Where shall we go on our narrowboat?

After I finish writing this blog, we will be setting off on Narrowboat Thuis for our first long trip of the year. Since I retired in 2021, we have spent most of each summer on the boat, travelling around the UK. We have navigated most of the canal and river network now, so the big question is where to go this year.

We have a map of the water network on our fridge

In previous years I would have had a pretty clear view about the destination, although the journey from day to day would change, depending on weather, how much we were enjoying an area, and our mood. But this year is more complicated because we need to do things off the boat throughout the summer. Our new window shutters will be arriving at the house in a couple of weeks. My nephew is getting married in early May. We have a weekend away with Mandy’s brothers and partners in June.

Another complication, or perhaps benefit, is that we have paid for our marina mooring for the whole year. Instead of a single journey around the country all summer, we plan trips out for a few weeks, and then back to our home mooring in Stone.

So I am looking for somewhere to go that is a couple of weeks away. Mandy quite fancied heading back north again. But the Macclesfield Canal had a breach last week, so is closed to through traffic. We both love the Shropshire Union towards Wales but we have been on that route so many times. It would be nice to do something new. One of the few places we haven’t visited on the canals is Nottingham. Or we could go back to somewhere we have only visited once, such as Oxford.

Well let’s set off south and see where we end up. I often tell people that the best thing about narrowboating is that the destination is less important than than enjoying the journey. Maybe we will see a kingfisher today. Maybe we will meet fascinating people at the locks. Maybe I’ll find a stately home to visit.

The sun is shining. There is a light breeze. Time to untie the ropes and set off on our mystery trip. See you next week.

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Five things I learnt by going to court

This week I had a day out in Liverpool.  It is a lovely city, fairly well known to me from having moored the narrowboat in Salterhouse Dock a couple of times.  But the reason I was here this time was to support my brother in law, Steve, who was going to court.

Steve had done nothing wrong.  The case was about a car accident a couple of years ago, which was not his fault but for which the two insurance companies could not agree.  And the good news is that he won.  But it was a fascinating experience for me to go to court and I learnt a lot:

  1. It is really scary.  It is not like on TV.  There were no robes, wigs, juries.  But there was still a judge and two aggressive barristers.  I was glad I did not need to answer any questions.
  2. Court buildings are falling apart.  After many years of under investment it really needed a lick of paint and new ceilings.
  3. It can be a lottery.  Right up to the final judgement our barrister was telling us that we might win, we might lose and it could be called 50/50.  It does appear to depend on which judge on which day.
  4. Insurance companies waste so much money!  The case was about repairs worth a few hundred pounds.  The legal fees cost thousands.  Surely there must be a better way to come to agreement.  It all adds to all our premiums.
  5. If you have to go to court, make a day of it.  Steve and I had a day out, travelling on trains, having breakfast beforehand and lunch afterwards and even visiting a rather smart art gallery.  It was fun.

It was a really interesting day, but I will be avoiding going back if I possibly can.

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Am I more at home in my narrowboat or in my house?

For the past few years we have had a simple life. In the winter our home was our house in Scotland. In the summer our home was our narrowboat. We were equally at home in either. This year it feels more confused. Just before Christmas we bought a new house in Lancashire. It is lovely but there are many things we want to do, such as installing solar, and sorting out the garden. And one of the reasons for moving was to be closer to friends and family, and we are enjoying seeing them. So in many ways we would like to stay at home in the house this year.

But we still love living on the boat. We have been there for the past month and have enjoyed the comforts of our marina, and so far three trips out. This week we had a lovely day with one of our sons and his girlfriend travelling on the narrowboat to a canalside pub for Sunday lunch. So in many ways we would like to stay on the boat all summer again.

Our lives are even more complicated this year because the summer is peppered with events, such a a nephew’s wedding, a weekend away for Mandy with her old school friends, a visit to Scotland, a trip to the cricket. So we can’t just set off on the boat with no plan.

We have done the right things logically. We have paid to have access to the marina in Stone all year round. We have tried to bunch some of the things to do for the house on similar dates. We have discovered that it is easy to get to and from the boat in less than an hour and a half.

But that leaves me confused on where home is. One of our dogs, Ziggy, must have similar feelings. When we went to get in the car at the marina this week to head back to the house, she planted her feet and refused to come. But now we are here she is completely settled.

I realise this is a first world problem. I am so privileged to have the choice of two lovely homes. Home is where the heart is, and my heart is in my house… and on my narrowboat. Lucky me.

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Seven things that make a great narrowboat mooring

We were pootling along the canal this week, heading in a generally southern direction. I was lacking energy, having just recovered from some rather unpleasant food poisoning, so was moving even slower than usual and beginning to think of stopping for the night. Then around a bend we came across a perfect spot. So I pulled up and we stayed for a few days. What made this such a great mooring?

