Tag: Dogs

Ten things to look for in a good marina

We are currently moored at Aston Marina, in Stone, Staffordshire. We have moored in many marinas over the years and this is our favourite. So what is it that makes a great marina for us?

  1. Location location location. The canal network is extensive and there are marinas all over the UK. For people that work it is important to have a marina nearby. For us, it is important to have a marina near the middle of the network so that we can get anywhere.
  2. Reasonable prices. It is never cheap mooring n a marina. Even basic canalside moorings can cost over a thousand pound a year, and good marinas are quite a lot more. But there are some marinas near fancy places like Henley or Windsor that cost a ridiculous amount – because they can.
  3. A laundry. We have a washing machine on the boat but before we had it, the marina laundry was invaluable and we still regularly use the tumble drier.
  4. Toilets. Sorry to bring the blog tone down but the toilet on the boat empties into a tank that we have to pump out. I prefer to use someone else’s facilities when I can.
  5. A pub. We are spoilt on the UK canals in that there are many pubs along the way so that if we do not fancy cooking we can get a meal and a beer overlooking our mooring. Marinas without pubs can be a bit isolated.
  6. Moderate wind. Narrowboats have long flat sides that act like sails when the wind catches them. On canals and rivers you usually have protection from cuttings and trees, but some exposed marinas are almost impossible to navigate in. So a marina with hills around is always preferable.
  7. Appropriate rules. Without rules, marinas become mess. If one boat gets away with building a pretty garden next to their boat, within months there are things being dumped all over the marina. There are rules that we don’t like. At Aston we are not allowed to dry washing on our whirlygig. But at least the rules are fair.
  8. Security. In general we feel quite secure on the boat, but when we have to leave it for a few weeks, we worry that it might be broken into. Good marinas have the boats on secure jetties behind locked gates that only boat owners can open.
  9. Friendly boat owners. We have stayed on marinas where there are cliques of boat owners that spend their time whinging about others. At Aston we have found just about everyone friendly and helpful.
  10. Friendly marina managers. We have also stayed at marinas where the managers do not understand boating or boat owners, and treat it as “just a job”. Sadly this can be particularly true at large chains of marinas. Great managers uphold the rules equally and are always ready for a chat and to help out.

It is often said that people considering buying a Narrowboat should find a mooring before they look for the boat because good ones are like hens’ teeth. certainly we were on the waiting list for Aston for nearly two years, while we overwintered in other marinas. And for us, it feels like home.

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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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The best of weather, the worst of weather

What a week for weather. In Lancashire we have missed the heavy snows of Scotland, but we have had torrential rain, floods, hail, hard ice and frost. Some of the worst weather all year. And yet, as the old year has become a new one, the weather changed and this morning we woke to the kind of cold crisp day that is my favourite.

It reminded me of the best ski days, the ones they call bluebird days, when the snow is fresh, the pistes are groomed, there is no wind, the temperature is cold, and the sun is shining. I am missing skiing this year. We have a week planned in Lanzarote later in January when I know we will have a lovely time in the warmth. But for me, nothing beats coming down the first piste of the day, when the skis through the corrugated snow making a sound like a sharp knife cutting through paper.

And that first stop of the day, at a mountain cafe, for a mulled wine, a beer or a cold coke. Your thighs tingling from exercise they are not used to. Your nose tingling from the cold. Your fingers tingling after removing the gloves.

But it is such a risk booking a ski holiday since climate change has altered the weather. A week looking out at green mountains is a waste. Worse, a week looking out at a blizzard that is unskiable.

So I will enjoy my week in the sun. And get on with unpacking more boxes for our new house. And remember happy times on the slopes

Maybe next year. If the weather is good enough.

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Homeless but not houseless

In July I wrote a blog entitled “Houseless not homeless”. We had just sold our house in Scotland and were going to be living on our narrowboat full time. We had no house but we had a home on the boat. Last Friday we completed the purchase of a new house in Lancashire. It is lovely but we couldn’t schedule the removal company to bring our stuff out of storage till next week, and so this week we have had a house but not a home.

My brother in law installing my new wardrobes – thanks Steve

It has been a strange week. There has been plenty to do, from building wardrobes, to connecting the internet, to sorting out address changes. It has been fun. But I have been to and fro between the house, the boat and my in laws, who live close by. So I have felt unsettled. For ten days I do not know where my home is.

