Our photographer captured some of the first leisure boats to start cruising on 29th March as lockdown restrictions ease

On Monday 29 March the end of Covid ‘stay at home’ rules and other early relaxations in the restrictions meant that (as interpreted by the Canal & River Trust) limited local leisure boat movement was permissible from that date – and our photographer was on hand to record some of the first day-hire boats from GoBoat’s base in London’s Paddington Basin out and about on the canals in the nearby Little Venice area.

Holiday boaters will need to wait until the next step in the easing of regulations, officially scheduled for “not before 12 April”, before they can stay on board overnight. CRT says that from that date “cruising can be done freely and overnight stays on boats and holiday hire boating will be allowed, as long as you are one household or support bubble.”

Meanwhile liveaboard boaters without home moorings will be expected to start moving again, as the suspension of the requirement to move every fortnight will end.

The following step, “not before 17 May” will permit mixing on board between up to six people or two households (subject to social distancing); these limits are set to be lifted “not before 21 June”.

Image(s) provided by:

Archant