spring narrowboat on the waterways

Having now lived on narrowboats for many years I can concur that carrying coal and bags of laundry down a muddy towpath can certainly lose some of its ‘being joyfully connected to the elements’ charm after several months. Certainly there have been many winters where I have pondered if there is space to fit a washing machine on my boat. However, being present to the first precious gifts of spring does indeed more than make up for any of those hardships and failed daydreams.

first spring lock – alice elgie

Just yesterday morning I woke to dry windows inside, blue sky outside and felt the first  faint but euphoric realisation that somewhere in the not too far distance, spring is brewing. It made me reminisce about early spring 2011—one of my first on a narrowboat—when I lounged on the roof writing whilst chatting to passing boaters, my daughter peddling up and down the towpath on her bike talking to the ducks and geese. In that moment I simply couldn’t imagine a better way to live in England because for me, it was everything at its best: nature, friendliness and freedom.

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In the first throws of spring, winter quickly becomes a distant memory. My dreams of an on-board washing machine fade into the background as hand-washed clothes blow in the breeze and there is abundant space on the doorstep where we can roam and find adventures along secret paths, in wide open fields and amongst the trees. I think that’s it for me, that on a narrowboat we can live right in the heart of an unfurling spring. Each morning the air tastes fresher and I feel more at peace as I lay still listening to a visiting chaffinch or watch moorhens as they scurry in and out of their nest. The world comes alive all around me and somehow, the quiet cocoon that winter can be, makes me even more aware of each minuscule change.

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And when I do have to do a laundrette run, I know it will no longer be plagued by a cold, muddy walk to sit looking sorrowfully out through steamed-up windows onto a dreary street. Instead us ‘washers’ will chat to each other with bright smiles as we watch our clothes go round and I will be reminded of the valuable people connection that would be lost if I were to relent to having a washing machine on my boat.

2026 Spring Canal Boat Holiday Offers

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

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