Stockport father and son duo to serve food in Marple from their touring canal boat
By Alasdair Perry
26th Jul 2024 | Local Features
A Stockport father and son duo will be visiting Marple from Saturday 27-28th July to serve food from their touring canal boat.
Paul Edwards and his son Chris tour the local waterways in their boat, The Waltzing Matilda Boat, serving coffee, cakes, and hearty meals from the canalside.
They will moor up in Marple at Tramway Wharf this Saturday and Sunday, from 10am-6pm each day.
Visitors will need to pre-book - the boat is always popular so we can't guarantee a spot sadly! Find more information on the boat's Facebook page.
Our sister site, Macclesfield Nub News, spoke to the owners last year.
"We came up with the idea during the COVID lockdown", Chris said.
"My dad lived on a narrowboat, we were all on furlough in our bubble and really bored.
"So we came up with the idea of The Waltzing Matilda Boat. It is named after my niece, and we waltz up and down the canal serving great food and drink.
"The song Waltzing Matilda used to stop our niece from crying, so it has special meaning for us.
"When we first opened, it was great for people to come down and see us as people were really isolated; we became known for an ethos of building a community around the boat.
"We started off as just a café, but then added a pizza oven to the boat's kitchen.
"There's plenty of tables and chairs for customers to eat at and bask in the sun, just feet away from where your food is made."
As well as Marple, the boat makes stops elsewhere in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
If enjoying some hearty canalside food and basking in the recently-returned sun sounds appealing, Chris explains how to find the Waltzing Matilda.
"We post where we are going to be docked at the upcoming weekend at the start of each week. You can book a time slot to get a table, and we post the location of where we are precisely located with the help of What3Words.
"Pre-booking is recommended, as it is getting to a point where we don't want to send people away, but we are serving 120 pizzas a day, and it is just me [and sometimes Chris' dad] making the pizzas."
Pizzas include pumpkin and sausage, prosciutto and rocket, or a white base mushroom with smoked cheese and crispy bacon pizza.
There are vegan cheese options, and a goats cheese pizza that is raising money for charity. The boat can be booked for events.
"We're probably competing with some of the busy restaurants in Manchester in terms of numbers, which is insane to think about for a small narrowboat.
"The canals are what this country is built on. You forget how under-utilised canals have been in modern times, but since COVID we have seen canals have a rebirth with people coming out and using them.
"Especially locally, I feel we are part of that movement. People come to see us and then realise they have this really beautiful spot around them, and they're all up and down the country. You can go anywhere on a canal.
"Sometimes we have queues way down the canal, and it is nice to see the public use them again.
"Summer nights are the best here, we have reggae music and you can just soak in the beauty of the canal with some great food.
"My favourite thing about this job is as I've worked in kitchens for 13 years, you have no contact with the outside world. But through this, I've met so many interesting people whether its serving them, seeing different boaters and even through social media.
"Thank you everyone for your support so far. We can't wait to be here for many more."
To keep up to date with the whereabouts of the boat, follow on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE.
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