I mentioned recently in a Tiny House in a Landscape feature that I would be covering narrow boats in an upcoming post. I will show off a boat here that is for rent on the Avon Canal near Bath in the United Kingdom. Narrow boats are very popular as use for a vacation unit or in the term I got accustomed to while in the UK “on holiday.”
These boats featured here are a little wider than many of the narrow boats out there. These are traditional style widebeam canal boats. They feature accommodations for a whole family. Here is what Moonraker Canalboats says about their narrow boat holidays.
If you desire peace and quiet you can moor up in the countryside, miles from anywhere, with just the wildlife and the sky for company. If you prefer, at one of the many canal side pubs you can have a hearty meal, a pint and some conversation with your bed just feet away. Maybe a fine restaurant in one of the towns or cities along the canal? The choice is yours.
From the moment you cast off, you’re in a different world. You can go where you want, when you want, at your own pace. The most glorious countryside England has to offer unfolds before you, all the bewildering variety of wildlife is at your fingertips and yet all the comforts of home are right there with you.
There is so much to see and do on a canal holiday and narrow boating is simple. Push the lever forwards to go forwards and backwards to stop or reverse. The tiller controls the left and right bit and that’s it!
So they are great for holidays, how about living in one full time? Many people in Great Britain do make their homes full time in narrow boats and enjoy the mobile lifestyle of living on the water. Narrow boats are known to be very expensive and they are if you buy them brand new. Most new ones that I found on the internet ranged more than 100,000 pounds. However, I did some research on the used market and found that they ranged from around 20,0000 pounds to 80,000 pounds. So like any type of home there is quite a range in price.
While we were in Bath, my son and I walked the Avon and we discovered several narrow boats in need of some work. I imagine if approached the owners would be willing to bargain on a reasonable price. Narrow boats are not available in the U.S. but one person I talked to mentioned that they could be brought in, you would purchase one in Great Britain and have it shipped to you in the U.S. So if this style of living fits your new home dream, I would suggest that you go try one out for a “holiday” week or two and then you can decide if this is the life for you.
I was in England in 1990 and quite enchanted with narrow boats. They looked so cozy and there are miles and miles of navigable canals there. At the time, I thought it would make a fun holiday to come back and try one out for a week. Then, I totally forgot about them until I see this post. What a great idea for a trip with a couple of friends!
the widebeam canal boats you have featured will not fit on the vast majority of British Waterways canal network,.The genuine narrow boat is only 8 feet wide,unlike the Kennet and Avon boats which are much wider.Believe you me a narrow boat is claustrophobic to many. The author has not given a true picture of what real canal boating is all about.Remember the 8 feet measurement is the external size not the internal .
Kent states:
“These boats featured here are a little wider than many of the narrow boats out there. These are traditional style widebeam canal boats.”
Seems like he said these were atypical to me.
you are incorrect, the narrowboat maximum beam is 6ft10 inches to 7ft.there are also restrictions on draft and airheight depending on the canal. wide canal boats will not fit in the narrow canal system. i have thought of building a narrow shanty boat and towing it around with something like the 14ftx7ft benford tug.:)
Just came across your blog, don’t comment on things you know nothing about, a narrowboat is 6ft 10 inches width, 8ft as you day would never fit into a standard size lock
So lovely inside and I love the floor plan. I was curious the first time you wrote about these, are there zoning laws or fees involved?
I owned one of these for a few years, they require a license yearly, mine was about £480.
You probably need to pay for proper mooring as you have to keep moving on every couple of weeks if I remember correctly.
The boat looks awesome. I’ve been on plenty of house boats and they definitely are liveable. Although I’m also curious regarding docking fees.
Because you can’t really park your car anywhere, why would a boat be any different?
My Dad lived aboard a proper narrow boat for 3 years while he did a circular navigation of the English canal system. although narrow they go up to 75 feet in length, although his was 58′ which is the maximum length which will fit in all the canals (forget where the restriction was).
Despite the size it was a very pleasant space to live, he had a wood stove which kept the boat really warm throughout the winter ( it ran central heating off a coil) and it even had a small sized bath.
Wherever he went the view was fantastic , I recall he got stuck somewhere up north for 8 weeks as the canal was closed, it didn’t seem to worry him and he made friends in the nearby village.
You could do worse than visit England in a canal boat.
Looks a lot better on the inside than I expected.
Charming!
As far as I’ve understood “…at your own pace” is limited here in the UK by 4 miles per hour. So, it can take an awful long time to get from South East to, say, near Midlands.
The company linked to in this article offers holidays only, they don’t sell these narrowboats. If you’re really interested in these boats and want to have a look at what’s available, a good place to start is http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/
Prices on that site range from £20,000 to £200,000 and the styles range from basic to luxurious.
Here’s a company that make luxury widebeams new for about 120,000 – http://www.metrofloat.co.uk/
I’d prefer a more personalised look, but it’s interesting to see the vast range of possibilities given the limited space and similar basic floorplans of these boats.
This tiny narrow boat (6’6″ by 40ft, and affordable at about 25,000 GBP) is my personal favourite: http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=178231
If I were in the UK I’d seriously consider buying it! 🙂
Would love if they would purposely build a canal in my neighborhood just so I could buy one of these boats as a home….or better yet…just take the canal floorplan style and do a bunch of canal like trailers in a trailer park….with green, nontoxic materials and it would be ultra COOL!
I live in the UK and my acupuncturist has his office in the front of a narrow boat on the Thames. His wife has a cello studio in the back. It’s a tiny space for sure but they have used space so well it doesn’t feel small. Very relaxing for treatments to be on the water!
narrow boats are the last clutch the english have of a bygone time. Real old english customes and traditional life is a daily occurance.
Just moored our little 40ft narrow boat on the river wey after a two week voyage on the thames and oxford canal.
We bought our little beauty for less than a secondhand car. . . its not expensive at all
No packis on the waterways its like how england should be
Floating home looks so nice inside)) I like this interior a lot!
wow!!!!! really nice. In Bangladesh there is an attractive place named cox’sbazar you can find many small boats with small hut. they are also nice but not have sufficient luxuries feature.