  1. Beautiful views. This mooring is on a slight embankment, with views in all directions. Mandy particularly liked the mornings, lying in bed and watching the day wake up.
  2. Peace and quiet. Most of the time there was just one other boat around, and there was no road noise. The only thing disturbing the peace was a couple of geese that seemed to be having a massive argument one morning.
  3. A firm towpath. At this time of year many of the towpaths are quite muddy, but this one had dried out nicely in the sunshine.
  4. Armco. Traditionally boaters would moor by hammering two foot metal “pins” into the ground and tying the boat to them. It is much easier and more reliable when there is Armco along the edge, because we can attach our “nappy pin” hooks and tie up to them. The only thing better is where we find hoops or bollards, but that is rarely in the countryside.
  5. Good solar. In the summer there are so many hours of daylight that charging the batteries is rarely a problem, but in March we need to make the most of the sunshine we have. This week has been ideal weather, and this mooring had no trees or hills to shadow my panels.
  6. Good Internet. It may sound a little incongruous to an off grid boating life, but we do like fast WiFi. That way we can sit in our lounge in the beautiful countryside, binge watching a box set (currently Poirot). We have a mobile router with an external aerial and in this spot it was perfect.
  7. Access to a great walk with the dogs. From the narrowboat there was a lovely circular walk along the canal and then through the grounds of Sandon Hall, up to a monument to William Pitt, and affording expansive views across Staffordshire. The only downside was when we were chased across a field by a flock of inquisitive sheep.

Of course we also love variety. Sometimes it is nice to moor in a city centre. Or next to a wonderful pub. Or close to a supermarket. Or nearby a stately home. But for us this week, I cannot think of a better mooring. Simply lovely.

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Is it too cold to live on a narrowboat?

I think this week’s weather has been about as perfect as it can get. Each morning I have woken up to a hard frost, with ice coating the roof of the boat. The sunrises have been stunning, with the light glittering across the fields and the water. During the day the sun has warmed us to T Shirt temperatures, and then in the evening as the light fades, it has got cold again, very quickly, with amazing skies full of stars and planets.

We have been able to heat the boat with our bubble stove (a diesel stove rather like a wood burner) or with our Webasto diesel boiler. The Webasto was 14 years old and beginning to fail, so we had that replaced this week with a brand new one with a three year warranty. It was expensive (BOAT stands for “bung on another thousand”) but will keep our central heating and water hot for years to come.

The air space in a narrowboat is really small and so heats up quickly, despite the single glazing, single skinned walls, and drafts. We have spent many happy hours this week feeling toasty warm in the boat, while the world outside freezes.

Most of this week we have been moored back in our marina, where we have access to a car and so have been able to get things done, but tomorrow we are back on our Spring journeys, heading north through the industrial centre of Stoke on Trent. I am looking forward to seeing the old kilns and factories, as well as the beautiful Staffordshire Countryside.

I hope it is sunny and cold.

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Back on the narrowboat

We came back to our narrowboat this week. We stayed a few nights in the marina, checking we had everything we need, and then set off to one of our favourite moorings – Tixall Wide, on the Staffordshire and Worcester canal.

Tixall Wide is a beautiful place. When the canal was built, the wealthy landowner would only allow it to go through his estate, so long as it looked like a lake. Now, nearly three hundred years later, the fancy house is long gone, but the lake remains. It is home to all sorts of birds, including a couple of pairs of kingfishers, which I am hoping to see.

It is also a perfect first trip out from the marina in Stone because it is just four hours away. That is long enough to properly test the boat and the engine to make sure nothing has broken over winter, and it is short enough that if there is a problem we can limp back.

The good news is that we have not found any problems so far, and the work we had done while we were away seems to have been done well. The engine has been serviced and the rocker head gasket replaced. The shower has been regrouted and sealed. A fuse for the batteries has ben replaced. And we have a lovely new front button fender. The only issues are an ageing Webasto water heater that we will have to replace soon, and a joint in the central heating plumbing that leaks in cold weather.

I was itching to come travelling again and I have loved it. The canal locks feel a little stiff but that is probably caused by my windlass muscles needing to be built up again. The dogs have settled straight back in. Lulu in particular likes to sit on the rear deck and watch the world go round.

Right. Tea won’t cook itself. Pork chops cooked in stuffing tonight, with baked potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Traditional hearty food for narrowboaters in February. It is good to be back.

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Are families like fish?

Benjamin Franklin said that “guests, like fish, start to smell after three days”. Last weekend we had both sons and girlfriends staying with us for just over three days. Did they start to smell?

Firstly it is worth saying that I had the very best time, with the whole family. For various reasons we were not together at Christmas. We saw Tin and Cheryl at New Year but we have not seen Rob and Alessa for months. It felt very special to be all together at our new house in Lancashire. We went for walks, played games and ate so much food, from amazing onion soup at a fancy French gastropub to foot long eclairs from St Anne’s Pier.

