UP CLOSE WITH: Russell Chase from Farncombe Boathouse

UP CLOSE WITH: Russell Chase, owner of the Farncombe Boathouse business on the River Wey at Catteshall.

Summer is the ideal season for messing about on the river - and this year, with the boom in staycations, it's a very popular pastime.

Russell Chase, who owns and operates the boating business at Farncombe Boathouse, says his narrow boats have proved extremely popular with families looking to spend some quality time on the water.

There have been boats taking daytrippers out from this boathouse since Victorian times, and Russell and his wife Lynn are proud to be carrying on the tradition. They took over the business 20 years ago, Russell having cut his teeth on his parents' boat hire business in Guildford as a teenager.

Coronavirus saw the establishment shut up shop in March – a move which Russell says has hit his takings hard – but the first day of July saw the narrowboats back plying their trade on the river.

On an August day of sunshine and showers the dock is busy with families loading up ready for a trip up river. A day's hire takes visitors to Guildford and back, through three locks. Novices are well catered for, with a thorough safety and operational briefing before they set out – which includes a practice run at negotiating a lock under the expert eye of Russell's team.

As the children clamber excitedly aboard and check out all the nooks and crannies of their home for the day, the adults set out picnics and rugs, sunhats and water bottles.

Hectors Cafe, on the wharfside, is busy with walkers and cyclists who have stopped off on their journeys along the towpath for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake: later the customers will be enjoying the jacket potatoes, paninis, toasted sandwiches and chips. An even greater incentive is the fact that the cafe is taking part in the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, offering 50% off food eaten on the premises, to a maximum of £10 per person, until the end of August.

The current uncertainty over foreign travel has brought to the boats many families who would otherwise be jetting abroad for their holidays.

And, as Russell points out, they are embracing the opportunity for some fresh air and a change of scene after months stuck indoors during lockdown.

During the summer the boats are usually taken out by family and friends groups: once the schools go back, the trade is largely made up of corporate groups and older customers who visit as part of organised groups.

This year, however, things are different: "They won't be back this year," Russell tells Nub News. "In fact they probably won't be back next year either."

But, as the country reawakens after the paralysis of lockdown, bookings are looking good.

"We run the boats until the end of October," Russell says.

"This year we have got a good number of bookings in October. People just want to get out on the water, get some fresh air and spend time with their family and friends 'bubble'."

The boathouse operates six boats, ranging from a two-berth up to an eight-berth. Visitors can take them out for the day, for the weekend, or, if they're feeling ambitious, for a couple of weeks: boaters can get as far along the Thames as Oxford and back in that time, Russell says.

People travel from across the country to make boat-trips: and from as far afield as Scotland and Wales, booking through a company called waterwaysholidays.com

Business is good, but the layoff has cost Russell's business around £240,000 in lost bookings. He has furloughed some staff and taken advantage of the government's financial support, but he won't make up the shortfall, he says.

But boats are in his blood: he loves the river, the boats and people that use it.

"I like to see people getting out on the water and enjoying it," he says.

So although this has been a difficult year, he forsees better times ahead, as more and more novice boaters discover the joys of life on the river.

To book a narrowboat for the day call the boathouse on 01483 421306 or visit the website.