Booking opens for canal cruises on Milton Keynes' community boat this summer

The city’s community boat Electra is back in the water and ready to start summer cruises.

The cruises up and down Milton Keynes canal systems will begin on Tuesday June 27 but bookings have opened from now.

You can book a trip here.

A busy summer programme is planned with public cruises running four days a week throughout the season. On offer is a range of tempting Food Cruises, including cream tea, fish & bubbles, curry nights, ploughman’s lunches and coffee & cake events. There are also Chill-out Cruises, Trail & Sail Cruises combining a walk and a cruise, and Pub Lunch Cruises.

People can also book Electra for short private charter bookings lasting two and a half hours. These are available most Thursdays and Saturdays from late June to mid December.

After carrying more than 4,000 guests in her first two years, Electra needed a Spring service and spruce-up.

This was completed last week and she was driven 50 miles down the M1 on a low-loader to be craned back into the Grand Union Canal at Willowbridge Marina on Stoke Road, Bletchley on Thursday morning.

Over 20 maintenance items were carried out to keep her looking as good as new, together with enhancements to her battery and electrical management systems to keep her at the forefront of environmentally-friendly boat technology.

Other works included replacing the bow thruster propellor, relaying the cabin floor and painting the hull.

Denise Taylor, Volunteer Chair of Electra’s management team, said’ “We are delighted to welcome Electra back to Milton Keynes. She looks in such good condition, following her ‘make-over’ at the boatyard. The boatyard team has done a great job, as have our own volunteers, Malcolm, Stuart, Kevin and Jerry”

Volunteer Lead Cabin Host Sue Morrison said: “Once our volunteer crew members have completed their refresher training, we are looking forward to greeting our guests on board for the rest of the season.”

The Electra team is looking for volunteers to help with shore-based roles including marketing, community engagement and training administration. Anybody interested can email [email protected].