Bywater Holidays was established in 2002 by Stephen Rees-Jones to introduce the canals to those who had never before considered them an option.

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Bywater Holiday Cruises are run by Stephen Rees-Jones. The son of a Country Parson, he spent his formative years in a small Somerset village where he developed a deep love of wildlife, farming and the countryside. At college in North Devon he continued to develop his appreciation for the great outdoors. He spent several years as a Police Officer in Somerset and as an Adventure Training Instructor in North Wales. If asked he will happily explain how a missing letter resulted in his introduction to the Inland Waterways. For a number of years he and his wife operated a pair of Hotel Boats and a Horse Drawn Trip Boat on the canals during which time he played a prominent role in the Association of Pleasure Craft Operators as Chairman of their Hotel Boat Section.

For twelve years he ran wildlife safaris on Exmoor, escorted touring holidays in the West Country and canal towpath walking holidays. Waterways have never been very far from his thoughts and, with both of his daughters grown up, he has returned to the canals and now offers Bywater Holiday Cruises. It is his aim, by using shore based accommodation, to introduce the wonders of the waterways to people who would not have previously considered a holiday afloat. On Sian he is joined by an energetic crew who prepare refreshments, help with the boating and care for passengers’ welfare.

When not horse boating Stephen can be found behind the wheel of his Moorland Rover mini coach escorting passengers on one of his touring holidays or short breaks. If you would like details please give him a call on 07971 303416. Please be prepared to leave your name and contact telephone number as he may well be busy driving or ‘out of signal’ in the wilds of Wales.

Bywater Hotel Boat Cruises are run by Stephen’s daughter Hanna and her partner John. You could say Hanna was born with canal water in her veins and from a very early age could be found ‘helping’ her father run the horse drawn trip boat, Iona from Norbury Junction on the Shropshire Union Canal. In her teens she enjoyed several holidays on the canals before embarking on a few stints working on hotel boat pair Snipe & Taurus.

It was whilst studying for their degrees at Oxford Brookes University that Hanna & John met, a mutual desire to live afloat quickly became apparent but was postponed when the opportunity to run a city centre wine bar presented itself. After spending a few weeks helping with the preparations for Bywater’s Horse Drawn boat, Sian, the idea of hotelboating took hold. With the help of an ex-hotelboat operator and good friend, Dave Dare, Bywater Hotelboat Cruises was born. Dave’s boat Rose is joined by newly commissioned butty, Karnataka for 2009.