Since I retired we have had a routine of spending the summer in the boat and the winter in a house. In my unconscious mind I have seamlessly switched “home” from one to the other. We have also travelled quite a lot but that was never a problem because I knew where home was. The cliché is that “home is where the heart is”. I think home provides the foundations that allow me to be carefree and adventurous. It is family, it is relationships, and it is also a location.

So this week has felt really quite odd. But next week should be amazing. The removal people will arrive on Tuesday morning and Mandy has kindly offered to stay at the boat with the dogs for a couple of days more while I break the back of the unpacking. I am looking forward to working out where things go. I am looking forward to setting things up. And most of all I am looking forward to building a home.

What do you think about “home”? Is it just where you happen to live or is it so much more?

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It’s Cold!

After a month travelling through Europe in largely sunny warm weather, it has been a shock to return to the cold of Britain. This morning it was -6°C when I took the dogs for their walk. Winter has certainly arrived.

We have a bit more of a challenge on the narrowboat because our “bubble” diesel stove is not working properly, It is not getting to temperature and so sooting up. I need to find an engineer in Staffordshire who can fix it. We still have the “Webasto” diesel boiler so all is not lost and we can get a pretty cozy boat during the day. Overnight we turn the heating off so it does get pretty chilly but underneath the duvet and blanket it still feels safe and warm.

People often ask me how we live on a narrowboat in cold weather. It is after all a single skinned steel tube. But the reality is that the airspace is so small that it warms up pretty quickly. Hot weather in the summer is much more of a problem, when it can get like an oven. Not something we need to worry about this week!

It is a simple life on a boat. You soon realise what really matters. Staying warm in the cold. Staying cool in the heat. Making sure there is water. Making sure you can use a toilet. Getting food in the cupboard. In return we get a lot for free. Beautiful mornings and evenings. A kingfisher sitting on the back of our neighbour’s boat yesterday. A peaceful life.

We are in the process of buying a house. New complexities will arrive such as council tax, sorting out utilities, broadband. We even have to pay the council for a set of wheely bins. When we move in, we will get the benefits of not having to worry about filling up water, pumping out the toilet or replacing bottles of gas. But I know I will very soon want to be back on the boat. Even when it is cold.

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Is this the best time of the year to go narrowboating?

The weather right now is just about perfect for being on a narrowboat. We are waking up to cold crisp mornings with mist rising off the canal. We are getting really beautiful sunrises, sunsets and dramatic moons. During the day the temperature is rising to low twenties – warm enough for shorts and t-shirts.

Narrowboaters are notorious for complaining about the weather. It is either too hot because we live in a tin can, or too cold, because our fingers are going numb driving the boat. It is either too wet, so we don’t want to move the boat, or it is too dry, with water levels falling. It is either too windy, making turning impossible, or too still , encouraging biting insects. We are never happy.

But this week we are. So many smiling faces as we have passed fellow boaters on the Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canals this week. In truth, while I complain, I love living on a narrowboat in all weathers. But this is a very special time of year. Peaceful and very very beautiful.

Thinking back to pre-retirement, I would have been busy in an air conditioned office, missing the weather completely. I loved working but this is so much better.

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Is it autumn already?

It has been a lovely week on the cut (canals). After last week’s heatwave it has settled down to around 21°C each day which is very pleasant. At the same time we are beginning to notice it is not fully light first thing in the morning, and it is dark when we go to bed. There have been a few mornings where it is cold enough for a mist to rise from the canal when I take the dogs out. And some leaves are just beginning to turn brown at the edges.

August is too early for autumn. It is still the school summer holidays in England and many of the crops are still growing in the fields. But it is the end of summer, and there is a flavour in the air of what is to come.

I love days like these. Warm enough for shorts but not too warm. Sunrises and sunsets. When we set off in March it seemed as if this cruise would last forever, but we are already beginning to plan how we can get in everything we want before the end of this year’s adventure – our annual visit to the boat museum in Ellesmere Port, a week sharing a holiday on the Llangollen with Mandy’s brothers and partners, one last trip on the Shroppie and Staffs & Worcester.

The important thing for me, and not my natural instinct, is to put that planning aside and enjoy every day. Being retired is like being on a narrowboat. It is not about the destination, it is about loving the journey, whether in winter, spring, summer or autumn.

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