Avon Boating

Avon Boating operates from the Swan's Nest Boathouse on the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon, on a site separated from the neighbouring Swan's Nest Hotel in 1898 when the boating side became a business in its own right. The company launched its first steam pinnace, the Swan of Avon, that year, added the Rose of Avon in 1900 and the Britannia, built by Oxford boatbuilders Salter Brothers, around 1905. It still runs passenger cruises past the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Holy Trinity Church, alongside rowing boat, motor boat, electric launch, self-drive punt and canoe hire. Private charters, small-group cruises and gin-tasting cruises run alongside the scheduled public trips, and a wheelchair-accessible boat is available. Now well over a century old, the firm remains independently owned and operates from its original Stratford riverside site rather than a chain of locations.