New home for narrowboat that hosted Princess Diana

Princess Diana was treated to a grand buffet when she boarded Judith Mary II in June 1990

A well-known narrowboat that once hosted Princess Diana has been reunited with its sister boat after being sold to new owners.

Judith Mary II had been a familiar sight in Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire since the 1980s, when it was first used as a restaurant boat.

It has now joined its sister boat - the original Judith Mary - and will be used for canal cruises near Penkridge in Staffordshire.

The boats were reunited after new owner Jessica Loach spent five days cruising Judith Mary II to its new home.

Jessica Loach (in blue coat) and her son (in foreground) cruised the boat from its old home in Whaley Bridge

It was the first time Judith Mary II had left the Whaley Bridge area since being built in 1988.

The journey involved travelling 68 miles on four canals, going through three swing bridges and 35 locks.

"It was a beautiful adventure and meant so much to cruise her back," said Ms Loach, who runs Georgie's Canal Cruises near Penkridge.

"There was some fantastic support along the canals as we left the Peak District area.

"It was both overwhelming and emotional. We realised just how much the Judith Mary II must have impacted the area over the years."

Judith Mary II had been a familiar sight on the Peak Forest Canal since the 1980s

The original Judith Mary was built in Whaley Bridge in 1983, and Judith Mary II was launched in 1988.

The boats were originally owned by a man called Roger Sharp and were run as restaurants by a chef called Allen Kelsall.

His daughter, Suzy Kelsall, remembers Princess Diana coming aboard in 1990.

"We were lucky enough to have her visit Whaley Bridge, where she crowned our Rose Queens," she said.

"She then came aboard the Judith Mary II where a grand buffet had been made for her.

"We didn't accompany her onboard and we didn't sail but she enjoyed around half an hour onboard."

The boat's new home is near to Park Gate Lock on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Mr Kelsall then bought both boats in 1990 or 1991, and his sister took the original to Chester where she ran it for about 12 to 18 months.

Somebody else then bought Judith Mary and relocated it to Stalybridge, where it was renamed Staley Rose.

The boat was still called Staley Rose when Ms Loach bought it, by which time the boat was in Stone and had been used for trips to the Stoke football ground.

After refurbishing the boat, she renamed it Georgie Kate after her daughter and started her restaurant boat business in May 2017.

'It was emotional'

In the meantime, Ms Kelsall had started helping her father run Judith Mary II in 2010, then took over the business when he retired after the pandemic.

She decided to sell the boat when her boatmaster - the person qualified to drive the boat - and another crew member decided to retire.

The last trip was on 19 December and Ms Loach picked Judith Mary II up the day after.

"I was only 13 when my dad started doing it so it's something that's been in the family for most of my life," said Ms Kelsall.

"So it was emotional but the best thing about it was that she was obviously going back to being reunited with the original boat, and Jess is just wonderful, she's just lovely."

The journey involved going through 35 locks

Ms Loach said it was also emotional when she and her son reached their destination.

"It was quite overwhelming to be honest. My son got off and said, 'She's yours, you take her in'," she said.

"It was quite emotional. That's really sad isn't it? I don't mean to be so sentimental but it was the first time they've been reunited, so it was lovely to have them pull alongside each other."

She is now refurbishing the boat but hopes to have it running in time for Mother's Day, and the new passengers will hopefully include the boat's former crew.

"Once she's sailing again, me and the rest of the crew will be down there for a sail, we can't wait," said Ms Kelsall.

"We know she's in good hands, she's going to be looked after and she's going to continue doing what she's done since she was built."