I have! He's not impulsive ... this only came up left field while looking at Rightmove. Appreciate all the input
I’d imagine there’s more places to park a van than moor a narrow boat. There’s a large community of people living in vans in the uk now due to the cost of living and the housing crisis.
I think you have rose tinted glasses. Pensioners with no ties to any particular place maybe but if you are tied to a workplace or a school for your kids both narrowboat and van-life are just dreams or at best exceedingly hard work and precarious.
And Bristol is also finally clamping down on the traveller van-lifers who have camped around the Downs for years
Did I mention he's 6'1"? If work or social keeps him in Bristol then a one bed apartment starter home in the burbs would be best imho
Old boats need continual maintenance. If it's such a brilliant lifestyle why is the seller moving on. As an old shipwright all I ever think about is rotting hull plates. Hopefully @Zed has said enough to put him off.
In a word, Yes ... he's not one to jump in. Likes to check all the angles. Wonder where he got that from.
Like all these things eventually they demand action because a few twots think they have rights and push way past the boundaries. These lifestyles require ducking and diving not confrontation and we duckers get caught up in it.
I'd estimate there are about 100 people living here on leisure moorings. We keep quiet, demand nothing and the council turns a blind eye because if they evicted us they'd then have to house us. Sooner or later some wally will upset the apple cart but so far anyone who thinks they have any kind of rights to anything gets chucked out pronto. By pronto I mean they are refunded unused mooring fees, walked to their boat, untied and pushed off. Good thing too!
All this is where the 'small plot and modest eco self build' kicked in ... he's not a conformist, but knows he has to play the system to some extent ... if he can afford it!
A lot of the problems is the van lifestyle is they don’t help themselves I’m sure if there was 1 or 2 dotted around people wouldn’t mind but when you facing images like this and often in nice areas you can see why people have issues with them most of the roads around the Somerset levels around Glastonbury are the same. This
I would bet a lot of van and boat people would like that too (including me and the boy) but planning permission or lack of makes it a non-starter. We have the cash to do it. I know for a fact that there are quite a few like me around here thwarted by PP. This is the best we can do... almost. I should really be out on the canal but I'm not a nomad.
Exactly this Matty. Way back the peace convoy screwed it up for this lifestyle in a big way. They were like marauding vikings - hit a village, steal everything, scrag peoples chickens, clear out shops and move on. Something had to be done. I was with them one time when the locals petrol bombed them in retaliation.
Mine is indeed overplated @Zed . Hopefully it’s been done well enough. We’ve had the boat 4 years now and done some good mileage when we’ve been away on her. Just recently had a 240 mile round trip . We’ve got a fixed double in the bow. No bow doors tho, just a window so the foot of the bed goes under the bow deck. Ours wasn’t expensive though and we’ve got insurance, albeit Third Party only.
