Another hire company goes under.

[frangar]

It seems that Valley cruises/excellence afloat has gone to the wall. Sad to see another small hire co fail. Their boats always looked tidy too. 
 

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/valley-cruises-excellence-afloat-coventry-17139238

[Ray T]

Sad news.
Valley Cruisers breathed some new life into Coventry Canal Basin.

What future for the basin & the 5 and a half mile now?

 

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/valley-cruises-excellence-afloat-coventry-17139238?fbclid=IwAR1uHcv7gGwvUuUWlhoGV09VIzk6A2YKFDlGCED1sjLMb-HlDorW6WapJQY

 

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Ray T

[frangar]

Does a mod want to merge our topics?? 

[Ray T]

Just now, frangar said:

Does a mod want to merge our topics?? 

Whoops, didn't see yours

[frangar]

Just now, Ray T said:

Whoops, didn't see yours

????think we posted more or less together!! 
 

Sad news tho as it was useful traffic on the arm. 
 

 

[cuthound]

8 minutes ago, frangar said:

It seems that Valley cruises/excellence afloat has gone to the wall. Sad to see another small hire co fail. Their boats always looked tidy too. 
 

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/valley-cruises-excellence-afloat-coventry-17139238

 

Strange, I mentioned to Mrs Hound earlier today that I hadn't noticed any of their boats pass us for a few days.

 

Now I know why.

 

Pity, their boats always looked well presented and by having their base in Coventry Basin, that section of canal got much more use than it previously had.

[WotEver]

A great shame. I suspect that when Kay & Wag of Onboard Energy divested themselves of the business they had seen the writing on the wall. 

[ditchcrawler]

Been posts on FB for a couple of weeks now

[Tonka]

36 minutes ago, WotEver said:

A great shame. I suspect that when Kay & Wag of Onboard Energy divested themselves of the business they had seen the writing on the wall. 

Isn't that graffiti 

[Dyertribe]

 We’ve had some lovely holidays on both Tame Valley and Weaver Valley.

its a sad day

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

Isn't that graffiti 

[Ange]

Sad news ?

[Richard10002]

I got chatting with one of the guys at our local tip the other day and he said that, having watched the Canal programme the other night, he looked online for a 3 week holiday, Cheapest he could find was around £3500, with most over £4000.

 

He won’t be taking it any further.

 

Perhaps the providers can’t operate at prices/costs that people are prepared to pay, in enough volume to run the fleet.

[Athy]

This is sad news. The Wagstaffs built the fleet up from nothing - they originally operated out of a rather rudimentary basin on the outskirts of Atherstone. They then developed a hole in the ground into the full-service marina which is Springwood Haven ("The best mooring we ever had" says Mrs. Athy). The hire boats always looked smart and, thinking of the excellent staff at SH, were doubtless well maintained. From what we were told back then, the reason for selling the Valley Cruises fleet in 2010 was to provide more spaces for permanent moorers, as they had a long waiting list at the time.

   Wag and Kay no longer have any connection with the hire fleet as far as I'm aware (as I write, they're probably somewhere on the European waterways on the imposing "Dutch" barge which they had built at the marina). But it must be galling for them to see the business which they built up through hard work end so ignominiously

[Rob-M]

It is a shame that somebody had tried to breath some life in to Coventry basin and it will probably go back to being a neglected site again.

[Athy]

Yes, we went there (by 'bus from Sutton Stop) in, I think, 2016 and it seemed quite thriving, with frequent boat movements and a nice café (and perhaps other shops, can't remember). As Coventry, unlike some hiring locations, is easy to get to, I wonder how the business managed to fail. Perhaps, in opening a second base, the owners overreached themselves.

 

Addendum: Mrs. Athy tells me, quoting an informed source, that "Valley Cruises were kicked out of Springwood Haven because they didn't pay their mooring fees". So the writing had possibly been on the wall for some time.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Athy

[Captain Pegg]

28 minutes ago, Athy said:

Yes, we went there (by 'bus from Sutton Stop) in, I think, 2016 and it seemed quite thriving, with frequent boat movements and a nice café (and perhaps other shops, can't remember). As Coventry, unlike some hiring locations, is easy to get to, I wonder how the business managed to fail. Perhaps, in opening a second base, the owners overreached themselves.

 

Addendum: Mrs. Athy tells me, quoting an informed source, that "Valley Cruises were kicked out of Springwood Haven because they didn't pay their mooring fees". So the writing had possibly been on the wall for some time.

