One of the most popular question I get asked about my life on the canals is "what do you do with your car?" The answer, in a nutshell, is that the boat and the car move independently of one another - and I either go on ahead of the boat with the car, waiting for Drew to catch me up, or after a day's cruising, I cycle back to get the car. Often arrangements are a little more complicated - and can depend on if there is parking where we hope to moor, if there is any public transport that I can use, or if the towpath is suitable for cycling. Some people live aboard their boats without having a car - but for our work it's pretty much essential. When we first moved onto the boat we tried life without a car, but after 3 months we gave up.
Our trusty Fiesta gave up the ghost in February and she was replaced by a not-so-trusty Escort. Ugly, rusty, but cheap, we took a risk - and were burned (in more ways than one - the one thing the car COULD be depended on was to overheat!). She lasted just over two months before dying in a blaze (almost) of glory.
...and so we've welcomed a new member of the family - a lovely blue van - great for lugging stuff around - and hopefully a bit more dependable. We also learned a valuable lesson - you need to spend more than £350 on a car if you expect it to last more than 2 months. Clever mechanics amongst you might disagree, but I'm not clever and I'm not a mechanic and I'll be damned if I'm ever going to make the same mistake again!
As one journey ends, another begins. Birmingham - Antigonish - and all points in between
