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You may find the thought of traveling a long distance, whether by sea or air, and finding your way to one of our bases and then to be faced with taking over one of our narrow boats as rather daunting. Do not be deterred. Alvechurch has more experience with overseas visitors than any other canal hire company. Over 20% of our business is currently obtained from outside the UK with customers coming from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The Alvechurch booking
team are experienced at helping you make your arrangements. For instance
if you face a very long journey, it may be better to make a 24 hour
stopover before embarking on your boat. You will find information about
accommodation near your chosen base HERE
so that you can relax and be better able to take in the briefing that
we will give you when you arrive for your boat. Gayton & Hilperton are very well placed for those arriving by car from the channel ports. Journeys to Gayton From Harwich or Dover are at least one hour less than for our other bases, and Hilperton is closest for Portsmouth, Southampton or Plymouth. One favoured way of traveling within the UK is by British Rail. For instance from London to Birmingham during the day there are fast trains every 30 minutes and there is then a local service every 30 minutes from Birmingham to Alvechurch station which is right by our Alvechurch base. Incidentally, your local travel agent may be able to offer you rail tickets at special rates. However, to get the special rate, these must be purchased in your own country. To Purchase rail tickets, or to check train times in the UK, visit TheTrainLine.com Listed below are some of the more common questions asked by overseas visitors. You will doubtless have a few more. Please do not hesitate to call us, e-mail us or drop us a line. When telephoning please check on the time difference. We are here from 9am to 5pm UK time, seven days a week. HOW DO WE GET TO THE BOATYARD?You will be sent an Alvechurch cruising guide with your booking confirmation which contains details of how to get to each of our boatyards. CAN YOU ASSIST WITH OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATION?You will find information on accommodation close to our bases HERE, but it must be booked in advance. WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT BED LINEN AND TOWELS?All bed linen is provided, one medium size towel per person, and a hand towel per bathroom. CAN I HIRE A MOBILE PHONE?We have a limited number of mobile phones available for the duration of your holiday. We charge a £50.00 deposit payable at the time of booking. The hire charge is £25.00 for the first week (including £5.00 worth of calls) and £10.00 per week thereafter. HOW DO I PAY FOR MY BOAT HIRE?All payments are required to be in £ Sterling. If you are booking through a Travel Agent, they will take care of this for you. Otherwise you have several alternatives. The best exchange rates are often obtained by using your credit card. We can accept Visa or Mastercard. There is a 2% charge for payments made by credit cards. You can also contact your bank. Most banks have a British branch or can use a British bank as agent. They will be able to arrange for you to have a cheque drawn in Sterling on a British bank. They can also make payment for you by direct transfer into our UK bank account. You will have to decide which is the cheapest method. For customers from Europe, we can accept Eurocheques drawn in Sterling with a limit of £700 per cheque provided you write your Eurocheque card number on the back. For sums greater than £700, multiple cheques may be submitted. Full details of the above alternatives will be sent to you with your final account. Please note that payments in other currencies and/or drawn on non UK banks can mean that we will have to pay substantial bank charges which we will have to pass on to you. SHOULD I BOOK DIRECT WITH YOU OR CAN I GO THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT?You are welcome to book direct with us (+44 1905 734168). However, if you would like to know details of our agent in your own country. Click here for details of overseas agents.
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Do not overlook that there are now direct flights from many parts
of the world to Birmingham (for Alvechurch or Gayton), Manchester (for
Anderton or Wrenbury), Bristol (for Hilperton), Glasgow & Edinburgh
(for Falkirk) and Heathrow (for Packet Boat. The regional airports have
excellent facilities without the crowds encountered at other airports.