Now that the nights are drawing in and the clocks are about to change, the summer boating season is over. Fox Boats will soon be busy winterising the narrowboats, which involves a series of maintenance jobs that keep the boats at their best while they’re out of use.
fox narrowboats marina sunset moorings
Read: How Winter Threatens to Damage Your Narrowboat – 3 Ways to Protect Yourself
However, some people live on their boats all year round. On our blog, Alice Elgie shares true stories of living afloat through winter with her husband and young daughter. She says there’s a trick to keeping the fire going all night, and that the boating community looks out for one another. When the canals and rivers freeze, it can be impossible to leave the mooring, but there are ways to work around the challenges.
Read: Narrowboating Through Winter
While you may not be able to hire a Fox narrowboat during the winter months, you can still use the canals and rivers to chase away the winter blues. If you live near an inland waterway, you may enjoy walking, running or cycling along the towpath, alongside the ducks and geese, with winter sunlight reflecting off the water. The post below also suggests attractions along the banks in Cambridgeshire that you can visit at any time of year.
canal tow path cycling with family
Read: Three Foxy Mood-Boosting Tips for This Winter
The exact cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) isn’t fully understood, but it’s thought to be related to reduced exposure to sunlight during the shorter autumn and winter days. The good news is that being close to water and nature may help you to manage your stress levels. On a narrowboat holiday, you may find that you spend more time outdoors than you would on other kinds of British holiday. Whether you are relaxing on deck or in charge of the steering, there’s something lovely about chatting with a mug of tea in hand as you travel along.
Read: How to Beat the Winter Blues (With a Barge Pole!)
I spent 13 years living on canal boats, and during that time many of my friends were concerned that I was ‘roughing it’, imagining that I lived simply, without any modern comforts. People would ask me if it was cold in winter, and whether living aboard was a bit like camping. But nothing could be further from the truth: modern narrowboats are extremely comfortable. Find out about four surprising creature comforts you’ll find on a Fox narrowboat.
Read: Narrowboats: Is it Cold in Winter? The Answer Might Surprise You!
In her autumn diary, Alice describes walking along the towpath to collect drinking water, catching the occasional drift of a wood-burner coughing and spluttering its way out of hibernation, sending streams of grey-black smoke across the canal. She saw the poetry in a sky that merged seamlessly from cobalt blue at the top, through lighter blues, pale creams, yellows and oranges, to a deep red just above the darkened tree line.
Read: Autumn On The Water – Diary Of Living On A Narrowboat
Whether you are an experienced boater or new to narrowboat holidays, true stories of families on board offer a wonderful glimpse into the practicalities of boating life. I lived on a narrowboat with my husband and two young children and wrote a blog about it called The Real Life of a Narrowboat Wife. At the time, I loved reading stories of other parents who had chosen a life afloat, to see how their experiences compared with mine.
Read: The Truth About Living Aboard A Boat: 3 Books You Should Read
So, while our narrowboats are ‘winterised’ until next year, why not snuggle up with a hot drink and read some of our winter-themed blog posts, as you dream of next year’s boating season?
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Peggy Melmoth is a writer who shares her memoir-style writing and poetry at Life, Locks and Literature.
