I love narrow boats and the freedom to go more or less anywhere on the waterways. We have shares in two different boats but some day the dream would be to own outright a boat of our own.
I especially love the rich social and industrial history dating from the time when whole families would live about in a living space of about 10 foot. They worked so hard moving loads around from town to town.
I like to see the remains of rope marks on bridges left by barges that were pulled by horses. The photo below is of one of the rare rope rollers which were occasionally placed to protect the brickwork from rope damage.
There's also the folk artwork that adorned the boats since they painted them with bright colours and designs of roses and castles.
Today I appreciate the peace and quiet of the canals and the wildlife. I've seen swans and ducks, moorhen and coots as well as kingfishers and herons and even the occasional water vole or bats at dusk. This picture is of a swan with it's nest, you can see there's an egg in the nest.
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I have never been lucky enough to own a boat but I do love walking down a canal. They really do head off in to the remotest parts of the countryside once they leave the towns and cities.
@MrAverage1965 definitely a good place to start. Try to hire one with bow thrusters as they are easier to steer. Also avoid electric as they are too light and get blown around too much. 60ft or smaller is best, bigger boats are harder in locks.
