Boat trips on The Matthew

Trip dates are added to the Timetable as soon as they are confirmed

Subscribe to The Matthew newsletter and we’ll let you know when new dates are announced!

Avon Gorge Cruise

A three to four-hour trip down the River Avon - look out into the river through one of the deepest locks in the world! We leave Floating Harbour through Junction Lock, then sail down the river under the Clifton Suspension Bridge and along the Avon Gorge to Pill and back.

These trips are tide-dependent so we can only offer a limited number of trips each year – early booking is very strongly advised!

Trip duration: approx. 4 hours

Catering: This trip is not catered. However, you are welcome to bring your own packed lunch/snacks to enjoy on your cruise!

Bar: Our licensed (cash-only) bar will be open for the duration of the trip, serving a selection of beers, wines, cider, soft drinks and hot drinks.

Fish & Chips Trip

Enjoy a relaxing cruise on The Matthew as we sail around Bristol’s historic Floating Harbour on this two-hour trip.

Setting off from our Princes Wharf mooring, we sail on a round trip around the harbour between Prince Street Bridge and The Pumphouse/Junction Lock. Fresh fish and chips from our local caterers are delivered to you on deck when we moor up at The Pumphouse Landing (about 45 minutes into the trip).

Trip duration: 2 hours (inc. an approx. 30-minute break for food)

Catering: Choose your food option during the booking process - we have fish, chicken, pork sausage or veggie/vegan sausage. All options are served with chips.

May contain wheat, soya, nuts, peanuts and sesame. Non-vegan options may also contain dairy or eggs. We are unable to provide gluten-free options.

Bar: Our licensed (cash-only) bar will be open for the duration of the trip, serving a selection of beers, wines, cider, soft drinks and hot drinks.

Harbour Trip

Enjoy a cruise around Bristol's historic Floating Harbour on board The Matthew and experience our beautiful city from the water on this 45-minute round trip.

Setting off from our Princes Wharf mooring, you’ll get to experience a special trip on this beautiful ship, enjoying the sights and sounds of Bristol Harbour between Prince Street Bridge and The Pumphouse/Junction Lock.

Trip duration: 45 minutes

Other information: Food and drinks are not served on this trip.

Sea Shanty Fish & Chips Trip

Sail around Bristol's historic Floating Harbour on a Fish & Chips Trip with live musical accompaniment from one of our resident Sea Shanty groups.

Setting off from our Princes Wharf mooring, we sail on a round trip around the harbour between Prince Street Bridge and The Pumphouse/Junction Lock. Fresh fish and chips from our local caterers are delivered to you on deck when we moor up at The Pumphouse Landing (about 45 minutes into the trip).

We can only offer a limited number of these trips each year – early booking is very strongly advised!

Trip duration: 2 hours (inc. 30-minute break for food)

Catering: Choose your food option during the booking process - we have fish, chicken, pork sausage or veggie/vegan sausage. All options are served with chips.

May contain wheat, soya, nuts, peanuts and sesame. Non-vegan options may also contain dairy or eggs. We are unable to provide gluten-free options.

Bar: Our licensed (cash-only) bar will be open for the duration of the trip, serving a selection of beers, wines, cider, soft drinks and hot drinks

Fish & Chips trip with piratitude

Ahoy, matey! Take a fun cruise around Bristol Harbour on The Matthew, enjoying delicious fish & chips and some brilliant entertainment from local pirates, Piratitude. Arrrr!

Setting off from our Princes Wharf mooring, we sail on a round trip around the harbour between Prince Street Bridge and The Pumphouse/Junction Lock. Fresh fish and chips from our local caterers are delivered to you on deck when we moor up at The Pumphouse Landing (about 45 minutes into the trip).

We can only offer a limited number of these trips each year – early booking is very strongly advised!

Trip duration: 2 hours (inc. 30-minute break for food)

Catering: Choose your food option during the booking process - we have fish, chicken, pork sausage or veggie/vegan sausage. All options are served with chips.

May contain wheat, soya, nuts, peanuts and sesame. Non-vegan options may also contain dairy or eggs. We are unable to provide gluten-free options.

Bar: Our licensed (cash-only) bar will be open for the duration of the trip, serving a selection of beers, wines, cider, soft drinks and hot drinks.

Additional information

  • All trips depart from our mooring at Princes Wharf.

  • Ticket holders should arrive at The Matthew no later than 10 minutes before their trip’s advertised start time to allow for boarding. The ship leaves promptly and does not wait for latecomers. If you arrive late and miss your sailing for any reason, you will not be entitled to a refund, nor will you be able to reschedule your trip.

