What do you think?
Rate this book
Narrowboat Life: Discover Life Afloat on the Inland Waterways
'A colourful and comprehensive guide to life on the waterways. Practical, pretty and accessible, it's charmingly designed while providing excellent advice.'
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Full-time life on a narrowboat is a novelty for so many of us, and is endlessly fascinating. How do people downsize their lives and belongings into what looks like a large, crayon-coloured floating toy-box? Narrowboat Life answers all the questions we've wanted to ask about the ins and outs of liveaboard life on the inland waterways.
The book is filled with beautiful, enthralling photography of the waterways themselves, the narrowboats that occupy them and, most importantly, every nook and cranny of their insides. Should you become seduced, the author gives solid hands-on advice about how to make a narrowboat (or widebeam, cruiser or small Dutch barge) your home.
Accompanying these absorbing images, the playful and always informative text satisfies our curiosity to know, among other
· How do you fit all of your stuff into such a restricted space?
· How much does a narrowboat cost?
· How do you hold down a job if you're always on the move?
· Does s/he (the cat, dog, parrot) live on the boat as well?
· Is it cold in the winter?
This revised edition of Narrowboat Life features new and expanded sections on ecological living on the waterways – recycling, upcycling and living green – and the costs of living aboard in cities and countryside versus living on-land, as well as new 'step-aboard' profiles of more beautiful boats.
BBC Countryfile Magazine
Full-time life on a narrowboat is a novelty for so many of us, and is endlessly fascinating. How do people downsize their lives and belongings into what looks like a large, crayon-coloured floating toy-box? Narrowboat Life answers all the questions we've wanted to ask about the ins and outs of liveaboard life on the inland waterways.
The book is filled with beautiful, enthralling photography of the waterways themselves, the narrowboats that occupy them and, most importantly, every nook and cranny of their insides. Should you become seduced, the author gives solid hands-on advice about how to make a narrowboat (or widebeam, cruiser or small Dutch barge) your home.
Accompanying these absorbing images, the playful and always informative text satisfies our curiosity to know, among other
· How do you fit all of your stuff into such a restricted space?
· How much does a narrowboat cost?
· How do you hold down a job if you're always on the move?
· Does s/he (the cat, dog, parrot) live on the boat as well?
· Is it cold in the winter?
This revised edition of Narrowboat Life features new and expanded sections on ecological living on the waterways – recycling, upcycling and living green – and the costs of living aboard in cities and countryside versus living on-land, as well as new 'step-aboard' profiles of more beautiful boats.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
Published July 2, 2019
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2025
Written and photographed (and also designed?) by a guy who lives on a narrowboat, this is both a beautiful coffee-table-style book and an in-depth guide to narrowboat living. I skimmed the parts where he got (metaphorically) "in the weeds" about the latter: how much narrowboats cost, the types of engines, how much it costs to live on them, how to insulate them, how to live "greener" on them, etc.
I especially enjoyed his profiles of several well-appointed narrowboats (including his own), including lots of photos and in-depth descriptions of each profiled boat from stem to stern. I got interested in British canal boats after watching Robbie Cumming's Canal Boat Diaries on BBC Select on Apple+, and Robbie's boat is pretty "rough and ready," in contrast to these, which looked straight out of a narrowboat design magazine (if there was such a thing).
I especially enjoyed his profiles of several well-appointed narrowboats (including his own), including lots of photos and in-depth descriptions of each profiled boat from stem to stern. I got interested in British canal boats after watching Robbie Cumming's Canal Boat Diaries on BBC Select on Apple+, and Robbie's boat is pretty "rough and ready," in contrast to these, which looked straight out of a narrowboat design magazine (if there was such a thing).
October 11, 2019
Inspiring sneak peek into a narrowboat life. It is not very focused on practical tips, but rather shares author's experience in general for interested folks. Recommended if you want to understand how narrowboat life goes and evaluate if it fits your lifestyle.
January 3, 2026
Something different for the start of the year and it wasn’t a disappointment. Beautiful photos and a look inside the cabin both literally and metaphorically for anyone interested in narrowboat living.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews