Bream

The question of whether I would live afloat “forever” has come up quite regularly over the past 24 years. I very quickly came up with an answer, which I’ve repeated many times – “I’ll do it until something more interesting comes along.”

About 5 years ago, the answer changed. I said to people who asked, that I didn’t see myself living on Bream in another decade. It was the start of a thought process that has gone in and out of my mind ever since. I wasn’t actively looking, but I wasn’t actively ignoring either.

The previous article I added on here was written on the 29th January, at the end of my first day of boating this year. I’m typing this on 26th December, at the end of (probably) the last day of boating this year.

After assorted challenges, I’ve finally been back on the move this weekend, but with no firm plan beyond where I wanted to end up today. The Caldon has a stoppage beginning tomorrow and I wanted to get past that, back onto the Trent & Mersey.

This final part of my review of 2022 boating, I explore a bit of canal I’ve never seen before, fail to get to my favourite waterway and end up on very familiar territory

In this fourth section of my review of 2022 boating adventures, I am finally ready to head north from my temporary marina mooring. Shortages of water over the summer had led to unprecedented closures of several canals, with talk of more to follow.

Such fun this boating lark. Turns out I have tendon damage after what I thought was a trivial slip in Warwick a fortnight ago, but was getting more painful by the day/lock (and there has been 89 of them since it happened.)

In this second part of my review of last year’s boating (mis)adventures, things go wrong pretty much straight away and it slowly dawns that anything vaguely resembling a plan is going out of the window.

As the new calendar year starts, my 22nd year on Bream has just come to a close. I thought it might be interesting to summarise what has been one of the most challenging years of all.

The run up the 26 locks from Wheelock to Kidsgrove is never dull, the paired locks always add interest and of course it’s always a guessing game which ones will be closed this time.

Edit: This trip took place over a few days in November 2022, starting in Wheelock on a Sunday afternoon, then moving at first light each day, before settling down at my desk to work.

That and toilets really. Those are the things people ask about first when they find out you live on a boat. I’ve long had a stock (and true) answer which is that it being too hot in summer is a much harder thing to deal with.