FANCY A PUNT?

Canal converts Steve and Bex Brew are ready to move on after a long restoration – but their completed project will not be going up for sale.

With the aim of passing on what they see as a dream lifestyle, the liveaboards have launched a raffle for their narrowboat with tickets going for £5.

“We have loved the sense of community we have found on the canal and hope that this idea will make it achievable to another individual or couple who might not otherwise be able to realise this dream lifestyle,” said Steve.

“We meet lots of people along the towpath when we take our boat out and in our day-to-day lives who tell us how much they would love this lifestyle, from young professionals to older retired people, dog walkers and families. They tell us how they too peek through people’s windows, how they wander along the canals and wonder what it would be like as a new way of life?

“We find in these conversations that it’s generally finances and a step into the unknown that keep people from pursuing this dream.”

The couple met as teenagers on the Isle of Man and grew up around the island’s beaches, so the call of the water was instilled at an early age. And despite work demands, they were drawn to the towpath wherever house moves took them.

“We often talked on these walks about how we felt by the water, more peaceful and calm and the quirky narrowboats became a daily topic of conversation,” said Steve.