  • Getting around central Bristol isn't always easy, so do leave plenty of time for your journey and to find a parking space if you’re driving! Visit our How To Get Here page for more information.

  • Your booking confirmation will be emailed to the address you provided when you booked and will usually arrive in your inbox within minutes of completing your online booking. This confirmation email is your proof of purchase and contains information about your trip. Let us know as soon as possible if you haven’t received it.

MAP KEY

  • The black line indicates the route for our Harbour Trips and Fish & Chips Trips.

  • The purple line indicates the route for our Avon Gorge Cruise – please note this is a round trip with no stops. You will not be able to disembark until we get back to our Princes Wharf mooring.

BOOKING YOUR TICKETS

  • All confirmed trips are listed on our booking page and in our timetable as soon as they are announced. Please check the timetable above for more information and links to purchase your tickets.

  • Yes, you can. Advance tickets for all confirmed trips are available to purchase online (subject to availability). Please note that online booking may close up to seven days before the scheduled trip date.

  • • Harbour Trips and Avon Gorge Cruises: If we have any tickets left after online booking has closed, you will be able to buy tickets on board on the day. If we do have any tickets available on the day, they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.

    • Fish & Chips Trips: Tickets for trips including food must be purchased online in advance. Bookings for these trips close four working days before the trip date so that we have time to order the food from our caterers.

    Please note that our maximum capacity is 40 passengers on all trips and they often sell out in advance. Check the timetable to see our current ticket availability for online booking.

  • Our trip dates are confirmed and released in batches. Click on the ‘Boat Trips Timetable’ button to see all of our currently available dates – this is updated as and when we confirm new dates.

    If the particular date or month you are looking for isn’t listed, then we have not announced a trip on this date.

    To be amongst the first to find out when new trips are announced, please subscribe to The Matthew newsletter – we send one to all subscribers as soon as new trips are confirmed.

    SIGN ME UP!

  • We accept card payments and The Matthew gift vouchers for all tickets purchased online in advance.

    If you purchase tickets on board on the day of the trip, our volunteers can only take CASH payments as the ship does not have the facilities to accept card payments on board. However, our volunteers will be happy to direct you to the nearest cashpoint.

  • Your gift voucher can be redeemed either in full or part payment against tickets for any of the public trips listed on our website (subject to availability) when you book online in advance. Check the timetable above to see our current trip dates and availability.

    You will be invited to enter your voucher code during the online booking process. All tickets booked using a gift voucher must be purchased in advance – we cannot accept vouchers for tickets purchased on the day.

  • If a trip is marked as sold out or booking now closed, this does mean that we have no tickets left for either online booking or on board on the day.

    The capacity of The Matthew is strictly limited to 40 passengers (including children and babies) for the majority of our trips. The capacity is 35 passengers for trips that include musical entertainment.

    We do operate waiting lists for sold-out trips. To be added to the waiting list for a particular trip, please contact The Matthew office stating the date of the trip, your name, phone number and how many tickets you’d like and we’ll contact you if we get any cancellations.

    WAITING LIST REQUEST →

  • We have a group booking limit of 10 people in place on all of our public trips because our maximum capacity is 40 people and the ship is small.

    With no set seating arrangements on The Matthew, all of our passengers are free to walk around on deck during their trip. Previous experience has shown that it is unfair to other passengers when larger groups are on board as they tend to, quite unintentionally, take over particular areas of the ship, thus making it inaccessible to everyone else. So that everybody on board can enjoy their trip, we set a maximum limit of 10 people for all groups.

    • Group bookings are limited to a maximum of 10 people.

    • Groups of 11 people or more are invited to consider a private hire option instead – this gives you exclusive use of the ship for your party.

    PRIVATE HIRE →

  • Our timetable lists all of our currently confirmed public trip dates. Private hire trips and school trips are not listed on our public trips timetable.

    If you would like to hire The Matthew for your private event, please visit our Private Hire or School Trips pages for more information.

    PRIVATE HIRE →

    SCHOOL TRIPS →

  • The Matthew does not have a Box Office. All advance bookings are taken online.

    You’ll receive a booking confirmation email that includes your tickets and further information about your trip.

  • No, you don’t!

    The Matthew is free of charge to visit – no tickets required. You can come aboard, have a look around, climb the steps to the upper decks, and talk with our knowledgeable guides when we are at our mooring and open to visitors.

    PLAN YOUR VISIT →

    However, if you’re planning on joining us for a trip, you will need to buy tickets in advance.

  • Please check our FAQ page for more answers to your questions about visiting or taking a trip on The Matthew.

    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS →