Book a charter

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Board our canal boat Jubilee for a relaxing trip through historic Newbury and beyond with our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fully trained volunteer crew. There’s plenty of interest to be seen as you rise up locks and cruise through lovely countryside. We have a variety of trips available ranging from 75 minutes to 3.5 hours. From an initial enquiry one of our team will work with you to ensure the charter meets your needs and, where possible, we aim to be as flexible and accommodating as we can. Please note that we can only provide the boat for Charter when we are not running Public Trips.

Route suggestions

A summary of the trips available with 2024 prices is shown below.

Name	Duration	Description
Northcroft	1hr 15m	Leave Newbury Wharf, travelling West through town and under historic Newbury bridge. On to Newbury Lock and swing bridge and then out into the countryside as far as Northcroft and then return. £220
Guyers Lock	1hr 30m	Leaving Newbury Wharf, travelling West up through historic town under Newbury bridge, through lock and swing bridge and out into the beautiful Berkshire countryside as far as Guyers lock and return. £250
Northcroft & Greenham Lock	1hr 45m	Leave Newbury Wharf, travelling West through town and under historic Newbury bridge. On to Newbury Lock and swing bridge and then out into the countryside as far as Northcroft then turn then East. We will then travel back past the wharf to below Greenham lock and return to The Wharf. £270
Northcroft & Ham Lock	2 hr 15m	Leave Newbury Wharf, travelling West through town and under historic Newbury bridge. On to Newbury Lock and swing bridge and then out into the countryside as far as Northcroft then turn then East. We will then travel back past the Wharf through Newbury and Greenham locks to above Ham lock and return to The Wharf. £300
Guyers Lock & Ham Lock	2hr 45m	Leaving Newbury Wharf, travelling West up through historic town under Newbury bridge, through lock and swing bridge and out into the beautiful Berkshire countryside as far as Guyers lock then turn East. We will then travel back past the Wharf through Newbury and Greenham locks to above Ham Lock and return to the Wharf. £325
Benham Wide	3hr 30m	Leaving Newbury Wharf, travelling West up through historic town under Newbury bridge, through lock and swing bridge and out into the beautiful Berkshire countryside and through Guyers, Higgs and Benham locks to the tranquil Benham Broad, and return to the Wharf. £375
Widmead	3hr 30m	Leaving Newbury Wharf, travelling East through Greenham, Ham and Bull’s locks to above Widmead Lock and return to the Wharf. £375

All timings are approximate and subject to traffic and river flow.

Jubilee is ideal for parties of up to 25 but has a passenger limit of 29. If you are lucky enough to experience good weather, we can open the sides of the boat for an almost open-air experience. If you are not so lucky we can close the sides when it is wet or cold, but if that is the forecast we advise wrapping up! That said, we are a great venue whatever the weather. 

We have a licensed bar and toilet facilities on board and in The Teashop by the Canal, the café in the Trust’s Stone Building on Newbury Wharf. The Teashop by the Canal has worked with us to create a special menu for our charters. This should be ordered either by adding to the booking request or direct from the Teashop by calling 01635 522609 when the charter has been confirmed. It is possible to bring your own food and drink. Bringing your own wine will incur a corkage charge of £8 per bottle.

Access to the boat is up 2 steps and down 5 steps. The crew will be there to assist and, in most case we can accommodate people. Unfortunately, we can’t carry wheelchairs inside Jubilee.

Parking is available at the wharf. Please allow sufficient time for travel and parking before your charter. We do our best to keep to our trip times, but on the river these time need to be flexible and we can be delayed, so please allow for this when paying for your parking.

Educational trips

Jubilee can also host school trips. You can find out more information through the Canal and River Trust Explorers programme which includes workshop ideas and links to the curriculum.

Departure location

Jubilee operates from Newbury Wharf, the best postcode to use is RG14 5AS.  There are ample public car parks nearby.

Keen to book?

If you have a more specific question you can email bookings@katrust.org.uk or phone the Office on 01380 721279 and leave a voicemail. Include your name and number and we will call you back (available Mon-Fri 9-4:30).