Date: 22nd June 2024

Canal: Oxford

Moving the boat into a prime position

Planning:

When you tell family and friends that you plan to sell your house and retire from work to live on a narrowboat (traveling around the country) they are bound to be concerned about the choices you are making.

As the boat build progressed and launch day grew closer people started to ask more questions about how this was all going to work, and raised concerns about when or where they would be able to see us.

So, to put everyone’s mind at rest John and I said that we would have a family get together in the summer and then they could all join us to formally name our boat. We couldn’t tell them exactly where or when this would take place, but we promised that we would arrange it.

From the day we moved onto the boat this promise was on our mind, we needed to find somewhere that could accommodate 20+ people for lunch, the towpath needed to be suitable for a variety of age groups and the boat needed to be easily accessible.

Every time we stopped at a marina or a pub we talked to the staff to see if this could be viable option. But in the end, we chose the Wharf Inn in Fenny Compton. The food there is very nice, they could deal with a variety of dietary requirements and they were happy to set up an area for a large group to be seated together. There is a 48hr mooring next to the pub garden and the towpath is reasonably flat.

With the booking made (and confirmed several times, just to be sure) the invitations went out and Round Tuit’s naming day was planned.

Now all we needed was some good weather!

Our family joined us to celebrate

Celebrating our new life:

Knowing that there was one perfect spot that we wanted to get the boat into we cruised to Fenny Compton a few days before our planned celebration and found a nearby 14 day mooring. This allowed us to keep a watchful eye on the mooring outside the pub and over the next few days we moved a little closer, each time a place became available. In the end we managed to get sufficiently near, but as luck would have it that perfect 48hr mooring became available at the very last minute and we moved into it.

It was a warm and sunny day, so John hung out the bunting before our first guests arrived and Round Tuit looked her very best.

I cannot tell how wonderful it was to have so many family members joining us on the boat and for lunch. People had travelled from across the country to be with us and (baring a few last minute difficulties with accommodation) everything went perfectly.

After lunch John brought out the champagne, made a short speech and christened the boat. At the end of the day (when everyone had headed off) we were truly exhausted but satisfied and ready to head off on our next adventure.

Champagne all round

Staying in touch with family and friends:

Despite the fact that we had some niggling doubts about how we would manage to stay in touch with everyone once we moved onto the boat, I’m glad to say that it really hasn’t been too challenging.

Most of the time we have had some phone or internet access, when moored up, so phone calls have mostly worked. Video calls can be a little more difficult but will often work. And of course, there is always text or email messages.

We have also been careful to plan where we moored when we needed to get a train to meet with friends or family. Easy access to a train station can be very helpful at times.

Once, we put the boat in a marina for a few days and then hired a car so that we could visit family members for a few days. But we have been lucky because a lot of people have also chosen to come and visit us on the boat.

So overall we don’t feel overly isolated, and it really is possible to live on a boat without leaving everyone else behind (if that’s what you want). However, it does take a bit more thought and planning than when we lived in a house and had a car.

One caveat to this though is that, so far, we haven’t had to get somewhere in an emergency. We realise that at some point this will happen but for now we are pleased to say that it’s all going quite smoothly, and we hope our family and friends feel the same way.

Now we are on our way to Birmingham to visit one of our nephews.

Links:

The Wharf Inn, Fenny Compton