People and Personalities

If it’s your dream to leave the rat race behind and live on the water, then in this area, with the Grand Union Canal, the trunk route of Britain’s canal network, running through Beds, Herts AND Bucks, the dream is nearer to us than most! But while the idea is romantic, the practicalities aren’t necessarily so!

Nick Corble from Princes Risborough and Allan Ford, who himself lives on a narrowboat, have written a book called “Living Aboard”, which is a guide to the basics of living on the water and aims to make sure that the dream doesn’t become a nightmare.

Patrick steers Mr Badger

Carefree

I went to meet Nick at Allan’s boat, currently on the borders of Buckinghamshire, where they introduced me to Allan’s appropriately named neighbours, Patrick and Jane Cruise. The four of them told me more about why people decide to pursue this lifestyle.

Allan used to travel around the world with his “Wall of Death” show, and so was used to living in caravans. He bought a narrowboat for holidays and when he finished with the fun fairs, the move to the water was a natural progression.

“I thought, I’ve got no where else to live” he said, so I’ll live on the boat!

“It’s worked out very well. Because I’m used to living in a confined space, the boat suits me just fine! It’s much more carefree than being on the road.”

Patrick and Jane’s first boat was a 40 foot cruiser called Mr Toad, which they too bought for holiday use. However, between house moves they ended up living on the boat for seven weeks and it changed their lives.

“We then moved into the house, and found we couldn’t settle” explained Jane, “and so bought a longer boat which we decided to live on. We just prefer the way of life.”

Patrick and Jane's "living room"

The 60-foot Mr Badger is now their home, and of course, they still use it for holidays too, cruising around the waterways of the UK! And they love the community feel of those around them doing the same.

“Everyone is so much more friendly” revealed Patrick, “it’s like going back in time to the 1950s, when everybody helped each other.

“It’s not a selfish way of living at all, it’s great!”

Relaxed

Allan, Jane and Patrick are clearly enjoying a more relaxed way of life that’s completely different from town living, but this is only one of the reasons that people decide to do it.

“I think there’s probably as many different motivations as there are people living on board a boat” explained author Nick, “but there are certainly common strands.

“I think the freedom to be where you want to be, when you want to be is certainly one of them and the community feel is a very strong strand too.

"It also attracts people who want to downscale their life, away from the complexity we all seem to have got ourselves into. You can be semi-self sufficient on a boat and it’s also an extremely green way of living.”

But it’s not for everybody, as Nick went on to explain.

“I think there are certain things that you have to bear in mind” he said.

Allan with his boat Indian Scout

“You certainly have to be a very tidy person, you have to be someone who’s prepared to de-clutter their life and I don’t just mean that in terms of material possessions. It’s in terms of ALL the different sorts of “stuff” that we surround ourselves with. You just have to ask yourself, “do I actually really need these things?” and boil it down to the basics.”

However, despite the need for downsizing, a common misconception that a lot of people have is that you can’t have some of the modern appliances that are available.

On Patrick and Jane’s boat for example they have a washing machine, a television, a microwave, a gas oven and a PC.

“What they’ve done” explained Nick, “is choose which items, from all the choices that you have, that they actually need. You can have anything you want, but everything will require some degree of compromise. It’s a choice - if you have X, then you can’t have Y - and making that decision can be quite a cathartic experience for people!”

Decisions

What seems to be clear is that if you want to live on a boat, then you have to make some quite tough decisions and really look at how you live. But still people do it. So what are the best things about living aboard?

Mr Badger's engine

“It’s just peace and tranquility” explained Patrick, “on a Sunday morning, you can hear just the sound of the birds, the ducks and perhaps the odd passing boat. You don’t have children shouting and yelling, people arguing or doors slamming.”

Allan agreed and added what he loves most about the lifestyle.

“I think it’s the pace of life” he said, “everything slows down on the canal. The maximum speed you can go is at a walking pace.

“And I think being at one with nature too, those two things are it for me.”