Narrowboats
Confessions of a Narrowboat Nerd
If you're flying at high speed along the M1 motorway in England, blink and you'll miss it: a canal boat passing leisurely beneath the bridge. It's a different world down there, where life moves at a slower and more natural pace. There's even a term for it: "canal time."
Inside that gently moving narrowboat you'll find a tiny but fully stocked kitchenette, a cozy sitting area with a woodburning fireplace in the corner, a compact bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink, and a bedroom beyond with just enough room for a double bed, a bookshelf, and a spot to hang or fold your clothes. This small but comfortable space is what many call home. They left the rat race to go off grid and live a nomadic life on the water.
It is of course not always idyllic. There's the ever changing weather, canal closures, lock breakdowns, crime in some areas, and engine trouble. You have to be a resourceful and sturdy type of person who can go with the flow. But it's a life that seems as rewarding as it is challenging.
That's my impression of it anyway, from thousands of miles away in the US-Midwest, after years of watching different narrowboaters document their journeys.
Narrowboating has grown close to my heart, and my pipe dream is to one day retire as a continuous cruiser on a boat of my own. In the meantime I'll keep watching from a distant shore, and I'm building a hireboat app in Salesforce. You can follow my progress in this section of the site.
Please Join the Campaign to Preserve Britain's Waterways
About the Campaign
Britain's inland waterways are a national treasure, a haven for wildlife, and a home to a vibrant community of boaters. Funding cuts are a threat to this ecosystem and way of life for many people.
More info on the #FundBritainsWaterways campaign is available in the above video at the Boat Time YouTube channel. The channel is produced independently by two continuous cruisers, Amy and Wes, who live and work full time on their narrowboat.