As romantic abodes go, it doesn’t get much more idyllic than a houseboat. Whether on the winding canals of Amsterdam, in sleepy enclaves along the Thames or on the shore of Lake Dal in Kashmir, houseboat living conjures a magical world...
As romantic abodes go, it doesn’t get much more idyllic than a houseboat. Whether on the winding canals of Amsterdam, in sleepy enclaves along the Thames or on the shore of Lake Dal in Kashmir, houseboat living conjures a magical world free of constraints where you can cast off at will. Taking to the waterways is reminiscent of childhood fantasies, from The Wind in the Willows to Swallows and Amazons, as well as saccharine romantic comedies including Cary Grant-Sophia Loren vehicle Houseboat (1958) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).
The Thames is an increasingly sought-after home for those tired of living surrounded by bricks and mortar; communities from Hammersmith to Little Venice, Canary Wharf to Regent’s Canal are thriving, and have been homes over the years to a host of mavericks: Nick Cave and Damien Hirst owned houseboats on the river in Chelsea, while David Gilmour of Pink Floyd manned a floating recording studio near Hampton. Houseboats are also mini-architectural feats, and London’s waterways are a hodge-podge of gypsy-style narrow boats, boxy Dutch barges, rusting sea vessels and custom-made water-homes. Photographer Retts Wood, who lives on a houseboat in London and appeared in hers in the current issue of AnOther Magazine, fell under the spell of the waterways seven years ago. “An old friend showed me his new houseboat and I fell in love with it. My friends and I spent that summer with him and his neighbours cruising up the Thames, mooring in the countryside and swimming in the river, and by the time I got back to London I’d started to look for a boat of my own.”Even though she is moored in an industrial area, her connection to nature is strong: “Spring always brings a new season of ducklings; a cormorant and a heron battle for supremacy in high summer; and one year a mallard nested on my front deck. When I get out onto the street I’m in one of the busiest, most populated parts of London, but standing on my back deck I feel like I could be very far from the city.”
“Spring always brings a new season of ducklings; a cormorant and a heron battle for supremacy in high summer; and one year a mallard nested on my front deck."
Perhaps what is most romantic about houseboat living is the sense of self-reliance, of living the good life on your own terms. “There’s a disconnect in city life, between what you need and how you get it,” says Wood. “Warmth and hot water and electricity are just there, and then there’s a bill at the end of the month. Somehow, being more aware of having to make them happen makes them more precious, and there’s an added pleasure to the warmth of a fire when you spent the morning collecting kindling for it.” And when it comes to holidays, there’s no need to board a plane; Wood takes her home up the Thames in summer with other boat-owning friends. And if she could cast off to any place in the world? “I’d like to take my boat down the Danube for the summer, and visit all those amazing places taking my little home with me. Followed by the Mekong, the Ganges…” Anchors aweigh…
Text by Laura Allsop
