Marina awarded county coffee shop of the year

THE Boathouse at White Mills Marina has been awarded Northamptonshire Coffee Shop of the Year.

This award to the Earls Barton marina on the Nene was made by at the Business Times SME Awards, that is voted for by members of the public and was presented to owners of White Mills Marina John and Debbie Skinner at the awards event at the Royal and Derngate Theatre in Northampton last week. with John telling us:

Had the most votes

“What makes this award so very special is that the nomination was made by one of our customers and then it was down to a public vote. Fortunately for us we had the most votes! We are all absolutely thrilled, it is a real testament to Carrie Hewitt and her Boathouse team’s hard work, we could not be more proud.”

The above picture is of John and Debbie Skinner at the Awards with Julie Barnes Ward (left) of the Business Times and the other is of Carrie Hewitt, Boathouse Manager with flowers, the award and champagne—no free hands for anything else!

The Boathouse opened on 1st December 2017 initially at weekends only, and was part funded through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Rural Payment s Agency (RPA) under the Rural Development Programme for England.

Success

Such was its success that on 1st May 2018 it extended its opening hours to six days a week, Wednesday to Monday from 10am to 4pm.

Since then the boathouse which also houses showers, toilets and disabled facilities for boaters and campers, has fast established itself as an essential refreshment pit stop for walkers, cyclists, boaters, kayakers and paddle boarders visiting the Nene and Nene Valley.

This Summer White Mills Marina which is also a Certificated Camping and Caravanning Club site was awarded four gold anchors by The Yacht Harbour Association.