The Adur estuar y at Shoreham is home to a colour ful houseboat community that offers an alternative lifestyle on the water
Homes built of bricks and mortar aren’t the be-all and end-all. Certainly not for those who inhabit a string of striking houseboats moored on the seaward shore of the Adur estuary at Shoreham in West Sussex. If you’re seeking bland and boring, look elsewhere.
The three weirdest and wackiest floating residences incorporate a surprising array of re- or upcycled vehicles and appliances. The façade of one houseboat includes a green Reliant Robin alongside the side panel of a graffitied caravan and a bathtub repurposed as an unusual window (with taps).
Another has a defunct washing machine masquerading as a porthole window and, above, the shell of an old bus (complete with wheels), the windows of which offer a near-panoramic view across the water. Completing the unconventional trio is an extraordinary asymmetrical structure, half of which is shaped like an enormous fish with the words ‘Revolution’ emblazoned along its side.
The ichthyoid vessel and its two subversive shipmates are the handiwork of long-term houseboat dweller, and now Airbnb host, Hamish McKenzie. I come across him tinkering in his workshop inside the body of the fish. He invites me onboard and we cross a small pontoon to the neighbouring ‘bus’ where we settle down in front of an extraordinary window for a chat.
“I love this place to pieces,” he tells me. “I came here in 1986 and have seven boats, some rented out. Shoreham’s always had a boat-building community but it’s all changing. It was much more rough and ready when I arrived here.
“There were still quite a lot of ex-military boats from the Second World War here at the time. Those that have survived are getting more and more dilapidated. A few of mine are built on the base of former motor torpedo boats - they did 40 knots and were like the Spitfires of the Sea.”
These days, the boats are not going anywhere fast. Moored up, you’d be hard-pushed to recognise any sort of military hardware beneath the assorted paraphernalia of Hamish’s outlandish houseboat creations. However, the shell of a torpedo - sitting upright in the mud nearby and fully visible at low tide - is a powerful reminder of their provenance.
Hamish continues: “I’ve set myself the task of trying to save as many of these old mi
