BOAT TRIPS ON NEW HORIZONS
Join us for a trip on the Pocklington Canal
New Horizons is based at the Melbourne Arm of the canal and boat trips run between Easter and the end of October.
Short trips lasting about 30 minutes will run from the Melbourne Arm on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter until the end of October. No booking is required. We usually start by 12 and the last trip is around 4.30 pm. How to find New Horizons
The maximum number of passengers we are insured to carry is 12 at a time (including children), but we can run lots of short trips on a Sunday. There is no timetable, and we run trips according to demand.
We do our best to run trips each Sunday and Bank Holiday but it may be necessary to cancel if a crew member is ill and another volunteer is not available. We are not a commercial service! If you are travelling a long distance please give Greg Dixon (see below) a ring to confirm that the boat will be running.
Older children can take turns at steering the boat, under supervision of course. It's easy - just push the tiller to the left and the boat goes to the right! Adults can have a go too.
How much does it cost? We do not charge for short trips but we are grateful for donations, which help pay the insurance, licence and other costs of running our trip boat. Our crew are not paid, so profits go towards restoration of the canal.
Special trips on the canal can be arranged for parties of up to twelve passengers (including children but not counting our crew). For example, your party could explore the navigable part of the canal (from Melbourne Arm to Cottingwith Lock – see map) You could have a picnic at Cottingwith Lock, or Gardham Lock if you would prefer a shorter trip. We will provide tea and coffee during the trip. Alternatively, you could have a a meal or drink at the nearby Melbourne Arms at the end of your trip. Phone numbers for this and other local pubs can be found here.
We avoid arranging special trips on Sundays and Bank Holidays because these times are reserved for short trips. Special trips can be during the daytime or evening on Saturdays and weekdays, and it is useful to have several weeks' notice so that we can find volunteers to crew the boat. If you are particularly keen on a special trip on a Sunday we may be able to arrange a trip of an hour or so, after the short trips have finished.
Each skipper has had appropriate training, such as an NCBA Certificate in Community Boat Management and our trip boat has a current Boat Safety Certificate. Buoyancy aids are available for children on request.
Please contact our Bookings Officer, Greg Dixon, if you are interested in arranging a special trip. Ring Greg on 07092 119695 or contact him by email:
We do not offer self-drive boat hire, since our insura
nce covers only crewed boat trips.
The tranquil waters of the Pocklington Canal are usually clear, except after rain
Find the Melbourne Arms pub in Melbourne. Typing YO42 4QJ into your SatNav will take you there and the OS Grid Reference is SE 752 443.
Please park considerately in the village and walk down the lane beside the pub. On Sunday afternoons and Bank Holidays the boat may be moored at the landing stage next to the footpath. If it is away on a trip it should be back soon. Walk a bit further and you will probably find a member of the boat crew waiting to open the swing-bridge for the boat.
If you have booked a special trip, the boat should be moored alongside the footpath.
If New Horizons is moored on the far side of the basin it means that boat trips are not running. We only run public trips on the afternoons of Sundays and Bank Holidays.
More information about New Horizons.