Richard's Endeavour - Trip Information
Spirit of Endeavour is a charity that operates the canal boat Richard’s Endeavour (originally run by Skipton and Craven Action for Disability or SCAD.)
In 2023, Endeavour was officially renamed ‘Richard’s Endeavour’ in honour of the founder of Spirit of Endeavour (Yorkshire) CIO, Richard Clarke, who sadly passed away in September 2023.
Richard’s Endeavour is a 55’ long wide beam canal boat and is licenced to take up to 12 passengers of which four can be in wheelchairs. Whilst we specialise in trips for groups that include people with disability, we do offer trips for everyone. Birthday trips are popular. We even provide wedding trips occasionally. A qualified skipper and trained crew are supplied to operate the boat.
Trips start from the rear of Skipton General Hospital car park where there is an access path down to the canal banks. There a purpose-built ramp leads to the boat mooring for easy embarkation onto the Endeavour which has an on-board lift. Groups may leave a minibus in the hospital car park.
Trips can also start from Skipton Canal Basin, (this is popular with families needing to use the long stay car park). Or we can start from near to Skipton Railway Station.
Normally trips leave the hospital by 10:30 am returning at approximately 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Weather conditions cans affect the trip duration and direction.
Download The Spirit of Endeavour Brochure
Possible Trips
- Going south/east to Kildwick (we may require this direction in windy conditions). This is possibly the option with the widest variety of scenery. The WaterSide Café at Kildwick provides hot and cold sandwiches, or you may prefer to bring your own lunch.
- Going north/west towards Gargrave provides views of the rolling fields between Skipton and Gargrave. Time permitting it is possible to take the boat through a lock at Gargrave to experience the wonders of Victoria Engineering. This makes the trip take up to an hour longer.
- For trips that have requested Fish and Chips, the trip goes one way for an hour turns and returns to Skipton in time for lunch. After lunch, the boat continues in the same direction for a further hour before returning to Skipton. Fish and chips are collected from Bizzie Lizzies and we will provide you with a number to phone ahead.
- A split trip is possible where passengers change over at Kildwick. This can be useful when there is a need to accommodate more than 12 passengers. Up to 24 people can take part in this way. Often groups who take this approach take the other half of the people into Skipton for shopping opportunities.
- Some larger groups arrange shorter return trip with us changing passengers periodically. Please talk to us so we understand your requirements.
Wildlife, particularly birds, are everywhere on the canal. Click here to see examples.
You can often see unusual boats on the canal. Click here to see examples.
On the way to Kildwick at bridge 183 is the site of a war memorial for the lost Polish air crew of a Wellington Bomber. Click here for the story.
In January / February 2024, Endeavour underwent major works to widen her wheelchair access. The majority of standard wheelchairs should now be able to access the saloon via the lift, the maximum width is 29 inches (735mm) and the max length of wheelchairs is 40.5 inches (1030mm) from very front to very rear. The lift has a weight limit of 300kg (47 stone) for a combination of both wheelchair and passenger. We can accommodate up to 4 wheelchairs on a trip.
We have had passengers whose wheelchairs are too large to allow them entry into the cabin and who choose to sit out on the front of the boat. This facility is available on the understanding that there is no shelter available, so suitable clothing must be brought for the weather, particularly if rain / wind is forecast. In addition, there will be no toilet facilities available.
Passenger Safety and Comfort
It is the responsibility of the hiring individual or organisation to make sure that all passengers can comply with the safety requirements of the trip. For each trip, there needs to be a nominated representative onboard to communicate with the crew. The crew are not responsible for managing passengers except in the case of safety requirements. A safety briefing will be given at the start of each trip. A risk assessment is available on the web site.
Passengers travel at their own risk and responsibility for their care remains with passengers or their carers at all times. Passengers must follow the instructions of the crew on all aspects of safety.
Accessible toilet facilities are available. There is also a kitchenette for customer use with tea, coffee, milk, sugar, and drinking water provided as well as cutlery and crockery. This is a self-catering facility and you can use it as much as you like. We just ask that you leave it clean and tidy.
The Crew
The crew of the Endeavour are all volunteers and give their time willingly. Our volunteers are trained in all aspects of boat safety to ensure you have a pleasant trip. There is always a trained & qualified skipper onboard, who is ultimately responsible for managing the boat and all aspects of the trip. Each skipper holds a CCBM certification issued by the National Community Boats Association (or equivalent) which is a requirement of the Canal and River Trust for operating craft with up to 12 passengers.
There may be times where the weather may limit what can be done on a trip for your safety and that of the crew. Occasionally if it is really windy, we may find we have to cancel the trip and re-schedule for a later date.
Please be assured that we will only cancel for safety reasons or if there are mechanical problems that prevent the boat from moving safely. We may also have to alter the cruising direction from time to time or even curtail part of the trip because of bridge faults.
We try to run trips in all weathers and all the crew are fully equipped with rain wear.