Leven is Strijd takes small weddings, executive meetings, client dinners and brand launches for up to 28 guests, with the whole venue reserved for one group. The venue is a 29-meter Dutch barge built in 1928, now moored at Twinney Wharf on Susans Lane in Upchurch, North Kent, with a glass-fronted stretch tent on the bank.
Seminars and company events
The barge suits board meetings, executive away days, client entertaining and dinners around a single large captain's table. The tent works for networking receptions, workshops, product or brand launches and corporate retreats, and can be booked alone or with the barge. Hire terms and costs for business events are quoted by the team on request. With a ceiling of 28 guests, the venue fits leadership teams and small client groups rather than full company gatherings.
Weddings and receptions
The tent is a licensed ceremony space for marriages, blessings and handfasting, with seating for up to 26. The wedding package covers venue hire for 24 people, couple included, and up to four more guests can be added. A typical day starts with a 4 pm ceremony, then drinks and canapés, then the wedding breakfast onboard with speeches. Drinks continue on the barge or in the tent, and the bar reopens for evening guests. The barge has a retractable roof for warm days, two guest restrooms and a bar, and tables, chairs, decor and glassware are included. The bar is licensed both onboard and in the tent.
Accommodation
The Captain's Cabin on board serves as a honeymoon suite. Other guests stay off site, and the venue keeps a list of recommended accommodation nearby.
Catering
Meals are prepared by caterers from the venue's list of preferred partners, with a focus on local and seasonal produce. The wedding breakfast is served at the table on board. The venue also lists recommended photographers, florists and transport.
History and setting
The barge was built at Woubrugge in the Netherlands for Dirk Mudder, of a Dutch barging family, as a cargo vessel carrying grain between ports and flour mills. A bow rudder let her reverse through narrow waterways. In the 1950s she was lengthened with a section from a sister vessel to about 95 feet, and she carried grain until the late 1960s. Brought to Britain as a houseboat, she became a private dining venue in London Docklands in the 1980s, survived the 1996 South Quay bomb about 50 meters away, and later passed to the Crossrail project and Transport for London. Sam and Paul Holland bought her and had her delivered to the Medway in 2021. A full refit followed at Chatham Docks and Twinney Wharf, keeping the original 1928 aft saloon with its glazed doors and joinery. The venue runs on solar and wind power and reuses grey water where possible.
Getting there
Twinney Wharf sits on the riverside near Upchurch, between Rainham and Sittingbourne, within reach of London and the main Kent towns. The postcode for navigation is ME9 7HA.
