braunston

The post Seasons Greetings from LNBP Community Boating appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.

A combination of planned reservoir maintenance and the driest summer since 1976  resulted in a significant lack of water in the UK, including our canal and river network.

On 26^th August 2025 the Canal and River Trust closed the locks at Braunston, Hillmorton and Calcutt, effectively restricting LNBP boating to a few miles of “flat” cruising.

The locks are still closed today and we also understand a further 400 miles of inland waterways remain closed to navigation.

We continue to monitor the position with Canal and River Trust and work to support our remaining 2025 hirers to agree an appropriate way forward.

** Stop Press **

From 10^th October the locks at Braunston, Hillmorton and Calcutt will be re-opened from 10:00am to 3:00pm allowing some boating at the end of the season

We have made our hirers aware and continue to work with them to meet their boating needs and fulfil their residential bookings with us.

The post An update appeared first on LNBP Community Boating.