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Adrift: A Secret Life of London's Waterways
After ten years renting expensive rooms in small flats, Helen Babbs swapped bricks and mortar for a boat called ‘Pike’. She now calls London’s canals and rivers her home. Without a permanent mooring, she cruises ever-onwards, cast adrift in a sometimes hostile city.
From deep winter to late autumn, we travel with Helen as she takes us on a tour of London’s canal and river flora, fauna, people and history, revealing intricate details and taking us to places only accessible by boat. Adrift also explores issues relevant to city dwellers across the world: the pressures of urban life, alternative ways of living and the age-old experience of setting up a first home.
Blending autobiography, nature writing and documentary, Adrift invites the reader on an eye-opening journey into a different side of the city.
From deep winter to late autumn, we travel with Helen as she takes us on a tour of London’s canal and river flora, fauna, people and history, revealing intricate details and taking us to places only accessible by boat. Adrift also explores issues relevant to city dwellers across the world: the pressures of urban life, alternative ways of living and the age-old experience of setting up a first home.
Blending autobiography, nature writing and documentary, Adrift invites the reader on an eye-opening journey into a different side of the city.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2016
11 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 26, 2017
I have never lived in a city. I find it a bit difficult to conceive of being more than 5 minutes from open countryside. By foot. But, for millions of people, city life is the norm and it’s tempting to think that these people have no exposure to greenery or wildlife. But get this: an astonishing 47% of London is green space.
I mention this because it is sometimes difficult to think about city life as anything other than urban, built-up, compressed. It is easy to forget that much (almost half) of London is green space and that includes waterways (natural and man-made) that flow across the city in all directions.
This book describes the author’s experience living on those waterways. It is not a romanticised account: she talks freely about the less appetising parts of boat life (you have to get rid of your human waste somehow and you can’t just throw it overboard, so it sits in the boat in special containers until you take them to a sluice and, with nose plugs in, empty them). But, whilst she talk freely about the extremes of heat and cold, the battles with the elements, she also highlights the far closer connection with nature than you would expect for the centre of one of the major cities of the world. There’s a slowness to life on water that contrasts with the rush of the city around them. There’s a direct connection with the natural world as trees, birds, animals become your neighbours. The changing of the seasons, unnoticed by so many around you, are noticeable and important.
I found this a fascinating book to read, showing me a different side to life in London. I’m a country boy who has never lived in a city, as I say, but I do have a couple of trips into London planned and I think I will be taking some time on those trips to look for some of the hidden parts of the city that Babbs discusses in this book and that are, for her, home.
I mention this because it is sometimes difficult to think about city life as anything other than urban, built-up, compressed. It is easy to forget that much (almost half) of London is green space and that includes waterways (natural and man-made) that flow across the city in all directions.
This book describes the author’s experience living on those waterways. It is not a romanticised account: she talks freely about the less appetising parts of boat life (you have to get rid of your human waste somehow and you can’t just throw it overboard, so it sits in the boat in special containers until you take them to a sluice and, with nose plugs in, empty them). But, whilst she talk freely about the extremes of heat and cold, the battles with the elements, she also highlights the far closer connection with nature than you would expect for the centre of one of the major cities of the world. There’s a slowness to life on water that contrasts with the rush of the city around them. There’s a direct connection with the natural world as trees, birds, animals become your neighbours. The changing of the seasons, unnoticed by so many around you, are noticeable and important.
I found this a fascinating book to read, showing me a different side to life in London. I’m a country boy who has never lived in a city, as I say, but I do have a couple of trips into London planned and I think I will be taking some time on those trips to look for some of the hidden parts of the city that Babbs discusses in this book and that are, for her, home.
July 9, 2016
When you think of London, the things that come to mind are the sights, the buses and traffic and the melting pot of people that make this a busy and dynamic city. What I wasn’t aware of is the canals that are still leftover in the capital. These linear watery sanctuaries edge well know parts of the capital and are homes to wildlife and people. When Helen Babbs realises that she would never be able to afford to buy anywhere in London, the idea came to her of owning a narrowboat. Quitting the expensive rented rooms, her partner S. and her purchased a boat called Pike and moved it from the midlands to London.
