Cafe Afloat will reopen after refurbishment

Cafe Afloat will hopefully be back on the waters at Diglis Marina with plans to reopen on Wednesday (January 19).

The popular cafe set sail from its usual spot on the marina at the start of January to undergo a makeover.

Cafe Afloat is currently being given a facelift with its paint removed and is coming to the end of a repaint going from its usual red and blue colours to a dark grey.

Owner Dave Price said he was looking forward to welcoming back customers once again to the cafe which is a favourite with riverside walkers.

"The boat is having a complete repaint on the outside.

"We are hopefully opening on Wednesday if everything goes to plan.

"We are trying for Wednesday but still have got work to do."

It was hoped that Cafe Afloat would set sail once again on Saturday but there has been a short delay.

Mr Price has been sharing updates on the canal boat's refurbishment with followers on Facebook.

Fans have seen as the boat, known as Northern Lights, leave for the dry dock in Diglis on Monday, January 3.

They have seen every step in the process of repainting the vessel - from the sanding down to the primer and repaint.

Mr Price took over the cafe in 2020 after it was put up for sale.

Canal Afloat was the brainchild of Jacqui Taylor but after 10 years serving customers on the floating cafe she and her son Chris decided to sell the business.

It has a coveted five-star rating on TripAdvisor with customers rating the service, location and bacon sandwiches highly.