Popular Derbyshire restaurant boat is up for sale and here’s how it could be yours

Boat owner and chef Allen Kelsall has decided it is time to retire at the grand old age of 74 and the business, along with the bookings, is up for sale.

Daughter Suzy Kelsall has been working on the boat since she was 13. During the pandemic the family thought they would have to sell their boat as they were unable to operate tours.

Suzy said: “That time we put the boat up for sale out of necessity and it was heartbreaking. Thankfully we were able to survive the pandemic, the lockdowns and the social restrictions and not sell.

“However, we always said when dad was ready we would all go. And the time feels right for him now.”

Allen worked on the Judith Mary I as a chef and bought her and its subsequent sister the Judith Mary II in 1988. He has been an active member of the two-hour trips along the canal for decades.

Suzy said: “We are busier now than we have been in years. We still have 80 bookings in the diary until the end of the year and another 65 for next year.

“This is a popular little tourist spot favoured by so many coach trips and whoever buys the Judith Mary buys the business too, so you would get the contacts for all the coach operators. Someone could pick up the keys and have a ready-formed business, it’s a great opportunity.”

Moored at Whaley Bridge Basin, the boat brings between 7-8,000 people into the town every year for trips to New Mills and back.

Tourists regularly have a cream tea on board then venture out into the rest of the High Peak for the day - bringing much-needed business to other hospitality venues.

In 1990 Judith Mary II famously hosted a visit from Princess Diana - who had a smoked salmon buffet on-board after crowning the town’s Rose Queen during its carnival.

The 40-seater, 72ft boat with a bar licence is on the market at £300,000. For more information visit https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139529135