Our Story
Cafwin Cruises, Eco-Friendly Boutique Narrowboat Holidays
Dear Guests,
Cafwin Cruises is very much a family-run business. I’m Catherine (known in the family as Cafwin and hence the rather unusual name of the company) and I’m the Managing Director. I run every aspect of the business on a day to day basis, but, as needs be, I am assisted by my husband, Mark, our son and his wife, Lewis & Hannah, and of course my fantastic cleaning team and excellent engineer. Mark and I are both retired from the Armed Forces (Army & RAF) and we’ve each held an interest in narrowboats for about 30 years; either owning one or holidaying on hire barges. Having run a very successful holiday villa in Florida for over 10 years, we decided on retirement from the Military to combine our love of narrow boating with my love of running a holiday property and so was born Cafwin Cruises. We invested our savings in having our first narrowboat, Arthur Owl, built from scratch and have been thrilled with our guests’ reaction to our very special 5* rated holiday boat. In 2022 we were equally excited to introduce into service our first Serial Electric-Hybrid narrowboat, Ollie Owl and he went down a storm and has also been rated as 5* by British Marine.
The whole ethos in setting up our company has been about family and friends and trying to ensure that we are as eco-friendly as we can possibly afford to be. Lewis, and Hannah, have been heavily involved from the start. All of us have completed comprehensive narrowboat handling courses through Willow Wren Training to ensure that we provide the best service to our guests. Hannah, as a Miller Research Consultant with a MSc in Sustainability Planning and Environmental Policy, has been a constant source of sound advice for the eco-friendly vibe of the business . The drawing of Arthur and Ollie Owls were designed and produced by the very talented Nina, who was Lewis’ best friend at school. We chose our boat builders (NCB & Ortomarine), because they were skilled, generous with their time, friendly and open. Our Engineer, John, used to run his own chandlery; he is fantastically reliable, hard-working and one of those people who you just know can be trusted! Carrie, who lived on her own narrowboat in our Marina, was my first housekeeper from set up; she has amazingly high standards and has become a pivotal part of the business and a very dear friend. The entire team are an absolute joy to work with; the housekeeping team actually sing along to songs all the way through their cleaning which is lovely to listen to as I complete all the outside tasks.
We love our business and want to ensure that everyone who holidays with us has the best possible experience on the water. We all know the British weather can be unpredictable therefore making narrow boating an all-weather activity, but we want you to know that below deck there is warmth, cosiness, comfort and real luxury. Why go to a static boutique hotel or cottage when you can have all the same indulgence and splendour in a vessel that will travel with you and let you enjoy the best of our beautiful countryside and enjoy a different view every day? Why rent an average, old or tired narrowboat for the same or more money, when you can hire our beautiful bespoke and charming boats for the same cost or even less?
We hope our customers will choose us because they can see that we are offering something a little different, at a competitive price, but with nothing spared to ensure a luxurious, romantic and fun get away. I will personally do everything within my powers to bring you the best holiday ever. We also hope that you will enjoy the little extras that we’ll be providing; but we will leave you to find those for yourself when you get on board your boat. Finally, I am only a phone call or e-mail away if you have any questions, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you don’t understand something or want more information.
Warmest holiday wishes
Catherine
MD Cafwin Cruises