Presumably you were moored at Sutton Stop so why did you choose the bus rather than cruise to the basin?

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

Presumably you were moored at Sutton Stop so why did you choose the bus rather than cruise to the basin?

Yes we were.

Why not?

From memory, it was a question of time, as we didn't have many days' holiday entitlement (hers) remaining. We actually went for shopping (her) and to visit the transport museum (me), with the basin as a sideshow.

[Sea Dog]

Oh dear

I always thought their boats some of the nicer offerings. It's a bit of a surprise that they weren't swallowed up by one of the bigger companies, but I suppose they already have a footprint in the area.

 

i suspect Coventry could have done without this too.

[Captain Pegg]

12 minutes ago, Athy said:

Yes we were.

Why not?

From memory, it was a question of time, as we didn't have many days' holiday entitlement (hers) remaining. We actually went for shopping (her) and to visit the transport museum (me), with the basin as a sideshow.

If it had been to specifically visit the basin I think that would have been an odd choice and I did wonder if you had been put off by stories of a grim urban canal. I believe it’s a bit of a walk from Sutton Stop to the nearest bus stop, it certainly used to be unless there’s new bus route.

 

As for the location I don’t think it had any great advantages over other bases. Most hirers drive and there is an argument it’s best not to leave your car in a city centre environment. The basin is a little too far from the station to walk with luggage and although it’s taxiable from Birmingham Airport so are other bases (and Birmingham has limited international flights anyway).

 

JP

Edited October 25, 2019 by Captain Pegg

[Athy]

Just now, Sea Dog said:

Oh dear

I always thought their boats some of the nicer offerings. It's a bit of a surprise that they weren't swallowed up by one of the bigger companies, but I suppose they already have a footprint in the area.

 

 

Apparently they owned only three of their 14 boats themselves - I wonder if these will be sold to another hire company.

From memory, a couple of their boats even had an en-suite bathroom. The Wags obviously set high standards for their fleet.

[Athy]

6 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

If it had been to specifically visit the basin I think that would have been an odd choice and I did wonder if you had been put off by stories of a grim urban canal. I believe it’s a bit of a walk from Sutton Stop to the nearest bus stop, it certainly used to be unless there’s new bus route.

 

As for the location I don’t think it had any great advantages over other bases. Most hirers drive and there is an argument it’s best not to leave your car in a city centre environment. The basin is a little too far from the station to walk with luggage and although it’s taxiable from Birmingham Airport so are other bases (and Birmingham has limited international flights anyway).

 

JP

Good points.

No, I don't think we were put off, we simply chose to moor a couple of nights at Sutton's which we like. We dashed off early the morrow morn, as I wanted to attend a reunion meeting in London and decided that a train from Banbury was the best way (we got back to Cropredy in two days, I think). The walk was perhaps half a mile, down the lane which comes out beside The Greyhound, to the main road. I don't recall the exact details.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Athy

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

This is sad news. The Wagstaffs built the fleet up from nothing - they originally operated out of a rather rudimentary basin on the outskirts of Atherstone. They then developed a hole in the ground into the full-service marina which is Springwood Haven ("The best mooring we ever had" says Mrs. Athy). The hire boats always looked smart and, thinking of the excellent staff at SH, were doubtless well maintained. From what we were told back then, the reason for selling the Valley Cruises fleet in 2010 was to provide more spaces for permanent moorers, as they had a long waiting list at the time.

   Wag and Kay no longer have any connection with the hire fleet as far as I'm aware (as I write, they're probably somewhere on the European waterways on the imposing "Dutch" barge which they had built at the marina). But it must be galling for them to see the business which they built up through hard work end so ignominiously

A greenie for that post

 

Yes, I’m sure the Wagstaffs will be very sad to have heard the news and we too loved our time at SH. 

[Athy]

3 minutes ago, WotEver said:

 

 

Yes, I’m sure the Wagstaffs will be very sad to have heard the news and we too loved our time at SH. 

I wonder if you were there when we were (approx. 2000 to 2006). We first had 'Octavia', then a red boat called 'Batto'. After that, we had 'Trojan' built and moored EOG (as seen in my avatar). Which was your boat?

[WotEver]

53 minutes ago, Athy said:

Which was your boat?

WotEver, surprisingly enough

 

34’, moored on the opposite side from the slip, on the end of the 2nd pontoon from the canal. The French chap was moored behind us and the Sea Otter was on the other side of the pontoon from us.