Our appeal this year is funding the design and build of a new, fully-accessible broad beam canal boat. Our passenger numbers have almost doubled from 3,400 in 2013 to over 6,500 in 2023, so we would like to offer more people the therapeutic benefits of a boat trip with us.

Read how we won a Best Day Out award at Leicester’s Tourism & Hospitality Awards in 2023, nominated by the people who use our services.

Over the coming months we will be working with our partners and clients, to get their much needed insight on how the new canal boat can meet their needs and requirements to improve access and on-board facilities for people with disability and various health conditions.

It is very important to us as a Trust that we do our bit to reduce our carbon footprint and minimise the impact that we have on the environment.  As such, the boat will take advantage of new and sustainable technologies, that reduce our environmental impact and future-proof the boat for years to come.

Our aim is to provide an enviromentally-friendly boat with optimum features for our passengers, ensuring they experience the best day possible for years to come.

Progress so far...

During 2019 we engaged and had meetings with our current service users inviting feedback and suggestions based on their requirements and ambitions. This feedback was collated and formed part of the brief to the Trust's chosen naval architects.

Also, last year, we held a series of workshops with the assistance of our naval architects for all our volunteers.  With their vast experience of the every day requirements and pit falls of running our service seven days a week with our current boats, their knowledge and ideas for plans for our future boat is fundamental to its design.

2020 marks the start of our fundraising campaign

The new year marks the start of a two year campaign working with community groups, businesses, individuals, trusts, foundations and grant givers to get their much needed support for this exciting new venture.

If you'd like to be involved with this exciting phase for our Trust and have a fundraising idea or wish to be involved in some way, please get in touch