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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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It sometimes really is just about the simple things. 

Seeing our community enjoy our menu as much as we do means the absolute world to us. 

Whether you’re here for a pint and some sharing plates, to a full Sunday roast and everything in between, we love welcoming you through our doors each day 🤍
Table for two, the river as your backdrop, and the afternoon tea everyone keeps coming back for. Sandwiches, scones, and a cake selection that never disappoints.

This month, it’s £20 instead of £25 with the code TIMEFORTEA.

Fancy it? You’ll find us by the water 😆
At the start of July, we introduced a very exciting new addition to the menu - KEBABS. 

And you might be wondering how they’ve been going down? Well…

In the first TWO WEEKS of having them on the menu, we served over 500 of them! 

So pop down and give them a go for yourselves 😋
A break away from real life. A break away to the riverside 🦋 

Summer stay-cations are definitely coming back into fashion (and we can’t wait to show you just how great a Bedford stay-cation can be) 

So join us this summer!

We may or may not have some last minute offers on at the minute 👀
Join us next Saturday as we host our annual Kingfisher Karnival 🎉 

🥁 Live music from Steve Knibbs, @michaelgreensongwriter , @o7drumprojectuk , @musicbykaleidos and Deborah Kay

🎡 Activities by the fabulous @bedfordshire_inflatables @kj_fundays @wycombpastures @forever.enchanted.encounters 

🧁 Food stalls covering BBQ, tuck shop, pizza by @janetswoodfiredpizzas , and desserts from @patisseriesheree and @dessertbossbedford 

🍺 @brewpointuk will also be providing us with plenty of beer

AND a percentage of all money made on the day will be donated to @keechhospice as our new charity of the year! 

Please note that onsite parking on the day will be very limited.
Riverside tables, boat trips on Badger, cold drinks, long lunches and even longer evenings. 

That’s summer at The Kingfisher. 

See you on The Jetty 👋
No flights to book or queues to stand in. Just the sound of life by the river. 

This is what the summer holidays are looking like, here at home. 

(And to make it even better, we’ve got a sale on…) 

Save 20% on selected breaks this summer!

T&Cs apply
We’ll let you decide - can we take the crown on this one? 

Book a table and see for yourself 🦦

📍 The Kingfisher, Bedford
Sundays. Sailing. Sunny spot for a pint. 

Honestly, does it get better than that? 

Float by soon - there’s a cold drink waiting for you.