What Are They Up To Now?

When we set out on our journey to design and build Epiphany one of our considerations was planning her to live on. It was a dream we have had for a number of years, through latter years of hiring and then when we had our share in Twelfth Night.

One of the reasons for buying the share was so we could experience winter cruising and life on the canals when there are not many boats; the weather is cold, wet, foggy etc. We deliberately had holidays in November, December, January, February and March. However as narrow boaters know July can be as cold and wet as March, January can be as warm and pleasant as April! Picnics in November, shorts and T-shirts in February were bonuses as we discovered on Twelfth Night holidays.

We discovered that as long as we had clothes to suit any weather, waterproofs, sturdy shoes and a fairly efficient way of heating the boat we enjoyed cruising whatever the weather. Wet and frozen ropes can be handled without bother with proper gloves. Waterproof leggings are a must; somewhere to dry wet clothes and a warm bed to retire to are vital! Winter on the canal system can be great, despite stoppages, ice, and stray boats across the canal. This is all part of the life on the cut.

We travelled as far as the Huddersfield Narrow and the Leeds & Liverpool canals and down south to the Kennet and Avon and the Thames. More of our travels will eventually be on our website. I am just waiting for the web master to be less busy!

So, did we still want to live on our own narrow boat? You bet! Those of you who followed the build of Epiphany will know we set out on our dream last June.

Actually it started in February, at the show in Birmingham. Everything then seemed to happen very quickly. More of our journey will be on the website in the future so if you are interested keep a look out. For new readers, there are lots of pictures of the build from empty space at the shell builders to journey to the fitters and comprehensive pictorial log of the fit out.

So far we know we have done the right thing for us – Epiphany is our “home from home”. This blog is to whet your appetite for more. We will be updating you with developments soon!