The boys got on well, with fewer arguments than normal. And Cheryl & Alessa are both our favourite girlfriends/fiancées ever. In some ways they remind me of Mandy, because it is very clear who is in charge, and they suffer no nonsense from their menfolk, while staying kind, generous and patient to our many foibles.

So did the guests start to smell? Tin took me to one side on our final walk on Beacon Fell, before they set off for home. He said “I know you have had a wonderful time this weekend Dad, but if I said to you that we had decided to come back to the house now I know your face would fall.” He is right. Mandy would have been very happy, but that was not my plan. And as readers of this blog know, I do love a plan. Later this year we are hoping to spend a week with each couple in the Outer Hebrides, so I have no problem exceeding the 3 day rule, but only if that is the plan.

So no, they did not start to smell, but maybe I did. I love it when we have visitors. And I love it when it is just the two of us.

Do you feel the same or do you just love being with friends and family?

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What is luxury?

Mandy and I spent a couple of nights this week in our favourite hotel – Swinton Park in North Yorkshire, For us this was total luxury.

For a start, the hotel is a castle, owned by the Earl and Countess of Swinton. We were upgraded to a suite, and when not in our room there are multiple reception rooms with open fires and sofas to lounge around. There is even a Billiard Room with a full sized snooker table. There is the formal Samuel’s Restaurant and the more relaxed Terrace, both serving amazing food. On the second night we shared a Cote de Boeuf which was simply perfect.

As well as the hotel, there are extensive grounds with woodland, a deer park and lakes to walk the dogs. And a large Spa has pools, saunas and a steam room, to wash away the troubles of the world. I was even given a personal history tour of the hotel with someone who has been working there for 40 years and knew just about everything about the estate.

We have returned much relaxed and ready for our next adventure. But I wonder if this would be luxury for everyone. The rich and famous must live like this all the time. I wonder if luxury for King Charles is to kick his shoes off and watch Coronation Street with beans and toast on his lap. I wonder if luxury for Bill Gates is a day with no meetings.

I am not sure I would like to live in such opulence all the time, but for a couple of days it was my luxury.

I am a lucky man.

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Am I too boring to write a blog?

I was thinking about what to write this week and realised that the highlight has been a visit to the dental hygienist. I wonder if I am becoming too boring to write a blog. I know some of my fellow retirees, including my wife, will say that this is part of what retirement is about. As well as providing opportunity to do exciting new things for which I would never have time when I was working, it provides opportunity to chill, relax and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Image ©RamseySolutions

I do understand the argument. I have read a couple of books this week, after it was pointed out to me that I never read anymore. I know that Mandy really loves sitting in a corner, doing cross-stitch and watching NCIS. I have no problem with others slowing down. But it is not the person I want to be.

I see myself as a lucky young retiree, enjoying the adventure that life provides. That is why I love being on the narrowboat. That is why I loved spending a month on trains in Europe. That is why I want to go back to the outer Hebrides for a month this autumn. There is so much to do!

And maybe I am wrong about the hygienist being the only highlight this week. We had my god-daughter Kelsey to stay with her mum, my friend Marion. We found a local upholsterer and spent a happy hour with him, looking at options for our dining room chairs. I went for a walk with my brother in law to see the snowdrops in Lytham Hall. I have cooked Baklava for a Greek meal with my cousins tonight. They may not be the most exciting things for a blog, but they have kept me busy.

But I still want to find a new adventure for next week. Slowing down is for old folk. And I ain’t old.

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Is Lanzarote Spanish, African or British?

I have had a wonderful holiday this week on the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. The weather has been low twenties – perfect. The food and drink has been plentiful – perfect. I have had adventures with my wife, brother in law and sister in law. I have had adventures by myself. Perfect.

The Canaries are in many ways a perfect holiday destination for this time of year. Lower prices than peak season, but still guaranteed sunshine. And because it is term time we have not been disturbed by rowdy children; just by rowdy pensioners.

But the Canaries, and Lanzarote in particular are a bit odd. If it wasn’t for tourism there would be very few people living here. It is a big volcanic rock, and the uncultivated ground is black and rocky. The islands are just 60 miles from Africa, but are part of the European Union, governed by Spain. So you see very little evidence of being so close to Africa except the weather. Signs are in Spanish but there is so much tourism that it is just as common to hear English, from Brits and Irish. The seaside resorts feel like a warmer Blackpool, with a huge promenade, and hundreds of bars and cafés. A little bit of the UK in Spain, close to Morocco.

I wonder how I would feel if parts of Britain were so Spanish. Not surprisingly I know some Canarians resent it and I have seen some signs saying “No to Mass Tourism”. But I have also seen lots of other signs “Lanzarote Loves Tourism”. I guess it is hard when the economy is so dependent.

Whatever the rights and wrongs I have had a wonderful break and would happily return, whether African, Spanish or British.

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