best for REAL LIFE
Fran Pike calls a 58ft narrowboat home, she lives there with her husband and their two rescue dogs…
As my alarm went off at 5am and I tumbled out of bed to bake bread and quiches for a farmers’ market, I sighed. I was supposed to be living The Good Life, but something didn’t feel right.
I’d met Rich, now 62, on our allotments eight years ago. We were both professional gardeners but neither of us had led the life we wanted. After 35 years working for other people and being told what to do, we wanted to break free.
We’d bought a cottage with a big garden in Norfolk and we thought it would make us happy. With land to grow veg and look after chickens and bees, we continued to garden for other people to make ends meet. It didn’t feel like we’d found the solution to our frustration.
Then Rich found himself lost in the world of YouTube videos about narrowboating. ‘We could do this!’ he exclaimed. I spent a night pacing the room and doing the sums. If we sold the cottage, we’d have enough money to buy a boat and live a more frugal life with less work, taking time to slowly explore Britain’s inland waterways.
But first we had to find out if we could live together in such a confined space! We booked a week on a Norfolk Broads cruiser. On the third day of the holiday, I walked to the shops and came home laden with narrowboat magazines. ‘Let’s do it,’ I said.
Within a week, the house was on the market and in 2018, we bought an old 50ft boat. There was no fridge, so we’d store perishables in the bottom of the boat. She stood 3ft under water, so the hull was always nice and cold. We reasoned that refrigeration was a modern luxury our grandparents managed without, so we could too!
We only had hot water when the engine was running, the shower was tiny and there were holes in the floor and walls where the previous owner had ripped out furniture. We loved it!
Our first adventure took us down the Kennet and Avon canal, and life felt beautifully simple. No post, no bills, no expectations. Time drifted by so slowly, Rich pursued his artwork and updated our YouTube channel and podcast, Floating Our Boat, while I weaved blankets and scarves and enjoyed our surroundings.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned
To live in a small space with your partner, you have to really love each other. It’s very cosy! After two years on the water, we married at Ludlow Library registry office. We would have liked to marry on the boat but couldn’t get a licence.
We honeymooned in a croft in Scotland but we were, as always, itching to get back on the water. Houses felt overwhelming and too easy now. We like th
