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?

Hey! Are you new here? Click ‘Blog’ (top right) and look for ‘Follow Blog’ in the right sidebar to receive more insider knowledge about canals and narrowboating. (We never share or sell email addresses; we’ll only send you our local insider knowledge, every two weeks.)

Peggy Melmoth is a writer who shares her memoir-style writing and poetry at Life, Locks and Literature.

The post Narrowboats and Canal Boating in Winter appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

The weather has been cold and yet after a short but bracing cruise this afternoon as I write, the most beautiful bands of sunlight are pouring themselves in through my windows, dancing tantalising reflections across my ceiling—a sight unseen when blocked in by other boats. I am in awe. I am content. I am lost in the simple pleasures of boating, of movement, and of changing seasons.

There are also sounds that cannot be expressed through pictures: the haunting lone call of a moorhen, the delightful tumbling song of hedgerow birds, the nasally honking of geese, the gentle slow wingbeats that belie a swan’s size. And then there is my thudding heart; bursting with happiness for the springtime that I know will now unfold at double speed before me.

I am here. I am within it. I am glad.

Fox Blog: Why an April Narrowboat Holiday is the Perfect Spring Getaway

Skies seem endless and filled with promise and I ponder the joy of keeping moving, along these watery roads, never returning to where I started. But alas, this year personal commitments mean we can’t venture too far and that’s okay because after many spells afloat throughout these past 16 years, and having travelled much of the network, I know that whatever stretch we find ourselves on, there will still be magic:

Delightful dawn choruses to wake me in the morning, ducklings darting around after mum in a cacophony of continual yet endearing quacking, grasses and wildflowers billowing along the towpath and finally—a feeling of warmth penetrating the windows. As the season progresses I know I will feel myself steadily thawing, my mind drifting to the promise of local cruises in dappled sunlight, working locks in the still silence of lighter evenings.

Fox Blog: Fearful of Locks? How to work one even if you’ve never done it

Winter has felt long this year, but getting back to my narrowboat and clearing out the debris of this coldest season before untying the ropes and flinging the doors open to spring, has felt as magical as it always does. Because wherever I wander, there is nothing quite like the sights and sounds of England’s waterways in springtime.

Alice Elgie is a nature-loving writer who shares words about her wandering lifestyle through hold-in-the-hand letters and recorded reflections. aliceelgie.com

The post First Cruise of the Year appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

passed lock | alice elgie

That winter, with ice cracking around our ears as we slept, we found beauty in simplicity, strength in embracing limited resources, and thrived coming up with ingenious ways to get through, such as ferrying rubbish and waste on our young daughter’s sled down to the nearest towpath facilities station, or working together with neighbours to join up hosepipes so we could each connect to the nearest unfrozen tap. Community is something that always stands out whenever I talk to fellow boaters about life on the water and I can attest that there’s nothing like a harsh winter to bring out the best in people.

Nowadays though I’d like to think I’m a more seasoned winter boater, knowing how to get prepared well in advance for these colder days, how to keep the fire burning through the night, and also how to ensure my boat is safe, especially if it’s being left alone for a cold spell. For a start, you’ll find me stocked up with wood and smokeless coal before there’s even so much as a nip in the air so that when it’s time to bring the coal bucket out of summer storage from the front well-deck, I’m ready to go. Kindling and logs might also be gathered throughout the year and stored on the roof, but be aware that they will need to have dried for approximately one year before you burn them. Wet wood in a small boat does not create the kind of toasty, cosy atmosphere I like to go for in this season!

passing lock in winter | alice elgie

Curious about how warm it is on a narrowboat? https://www.foxboats.co.uk/narrowboats-is-it-cold-in-winter/

It’s also important to remember that the canal freezes so if you’re a continuous cruiser you’ll want to make sure you’re where you’re happy to be for a time—ideally close to a water point and facilities but also with the realisation that water points freeze too so start as you mean to go on with water conservation! I like to channel our industrial past and those bargees who worked historic boats through all conditions, often crammed into a boatman’s cabin with their entire family. You might not agree, but I think there is a romance to sink washes and basic meals cooked on the fire…and if you’re lucky enough to work from your boaty home it can feel like permission to switch off, hunker down and forget about the world ‘out there’.

Mood-boosting tips to beat the winter blues! https://www.foxboats.co.uk/three-foxy-mood-boosting-tips-for-this-winter/

On a practical level, make sure you’ve topped up your engine and heating system with antifreeze otherwise you might end up with a cylinder head cracking or a radiator pipe splitting. Also ensure you’ve paid some attention to any gaps in hatches, portholes and doorframes, and if you’re planning to leave your boat for a time but aren’t confident to winterise it yourself, you could ask a marina to carry out the draining of your water system and radiators and turning off of water pumps to avoid burst pipes and seals.

Whilst my 15 years on the water haven’t been without the odd hiccup, once settled into the rhythm and quirks of boat life you’ll find that winter—whilst sometimes a challenge—can be the thing that sets your life at the helm in stone…although I for one am hoping this winter won’t be quite as bracing as 2010!

Photo credits: Alice Elgie

Alice Elgie is a nature-loving writer who shares words about her wandering lifestyle through hold-in-the-hand letters and recorded reflections. aliceelgie.com

The post Narrowboating Through Winter appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.