Nine years ago, our lives felt drastically different. Our four kids had flown the nest, our beloved dog Charlie had passed away, and our house, where we’d lived for 20 years, suddenly felt empty. Glenn, after 15 stressful years running his own business, was ready for a change. We knew we needed a big shift, but we weren’t quite sure what that looked like.
In 2016, we took the plunge. We sold our house (it went quickly!) and, after some gentle persuasion on my part, we got rid of almost all our possessions. It was liberating, if a little scary. We were homeless, in a way, but thankfully, Glenn’s sister Debbie generously offered us a place to stay while we figured things out.
We ended up living with Debbie for over a year. Then, completely out of the blue, we decided to buy a narrowboat! Neither of us had ever even been on one before, but the idea just clicked. We found a project boat, a 45ft cruiser stern called Breeze, built in 1980 by Binley Engineers. The purchase took four long months, but eventually, we navigated her from Alvechurch to Northampton Marina, our new home.
We loved boat life! Glenn spent his time renovating Breeze, and we settled into a peaceful rhythm. Then, our friend Wendy from the YouTube channel, Life in a Nutshell, came for coffee. She was about to embark on an ocean adventure and needed to sell her 70ft boat, also called Nutshell, quickly. By the end of our coffee, we’d bought it! We sold Breeze and moved onto Nutshell, staying at Northampton Marina until April 2019.
From Northampton, we moved to Campbell Wharf Marina in Milton Keynes, enjoying another happy chapter. After some time there, we were offered an off-grid mooring with a garden near Ivinghoe on the Grand Union Canal. It was idyllic.
But in 2021, we decided to return to dry land, at least for a while. We sold Nutshell and bought a smaller 30ft boat called Teal, and a static caravan in Brixham. For the past couple of years, we’ve been living a nomadic life, splitting our time between the two.
Now, in February 2025, we’re ready to put down roots and become part of a community. We’re in the process of buying a flat in Totnes, a beautiful Devon market town, and a brand new 35ft narrowboat! This year is shaping up to be an exciting one, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.