Deciding forgo a permeant mooring, they spend time in different places in the city, moving on every few weeks or so to another borough. Whilst they never feel that they have settled, it does mean that they wake up to different views on a regular basis. Each area has its own rewards and charm, but they all share the a common theme of being transparent to most Londoners. She takes us on nature walks, trying to find out just how many species actually live along the canal, There is a chapter spent looking for the canals that used to be there, their presence left as ponds, dips and bridges that seem to serve no purpose.
I really enjoyed this; Babbs is an able writer and has drawn together a personal memoir of setting up a home in a narrow boat with elements of history, nature and people with a social commentary on the state of our capital. She has also revealed a hidden side to London, these canals and rivers that most are unaware of have a life and dynamic of their own that deserves to be celebrated.
Deciding forgo a permeant mooring, they spend time in different places in the city, moving on every few weeks or so to another borough. Whilst they never feel that they have settled, it does mean that they wake up to different views on a regular basis. Each area has its own rewards and charm, but they all share the a common theme of being transparent to most Londoners. She takes us on nature walks, trying to find out just how many species actually live along the canal, There is a chapter spent looking for the canals that used to be there, their presence left as ponds, dips and bridges that seem to serve no purpose.
I really enjoyed this; Babbs is an able writer and has drawn together a personal memoir of setting up a home in a narrow boat with elements of history, nature and people with a social commentary on the state of our capital. She has also revealed a hidden side to London, these canals and rivers that most are unaware of have a life and dynamic of their own that deserves to be celebrated.
June 8, 2022
An interesting read about the waterways of London. All told from the point of view of Helen Babbs own journey on her canal boat, Pike.
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November 16, 2025This was the book club pick for August for our work book club.
Adrift is a love letter to Britain’s canals, boating life and nature. In this memoir, the author shares her experience of living aboard the barge ‘Pike’ on the canals in and around London. Throughout, she draws vivid imagery of the surrounding nature and the pockets of wilderness utopia that she has found in the most unexpected of places along the waterways.
This book is unlike anything else I’ve read. It does a little of everything - a history of London, geographical mapping of the canals, insight into boating life, information about botany, wetlands and wildlife, even a dash of politics - and due to the ground that it covers, it has more breadth the depth and feels quite meandering. It also feels like it lacks focus jumping from the experience of emptying the slop buckets from Pike to describing some herbs and plants and their uses. The alternating between different subjects oftentimes felt clumsy and disjointed.
Despite this, I did find it interesting to learn more about boating life as a novice in the subject. Living on a boat can be romanticised by those who have never lived it, seen as a way of escaping the rat race and trappings of modern life. The author shows this but also honestly portrays the challenges and drawbacks of this way of living. She discusses challenges in relation to safety (there’s higher risk of robberies), privacy (being on public pathways means there are always members of the public around, many of whom have no respect for Pike), hygiene (limited running water means no daily showers and emptying your own waste), mechanics (Pike is not just their transport it’s their home, if something goes wrong it’s devastating), accessing services (without a fixed address it can be difficult to access healthcare and other public services), battling the elements (in winter it’s menacingly cold, the water sometimes freezes over) and more. Whilst living on Pike provides a simpler way of living that is more gratifying and self sufficient, the drawbacks were stark and reminded me that this type of living isn’t for everyone (myself included).
The parts that focused on boating life were the most interesting to me and where the book really shone. Over the years, more people have opted for this way of living and I enjoyed learning more about the realities of it. Even if it’s not for me, it’s an interesting way of living and I understand why more people are choosing it, especially in places like London where housing is unaffordable and living costs are extortionate. Babbs does touch on the housing crisis in London and the inaccessibility of housing for first time buyers. Indeed, it’s an issue across the whole of the UK and is again why so many people may be interested in this alternative and more affordable way of living.
Whilst I was interested in the boating content in the book, I did feel my eyes glaze over on numerous occasions, especially during the parts that mapped the canals and the sections that delved into London’s history. I think only people who live in London and/or on the canals in that area would find this interesting. I couldn’t connect to it and did find myself skimming it. But these parts were made up for with the nature segments which I found more immersive. There were descriptions of the wetlands surrounding the canals, little corners of wilderness that the author found during her walks and as a nature lover, I enjoyed that.
I love Babb’s writing style; she has a vivid way of setting the scene and describing the landscape. It’s the writing that enabled me to keep reading even when the content wasn’t particularly engaging.
Overall, this was a unique book that provided insight into boating life and despite finding some sections on the geography and history of London disengaging, I enjoyed learning more about boating life and loved the descriptions of nature and wildlife.
Adrift is a love letter to Britain’s canals, boating life and nature. In this memoir, the author shares her experience of living aboard the barge ‘Pike’ on the canals in and around London. Throughout, she draws vivid imagery of the surrounding nature and the pockets of wilderness utopia that she has found in the most unexpected of places along the waterways.
This book is unlike anything else I’ve read. It does a little of everything - a history of London, geographical mapping of the canals, insight into boating life, information about botany, wetlands and wildlife, even a dash of politics - and due to the ground that it covers, it has more breadth the depth and feels quite meandering. It also feels like it lacks focus jumping from the experience of emptying the slop buckets from Pike to describing some herbs and plants and their uses. The alternating between different subjects oftentimes felt clumsy and disjointed.
Despite this, I did find it interesting to learn more about boating life as a novice in the subject. Living on a boat can be romanticised by those who have never lived it, seen as a way of escaping the rat race and trappings of modern life. The author shows this but also honestly portrays the challenges and drawbacks of this way of living. She discusses challenges in relation to safety (there’s higher risk of robberies), privacy (being on public pathways means there are always members of the public around, many of whom have no respect for Pike), hygiene (limited running water means no daily showers and emptying your own waste), mechanics (Pike is not just their transport it’s their home, if something goes wrong it’s devastating), accessing services (without a fixed address it can be difficult to access healthcare and other public services), battling the elements (in winter it’s menacingly cold, the water sometimes freezes over) and more. Whilst living on Pike provides a simpler way of living that is more gratifying and self sufficient, the drawbacks were stark and reminded me that this type of living isn’t for everyone (myself included).
The parts that focused on boating life were the most interesting to me and where the book really shone. Over the years, more people have opted for this way of living and I enjoyed learning more about the realities of it. Even if it’s not for me, it’s an interesting way of living and I understand why more people are choosing it, especially in places like London where housing is unaffordable and living costs are extortionate. Babbs does touch on the housing crisis in London and the inaccessibility of housing for first time buyers. Indeed, it’s an issue across the whole of the UK and is again why so many people may be interested in this alternative and more affordable way of living.
Whilst I was interested in the boating content in the book, I did feel my eyes glaze over on numerous occasions, especially during the parts that mapped the canals and the sections that delved into London’s history. I think only people who live in London and/or on the canals in that area would find this interesting. I couldn’t connect to it and did find myself skimming it. But these parts were made up for with the nature segments which I found more immersive. There were descriptions of the wetlands surrounding the canals, little corners of wilderness that the author found during her walks and as a nature lover, I enjoyed that.
I love Babb’s writing style; she has a vivid way of setting the scene and describing the landscape. It’s the writing that enabled me to keep reading even when the content wasn’t particularly engaging.
Overall, this was a unique book that provided insight into boating life and despite finding some sections on the geography and history of London disengaging, I enjoyed learning more about boating life and loved the descriptions of nature and wildlife.
May 28, 2018
I struggled with this book- I really wanted to like it but found it uneven. It’s part ‘relationship’ part ‘polemic’ and I struggled to like the narrator, who seemed to argue she shouldn’t pay taxes locally, but wanted that tax money spent to improve her position.
May 5, 2023
Owning a houseboat has been my secret dream for years. Imagining myself living on my own boat has its magic, but dreaming about it is relatively harmless. This book, however, describes what it actually means, and that is something people like me usually don't think about in the first place. I have read a newspaper article, I think it was back in 2012-2013, when they reported skyrocketing rents in London and how many people opted for living a more affordable life on the river. Well, it sounded like a fairytale, but since buying an old house in the countryside, relatively far from the big capital of my country, I have lost many ideals about the boathouse. I too had to keep fire in the boiler, hence I needed to buy wood and coal, go to the forest and collect any odd pieces of wood and pinecones to lessen the atrocious costs for keeping myself and my dogs warm. I wanted to grow my own food, and failed many times beyond counting with gardening due to pests, bad quality soil and pesticides being sprayed onto the cropfield multiple times a year directly behind my garden. At least the rent is now something I don't have to worry about, and since then I inhabited and filled all the rooms within my portion of house with bedroom, craftroom and a small studio for painting. Now, I couldn't squeeze any of that into a tiny boat anymore, and I admire people who still can do it even more. Moreover, I visited an old WWII ship in Brisbane back in 2018 (and that was winter there in Australia!), and almost choked on how hot and stiff the atmosphere was in the belly of that steel beast! Helen Babbs writes so beautifully about exploring the London waterways and their surroundings, discovering how nature reclaimed some areas, how marshes filled with life once more emerged within boundaries of highly industrialized city, and I love her for this passion she decided to share with people around the world in this book. She's honest about the hardships on board, yet she overcame them in her own way. She once again kindled the fire of my dream in me, and I can escape into my magical inner world. Thank you for this opportunity.
August 1, 2024
I live on a boat in a marina in East London. It's not one of the ones featured in Helen Babbs' book about the waterways of London and living on them, but it's near to a lot of the places she mentions in the first chapter of the book. For that reason alone, I had a huge interest in this book.
The time spent afloat that she writes about takes place over ten months in 2016. Many of the things she talks about in the book have changed. Some of the things she talks about and speculates as to how that change will affect boaters. Some of it is as bad as she feared. There is less and less space for boaters, both on permanent moorings and as leisure cruisers. The waterways are being gobbled up by private investors and mooring fees are climbing vertiginously. The Canals and River Trust have less money and as a result, the infrastructure of the waterways is becoming (in some places) less navigable. It's tough.
This is such an interesting book and much of what Babbs talks about is still relevant, particularly the joys and sorrows of the mechanics of actually living on a boat. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it much less so. All, as Babbs points out, requires a shift in perspective from land living.
I started exploring the waterways last year and reading this book has made me want to pick up where I left off and go on a few more adventures. There is still magic out there and I think the evocation of that is something that this book is really good at.
The time spent afloat that she writes about takes place over ten months in 2016. Many of the things she talks about in the book have changed. Some of the things she talks about and speculates as to how that change will affect boaters. Some of it is as bad as she feared. There is less and less space for boaters, both on permanent moorings and as leisure cruisers. The waterways are being gobbled up by private investors and mooring fees are climbing vertiginously. The Canals and River Trust have less money and as a result, the infrastructure of the waterways is becoming (in some places) less navigable. It's tough.
This is such an interesting book and much of what Babbs talks about is still relevant, particularly the joys and sorrows of the mechanics of actually living on a boat. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it much less so. All, as Babbs points out, requires a shift in perspective from land living.
I started exploring the waterways last year and reading this book has made me want to pick up where I left off and go on a few more adventures. There is still magic out there and I think the evocation of that is something that this book is really good at.
August 5, 2018
Beautifully written account of the triumphs and travails of living on a house boat without a set mooring on the canals of London. This magical account has much fascinating information on the history of The River and The Cuts, which once extended 4,000 miles. A bibliography and Endnotes follow the memoir and will provide much rich terrain for further exploration. The Puppet Barge and the books referenced all seem worth seeking out, too. Bravo to Helen Babbs for a thoroughly original and most provocative view of London.
January 18, 2021
I enjoyed this bohemian account of life on a wandering houseboat in the canals and rivers of London, much more than the last London travel book I read ("London Overground" by Iain Sinclair). Helen Babbs and her boyfriend spent a year moving once a fortnight from mooring to mooring exploring the inland waterways, the wildlife and city life, of the capital. On the way, they developed and strengthened their own relationship.
I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who thinks that canals are boring or that narrowboating is only for retired actors and their generation!
I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who thinks that canals are boring or that narrowboating is only for retired actors and their generation!
October 15, 2017
A fab book about narrowboating around and across London. This book is full of stories about narrowboating, the canal network, london and wildlife. I have been impressed by Helen's excellent writing style and her very vivid descriptions that border on the philosophical and poetic. This is the best book about narrowboating that I have read so far.
