You would be forgiven for thinking life on a boat in the depths of winter may be extremely cold. After all, many do not enjoy luxuries such as double glazing or top quality insulation.
But the boating community in one area of Nottinghamshire say these misconceptions could not be further from the truth. Established in 1884, Beeston Marina boast a museum, beer garden, cafe and much more.
Martin Henson, 51, lives on his boat the George and Dragon with his wife and dog. They have lived on the Rylands for 6 years, in the winter months, however, his boat doesn’t get that cold.
READ MORE: The 'ladies-only' taxi service of the 90s that went a bit Carry On Cabby
Martin said: “We originally had a fuel fire which was messy and stunk of smoke, my wife works at QMC too so you can imagine working in a hospital and smelling of smoke isn’t the best. Now for our heating, we use diesel which is ideal, less mess and better for the environment.
“In the winter, it isn’t that cold, we have single-glazed windows but what I do is I put a plastic sheet over them and that keeps it warmer.
“Me and my wife both work but there are boaters who are on benefits and they struggle heating their boats.” Speaking more about the Beeston Ryland community, Martin, who grew up in a Nottinghamshire mining village, said the two are similar.
Martin continued: “People are friendly here. Tony [a local cafe owner] is a pinnacle of the community, he’s great. If there's anyone that’s ever away, you’ll keep an eye on their boat and then give them a bell to let them know everything’s okay.”
Moving on to the boat in December, 2016, Martin said: “There’s something cathartic about getting rid of everything. You don’t realise how much you don’t need until you live on a boat. “Why would we need a TV when we can open the curtains and see the beautiful willow trees?”
“One misconception about living on a boat is that you either have loads of money or no money, there’s no middle, but we are the middle bit.”
Local owner of the Boathouse Cafe, Tony Gayle, isn’t one of the boaters, but lives on site. Tony said: “It’s lovely here, we have the best community. We’ve been here 16 years and survived the credit crunch.”
The Boathouse Cafe has won The Best Riverside Cafe (2017) and the World Cup of Parkrun Cafe (2021), where it beat cafes in the running, worldwide.
Tony continued: “We’re known mostly for our breakfasts, we have the best breakfast in Beeston. We do a full English, a vegetarian breakfast and a gluten free breakfast.
“There’s a lady that comes all the way from Selby for breakfast.” With dozens of boaters at the Rylands, there are many streets surrounding the marina too.
George Hollis lives near the marina in Beeston. Now retired, George, 71 said: “It’s a nice area to live in, I like to have a walk early in the morning and late in the afternoon and seeing the fishermen get ready, getting all their gear out and having chats with dog walkers is what I do.”
“The boaters have never given anyone any problems. Although it’s not my way of living, I commend it.”
Sue Jared, 59 lives near the marina. Sue works in a charity shop and has lived in the same place for 25 years.
She said: “It’s a beautiful walking spot around here, there are so many different places to walk in the summer, it's a gorgeous place to live and there’s a corner shop around the corner which is handy and the tearoom and boat cafe.”
READ NEXT:
