Foxton Boats

Foxton Boats runs from the bottom of the Foxton Locks staircase near Market Harborough, on a site the Matts family has occupied since Tony Matts, then a physicist, bought a sunken boat there as a restoration project in 1966. Requests from passers-by for tea and ice cream led him to open a small shop and tea room, and the business grew to include boat repair and servicing, a canalside shop, a passenger trip boat and self-drive day boats for hire on the Grand Union Canal. Four family members, including Tony's son Sam and daughter Hannah Hemington, are now involved in running it, trading today as Foxton Boats Limited. The trip boat and day boats run seasonally, mainly spring to autumn, giving visitors a way to see the ten-lock staircase and adjoining canal without arranging their own vessel. The company also carries out maintenance and repair work for other boats using this stretch of canal. It remains under family ownership rather than part of a national boat-hire operator.