We had a delightful start to our 2024 season on Sunday; hosting a diamond wedding anniversary celebration. We have a very full season planned, and we're looking forward to welcoming you all aboard this year. Read more
We recently had the joy of welcoming children from Leicestershire Children's Holidays aboard our Santa's Sleighboat. They all had a wonderful time and the feedback for our volunteers was amazing - "The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves – and the amount of time they got to spend with Santa was phenomenal and something these children will cherish for a long time." We hope you enjoy the video they sent from their trip. We look forward to welcoming more children aboard next year. Read more
Swarkestone Boat Club ran a series of fundraising events over 2023 and have kindly donated over £1,000 to our Trust. Presenting the cheque at the Swarkestone Boat Club’s recent AGM to Trust CEO, Tim Marren, was Santa (Chairman), Paul Harrington, Charity Steward, Linda Harrington and the Dinosaur, Charlie Elston. Tim Marren said “We really appreciate the work and commitment of the Swarkestone Boat Club and all their efforts over 2023 to raise funds to support our charity”. Read more
At the recent Leicestershire Tourism & Hospitality Awards 2023 at the Leicester Athena, the Peter Le Marchant Trust achieved a ‘Commended’ award in the ‘Best Day Out’ category. This is a brand new category for the Leicestershire Hospitality & Tourism Awards, who were celebrating their 30 year anniversary last night. The ‘Best Day Out’ award was sponsored by Visit Leicester, with all 14 nominees voted by the public, which made the Trust’s nomination even more special. Read more
After a year of fundraising events, Beeston Marina invited our CEO, Tim Marren to their recent cheque presentation and we were delighted to be presented with a cheque for over £3,000! Over the years they have raised over £24,000 for local charities, and we are so grateful for their continued support. Read more
The third day of our Youth Wellbeing week was packed today! We had plenty of Lego builders and craft creativity with fully booked canal boat trips and pedalos. Thank you to everyone who joined us. Tomorrow we have more crafts and pedalos, bird box and fairy door building, as well as a bouncy castle for the day. Read more
Day 2 of our Youth Wellbeing Week was a great success. We had plenty of young people trying out our climbing wall, crafts and watercolour sessions. Our thanks to Beaumanor Hall and Active Charnwood for their participation. Tomorrow we have pedalos, Lego building, painting, crafts and canal boat trips - please do come down and join in. Read more
We commenced our Youth Wellbeing Week, today. Thank you to everyone who joined in the archery, canal boat trips and crafts. We saw some wonderfully creative pebble painting, gratitude jars and journals. Tomorrow, we've got watercolour art, a climbing wall, as well as on-base crafts. Just pop along and join in - we look forward to welcoming you! Read more
Are you interested in a canal boat holiday this year? Our self-hire narrow boat, Jubilee is perfect for all. A recent customer gave us the following feedback: “Jubilee is a real joy and a lovely canal boat. She has all the facilities you would need for a comfortable canal boat holiday. The service and support we received from the Peter Le Marchant Trust was second to none... Read more
Over recent months, a team of students from Homefield College have been designing and creating their very own mystical garden at our Trust base. Yesterday, we welcomed Ayesha, Alex and Keleigh as they set about completing their plans. We think they have done a wonderful job and look forward to seeing them throughout the rest of the season as they tend to their plants. Well done all! Read more
Our Art Along the Waterways trip on 18th May was fully booked, and after receiving such positive feedback, we're happy to offer two further dates throughout the summer - Thursday 27th July and Friday 22nd September. Read more
We’re delighted to be offering a range of activities and new trips this year. Open to individuals and small groups, our aim is simple – to create a relaxing space to allow our visitors to enjoy time away from the every day for a while. Our first trips are Mindful Sewing Sessions, available during selected dates in May and June. Enjoy a 2½ hour boat trip whilst our experienced team member guides you through creating a hoop embroidery and basic stitches. All materials are provided. Read more
Continuing our Trust and volunteers' commitment to our passengers' safety; we are delighted to welcome our newest skipper, Wayne Cook. The Trust offers our congratulations on passing his Boatmasters Licence from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency today. Well done, Wayne! Read more
Our new positive health trips kicked off our new season, and we’re so pleased our passengers enjoyed them so much! We included a moment of mindfulness for those on board and we’re delighted it proved so popular – also that our inclusion of complimentary soup was so well received! Read more
Our boats have finished they winter maintenance, and we're excited to be starting our season tomorrow. Symphony has been decorated and we're ready to welcome passengers on our new 'Welcome to Spring' trips. We're looking forward to welcoming you all aboard this year! Read more
We are taking bookings for our day trips for 2023. If your group or organisation would like to spend a day along the canal this year, please do book early as dates are going fast. To book please call 01509 265590 or email [email protected]. Dates for our seasonal and wellbeing trips which are open to individuals and small groups will be available soon. Thank you! Read more
Our final trip of the year has departed! “Our thanks to all our passengers, partners and visitors for making this year so special. Our team wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a we look forward to welcoming you back to the Trust in 2023.” CEO, Tim Marren Read more
Some of the staff and volunteers from the Trust spent the day at Asda, Fosse Park today, raising funds for our charity. Our thanks to the team at Asda for accommodating us, and all the kind customers who donated. We look forward to seeing you all again soon! Read more
Our huge thanks to Mark Brearley , Customer Service Assistant and Abigail Moore, Senior Customer Service Assistant at Loughborough Building Society for supporting our Trust by donating funds received from their raffle to win a Hamper from Tesco at the Rushes. Read more
The trust has again decided to participate in the annual Christmas Tree Festival at All Saints with Holy Trinity Church in Loughborough this year, and have themed the tree around our lovely boats! Please do pop along to the church if you have the time, there are loads of organisations represented and trees to view, along with other events over the festive period. Read more
Today saw Charlotte run her final trip after over a decade as a skipper for the Trust. She’s been a loyal volunteer loved by crew and passengers alike and we look forward to her continuing in a crewing capacity for years to come. “Charlotte has been a wonderful volunteer and ambassador for our charity and the whole Trust send our gratitude for all her time and commitment.” CEO, Tim Marren Read more
It is with immense regret that this Trust learned of the news of the death of our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. We are deeply saddened, and we would like to express our sincerest condolences to the Royal Family. We will be eternally grateful for her long and distinguished service and her duty to the nation. The Queen's Award for volunteering service is a continuing reminder of her care and service to all her people. Read more
Leicestershire charities Menphys, Leicester Children’s Holidays and our charity are joining forces to offer day trips and short breaks to children with disabilities. The ground-breaking partnership means two of the County’s most established charities have got together to give crucial help and respite to children with disabilities and their families from across Leicester, Leicestershire Read more
We have had our second group of students on the National Citizen Service, this time looking after our environment and raising funds for our trust. They decided to raise funds by having a bake sale outside Loc8me in Loughborough town centre, and we thank them for their help raising almost £300 for us. Also, the group took to the water in Canal and River Trust canoes and on the towpath on foot to collect rubbish on our adopted part of the canal. The group then created a sculpture for the Trust Read more