January 9, 2018
After months of waiting for this book to come to the library, I was sorely disappointed -- it was more of a tour of Londons obscure waterways than a delightful portrayal of living on a boat. Such a switch from her previous novel of her rooftop garden in London throughout the seasons which motivated me to wait for this one. A disppointing read, I did not finish it.
January 16, 2018
Very enjoyable read about life on a boat travelling the canals and backwaters of London. What had started as a solution to the high costs of renting in the capital, it soon became a way of life. Unable to find a suitable permanent mooring site it was necessary to move the boat every two weeks. The writing is quite lyrical at times and a interesting insight to living on water.
November 26, 2022
Journalist Helen Babbs purchases a live-aboard barge with her partner and they take to the canals around London. She weaves together the everyday realities of living aboard with the history of the canal system and the way that their presence reflects both the commerce of the city as well as the natural places. A beautifully written book.
December 14, 2022
i really enjoyed this book. it was a fantastic, honest piece of nature writing but also candid and real. i love reading about narrowboats and their owners and have read a few books about them recently.
this book was super interesting and i learnt a lot about londons waterways, wildlife and the area where the olympic park now is was particularly interesting to me.
this book was super interesting and i learnt a lot about londons waterways, wildlife and the area where the olympic park now is was particularly interesting to me.
September 30, 2023
Not as smooth a read as my garden the city and me but still enjoyable. She doesn't hold back about the difficulties of living on a boat in London but still gives it a dreamy sense at times.
As always with Helen babbs it contains lots of facts about the subject matter (in this case the canal) the flora, fauna and history. Her interest in a range of topics shining throughout
As always with Helen babbs it contains lots of facts about the subject matter (in this case the canal) the flora, fauna and history. Her interest in a range of topics shining throughout
January 9, 2026
I bought this book in London,England from a bookstore on a barge in the middle of the city. It was a lovely non-fiction journey through the canals of the city. Actually, it was a hard look at what it is like to make your home on a narrowboat and live on the canals and rivers within London. Not an easy life. But it was a good read.
April 18, 2021
Very much an example of good journal writing. Keeping on the shelf as an example of great writing, despite my not knowing much about boats and having a strong dislike of cities! If you enjoy both of these things, it'll be a treat for you.
May 13, 2021
I’ve always enjoyed walking along the canal towpaths near my home(s), and it’s often one of the first things I do when returning home to the UK. London has more than 100 miles of canal, and this memoir of canal boat living is a great no-holds-barred realistic look at life on the water.
June 20, 2018
This is a book that drifts through the topics of London regeneration, nature on the edge of the city,the dark and light sides of the canal and relationships forged through boat living.
March 30, 2018
If you know London, this book will reveal a different city. If you are captivated by waterside living, these pages will enhance that fantasy but also make the practical demands of life on a boat alarmingly clear.
The writer and her partner set out to solve the housing problems which afflict so many Londoners: high rents for small flats; purchase unaffordable for first time buyers. The price for a secondhand boat was within reach and they became property-owners (though without a permanent mooring).
Helen Babbs describes the boat with great affection, sharing the pleasure of a candle-lit evening by the wood-burning stove. But she does not hold back in her accounts of baling out leaks, looking for the scarce towpath water-taps to refill the tank, or emptying the cassettes (small tanks which contain accumulated waste from the toilet). The couple grow to value their self-reliance in dealing with the practicalities of their home.
It’s a home which they have to move on at intervals, with the benefit of getting to know other districts. Wild-life, whether cormorants or swans, snakes or beetles, and the great variety of plants which the writer sets out to find and log, are surprising elements of these city wanderings.
Security is an issue. Going back to the boat after an evening out may require a walk across empty land with no lighting. At the mooring, there are no barriers which deter a passer-by from jumping on the roof of the vessel and trying to steal the life-belt.
But the couple have wider interests than just their personal safety and comfort. Throughout the https://www.goodreads.com/review/list..., the author sets the situation of the itinerant boat-dweller in the context of life generally in the city. The couple, with no postal address, do not pay council-tax,, although the facilities boat-dwellers need are provided by the councils. The changing situation of the wild-life which lives alongside the canals affects the lives of all the city-dwellers.. Helen Babbs knows that the management of the city’s water-ways (involving waste disposal, planning decisions, communal land and bird-colonies) is important for all Londoners.
