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Boat Hire

A boat on the River Great Ouse outside The Kingfisher pub with rooms.
Here at The Kingfisher we are delighted to announce the return of Badger, our electric boat. We're looking forward to getting you back out on the water for another season of cruising the River Great Ouse.

Welcome Aboard!

Available for hourly hire, Badger is a fully electric open top Ruban Bleu boat focussed on absolute comfort. With a capacity of up to 6 sailors it is perfect for a friends or family get together, a romantic cruise or a fun filled team building activity.

Badger features a sun awning for those glorious summer days, spent ‘simply messing about in boats’.

Boat hire is subject to availability

Boat Hire

HOURLY BOAT HIRE

This is for self drive boat hire and includes fuel, lifejackets, on boat training and insurance

£60 per hour

 

WEDDING DAYS

Enhance your wedding day with picturesque images on our boat on the River Great Ouse. This includes a skipper and a bottle of chilled Prosecco, with an hour’s cruise

£120 per hour

 

GROUP ADVENTURES

For friends, family or colleagues you won’t find a better activity! This is self drive boat hire and includes an iced bucket of 4 beers and 4 soft drinks

£100 per hour

Wind In The Willows Break

Here at The Kingfisher we are delighted to offer a fantastic boating break. Come and stay riverside and enjoy the following;

  • An hour’s boat hire sailing down the River Great Ouse, in our very own boat, Badger, a fully electric open top Ruban Bleu boat focussed on absolute comfort. Training, lifejackets and insurance included!
  • A Wind in the Willows Afternoon Tea – served in the stylish surroundings of The Kingfisher
  • An overnight stay in a Double or Twin room
  • The best breakfast in Bedford before your journey home – a selection of freshly cooked dishes and Continental

This break is priced at only £199 per room – but hurry, boating bookings are limited!

Subject to availability this offer is based upon two people sharing a Double or Twin room. Upgrades to King rooms are £20 supplement per night and upgrades to Suites are from £40 per night. A special vegan afternoon tea is available. Available on Thursdays to Mondays only, from Friday 20thMarch until Monday 28th September inclusive. Prices include VAT.

Something to sip

A bottle of chilled Prosecco and up to 6 glasses – £32

An iced bucket of 6 soft drinks – £25

An iced bucket of 6 beers – £40

Drinks packages are available to enjoy on board throughout your boat hire.

Boat Hire FAQs

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Fridays just got a whole lot tastier 🐟 

Order 2x Catch of the Day dishes with a bottle of house wine for just £40 every Friday this month 

Go on then…
Good views, good food, and live music 🎶 

Bank holiday plans are sorted. 

Browse our food menu and decide what you’ll be eating by the river (link in bio)
The secret of a bank holiday weekend? Sundays ⛵️

Everyone else heads home after a Saturday night away. But you wake up by the river and gently ease your way into Monday. 

Spend your bank holiday the right way - from just £82 

And if you need more convincing, we’ve got live music on Monday afternoon too. The whole weekend is yours. 

Book your Sunday Stay 🔗
Join us for live music on The Jetty this bank holiday weekend 🎶 

Saturday 2nd May: 1-1:30pm (Deborah Kaye)
Monday 4th May: 2-4:20pm ( @bennyguitarsmith )

No booking required - tables are allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

We can’t wait to see you in the sunshine
The spring season is really starting to show off at The Kingfisher 🌸 

Our outside areas have had a serious ‘spring glow-up’ and we just want to shout about it! 

With brand new chairs and tables out on the Terrace and a new spring menu, there’s plenty to talk about 🙈

Pop in and see it for yourself, we wouldn’t want you to miss out.
Spend the next sunny Sunday with us. 

Between the boat, the food and the rooms, there are plenty of reasons to be riverside. We don’t make the rules 👀

Find out more via our website
A treat for everyone this half term 🐣 

The perfect way to spend a day riverside. Food, drinks and a boat to explore on. What more could be better? (Apart from the sun promising to shine for us!) 

If you missed us this weekend, don’t stress! The rest of this week (and weeks to come) are jam-packed with exciting events and ‘things to do’ ⚓️
We are incredibly proud to share that after having won the Bedford Best Business Award in 2025, we have now also been named a finalist for this year too! 🎉 

This kind of recognition means the world to our wonderful team. It reflects the hard work and dedication that drives everything we do. We couldn’t have achieved this acknowledgement without the support of our fabulous community. 

As always, a massive thank you to @thebedfordshirechamber 🙌