6 Berth hire with Queen size beds

[pomkitanner]

I have looked at Napton boats and wonder if there might be a company with similar space further North ? 2 of our party are both tall and Stout so a normal double bed would be a squeeze. Have done both the Oxford and the GU so looking for an alternative location . Thanks 

[Tony Brooks]

Do they not have a base at the bottom end of the Shropshire Union canal.

[Chris John]

They also have a base at Autherley Junction 

Oxley Moor Rd, Wolverhampton WV9 5HW

[pomkitanner]

Yes they do, however I really want to find something further north. Perhaps Yorkshire / Lancs or even LLangollen. Thanks 

[IanD]

One comment -- we hired one of the posh Napton boats with 3 double king-size cross-beds, the beds themselves were great but when they're down access through the boat is completely blocked, which is tough if you're not at the galley end and want a cup of tea in the morning... 😉 

[David Mack]

3 minutes ago, IanD said:

One comment -- we hired one of the posh Napton boats with 3 double king-size cross-beds, the beds themselves were great but when they're down access through the boat is completely blocked, which is tough if you're not at the galley end and want a cup of tea in the morning... 😉 

And presumably creates similar problems for those who need to access the bathroom during the night.

[Lady M]

I suspect there are more than one bathroom.

[IanD]

28 minutes ago, David Mack said:

And presumably creates similar problems for those who need to access the bathroom during the night.

No, there were 2 bathrooms, so each bed was next to one. Given the age of some of the bladders onboard, anything else would have been untenable... 😉 

Edited Tuesday at 10:50 by IanD

[booke23]

Just for the benefit of anyone reading this in future from other parts of the world, common UK bed sizes and terminology are as follows:

 

Single - 3ft wide

Small double (sometimes called Queen but the term isn't common here) - 4ft wide

Double - 4ft 6in wide

King - 5ft wide

Super King - 6ft wide

 

(there are a few other sizes, but very rare and niche) 

 

To complicate matters, double beds in narrowboats are nearly always 4ft wide (ie small double), but they are never called this in narrowboat circles, they are always just called double beds. 

 

So if you're from the US/Canada/Australia/New Zealand and you want a queen size bed, look for a King size bed here. 

 

 

[IanD]

21 minutes ago, IanD said:

No, there were 2 bathrooms, so each bed was next to one. Given the age of some of the bladders onboard, anything else would have been untenable... 😉 

Actually there were 3 en-suite ones... 😉

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:11 by IanD

[David Mack]

So surely the answer is tea/coffee making facilities in every bedroom, hotel style.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

So surely the answer is tea/coffee making facilities in every bedroom, hotel style.

Great idea -- but trust me, those bedrooms are pretty small, only just big enough to swing a very small cat. I suppose you could put a kettle on a shelf over the head of the bed, can't think what could possibly go wrong with that... 😉 

Edited Tuesday at 12:51 by IanD

[Lady M]

2 hours ago, IanD said:

Actually there were 3 en-suite ones... 😉

 

 

I'm not keen on this layout - how do the occupants of the middle cabin get out of the boat if there is a fire when the beds are blocking the corridor?  

[IanD]

2 minutes ago, Lady M said:

I'm not keen on this layout - how do the occupants of the middle cabin get out of the boat if there is a fire when the beds are blocking the corridor?  

I would guess by climbing over one of the other beds, but it's hardly something I'd obsess about. I'm pretty sure Napton would have thought of this, they wouldn't be hiring boats which didn't meet the fire regulations... 😉 

 

P.S. If you're not keen, hire a different boat -- that's the beauty of hiring... 🙂 

Edited Tuesday at 13:20 by IanD

[cuthound]

5 hours ago, IanD said:

Great idea -- but trust me, those bedrooms are pretty small, only just big enough to swing a very small cat. I suppose you could put a kettle on a shelf over the head of the bed, can't think what could possibly go wrong with that... 😉 

 

Or take Thermos flasks with you and make your coffee the night before? 

Edited Tuesday at 18:41 by cuthound
phat phingers

[IanD]

17 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Or take Thermos flasks with you and make your coffee the night before? 

Fine if you like warm stale coffee, I prefer a nice fresh piping hot cup of tea in the morning. With a dark chocolate digestive, thank you very much. Oh, and a Grauniad if you can arrange delivery like at home... 😉 

[Stroudwater1]

On 10/06/2025 at 08:09, pomkitanner said:

Yes they do, however I really want to find something further north. Perhaps Yorkshire / Lancs or even LLangollen. Thanks 

It’s a two week moderately leisurely trip from Autherley to Llangollen and the Shropshire Union is lovely so I suspect that Napton hire from Autherley could be your best bet. 
 

As Ian D has illustrated a 6 berth with wide beds is tricky on narrowboats that are 6’10 wide (less internally) Much more than 4’6 wide is a squeeze without drop down beds, which are a bit of a pain making up.
 

Even 4’6 or more  is often achieved with clever pulling out bits under the bed. 
 

There aren’t too many hire companies on Northern waterways too, a few are there with quite small fleets but I’m not sure on bed sizes. 

[IanD]

15 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

It’s a two week moderately leisurely trip from Autherley to Llangollen and the Shropshire Union is lovely so I suspect that Napton hire from Autherley could be your best bet. 
 

As Ian D has illustrated a 6 berth with wide beds is tricky on narrowboats that are 6’10 wide (less internally) Much more than 4’6 wide is a squeeze without drop down beds, which are a bit of a pain making up.
 

Even 4’6 or more  is often achieved with clever pulling out bits under the bed. 
 

There aren’t too many hire companies on Northern waterways too, a few are there with quite small fleets but I’m not sure on bed sizes. 

 

Like many narrowboats I've got a lengthwise bed which is 4'/120cm wide but pulls out to 4'6"/135cm -- since it's a reverse layout it stays pulled out all the time, you can easily get past it but wouldn't want to do this all the time on a primary through route with bedroom(s) between the steerer and saloon/galley. I've seen boats which claim to have beds which pull out to 5' but unless they have unusually thin frames/linings/insulation this would make it difficult to even shuffle past it -- my boat is 6'1"/185cm wide below the gunwales, but this doesn't mean a usable 50cm walkway when you allow for gunwale/tumblehome and a quilt hanging over the edge of the bed...

 

I didn't find the drop-down beds (as built by Napton) a pain to make up at all, the mattress plus fitted sheets is in two halves, one of which flips up next to the cabin wall -- time to put up or down and lay the quilt out, less than ten seconds. Comfortable too -- the only downside was through access first thing in the morning or last thing at night, you basically have to go to bed/get up in sequence, furthest away first.

[adam1uk]

On 10/06/2025 at 11:17, IanD said:

One comment -- we hired one of the posh Napton boats with 3 double king-size cross-beds, the beds themselves were great but when they're down access through the boat is completely blocked, which is tough if you're not at the galley end and want a cup of tea in the morning... 😉 

Surely tall people won’t want cross beds though.  Yes they can be as wide as a king size, but they’re going to be short.

[PeterScott]

7 hours ago, IanD said:

...Oh, and a Grauniad if you can arrange delivery like at home... 😉 

Guardian Online ??

[IanD]

2 hours ago, PeterScott said:

Guardian Online ??

I like reading the real thing... 🙂

3 hours ago, adam1uk said:

Surely tall people won’t want cross beds though.  Yes they can be as wide as a king size, but they’re going to be short.

IIRC they were 6'3" long -- so yes, a problem if you're very tall and sleep stretched out. But then that's normal length on boats, and at least they're wide...

Edited Wednesday at 22:42 by IanD