This picture of life on the water is written in beautiful prose. The volume itself is unusually well-produced, with end papers providing hand-drawn maps of the waterways and the neighbourhoods they meander through. The paper,font and individual page-layout are admirable choices. The whole is highly-recommended.
The writer and her partner set out to solve the housing problems which afflict so many Londoners: high rents for small flats; purchase unaffordable for first time buyers. The price for a secondhand boat was within reach and they became property-owners (though without a permanent mooring).
Helen Babbs describes the boat with great affection, sharing the pleasure of a candle-lit evening by the wood-burning stove. But she does not hold back in her accounts of baling out leaks, looking for the scarce towpath water-taps to refill the tank, or emptying the cassettes (small tanks which contain accumulated waste from the toilet). The couple grow to value their self-reliance in dealing with the practicalities of their home.
It’s a home which they have to move on at intervals, with the benefit of getting to know other districts. Wild-life, whether cormorants or swans, snakes or beetles, and the great variety of plants which the writer sets out to find and log, are surprising elements of these city wanderings.
Security is an issue. Going back to the boat after an evening out may require a walk across empty land with no lighting. At the mooring, there are no barriers which deter a passer-by from jumping on the roof of the vessel and trying to steal the life-belt.
But the couple have wider interests than just their personal safety and comfort. Throughout the https://www.goodreads.com/review/list..., the author sets the situation of the itinerant boat-dweller in the context of life generally in the city. The couple, with no postal address, do not pay council-tax,, although the facilities boat-dwellers need are provided by the councils. The changing situation of the wild-life which lives alongside the canals affects the lives of all the city-dwellers.. Helen Babbs knows that the management of the city’s water-ways (involving waste disposal, planning decisions, communal land and bird-colonies) is important for all Londoners.
This picture of life on the water is written in beautiful prose. The volume itself is unusually well-produced, with end papers providing hand-drawn maps of the waterways and the neighbourhoods they meander through. The paper,font and individual page-layout are admirable choices. The whole is highly-recommended.
June 27, 2022
Enjoyment ★★★★☆
Writing Style ★★★☆☆
Content ★★★★☆
Authority ★★★★☆
Writing Style ★★★☆☆
Content ★★★★☆
Authority ★★★★☆
March 14, 2021
The premise of this book is simple enough. Babbs and her partner live on a barge on the London canals, and she describes a year in their life - which provided me with the perfect escapism during lockdown. As a child, I always wanted to live on a houseboat, and it was good to read about both the upsides and downsides of it. In no way does Babbs romanticise her way of life - it can be too cold, or too hot, you have to think about every bit of energy or water that you use, people use your boat as public property, you're on the move all the time, and of course there's the upkeep - but the picture that emerges is still very quaint and lovely. It probably has to do with the off-the-grid, eccentric aspect to it, which is hard to come by these days (not in the least because these lifestyles are so often 'straightened-out' or made impossible by planning and regulations). And London takes on a whole different, unfamiliar, yet exciting shape, viewing it from its waterways.
'Adrift' is not simply a day-by-day account. Sure, Babbs does describe 'days in the life', but other chapters zoom in on just one particular aspect of her lifestyle, and she takes little side-trips to talk about nature, the changing of the seasons, or the history of the canals. Her writing style is beautiful, lyrical/poetic in parts, and slightly philosophical - much more profound than I had expected. It fully re-kindled my childhood dream.
'Adrift' is not simply a day-by-day account. Sure, Babbs does describe 'days in the life', but other chapters zoom in on just one particular aspect of her lifestyle, and she takes little side-trips to talk about nature, the changing of the seasons, or the history of the canals. Her writing style is beautiful, lyrical/poetic in parts, and slightly philosophical - much more profound than I had expected. It fully re-kindled my childhood dream.
October 13, 2016
A really well written books that is both a story of the waterways and a story about living aboard.
June 3, 2016
A beautiful, wonderful book full of atmosphere.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews