Bacchus

The ULEZ expansion? Mostly goes out to the M25 (not Runnymede and a couple of other "non-London" boroughs), including - hilariously - the roads around Heathrow... so "polluter pays" if you want to turn up at the airport in your 8 year old VW polo, but not if you then get on a whacking great A380 which will either take off or land over central London... Not having 3.5m would put me off buying it... (and of course, now that that nice Mr Hunt has said that he will increase the lifetime pension allowance to 1.8m to encourage me to work harder (and not as a tax-bonus to wealthy cronies and backers), I will have to consider very carefully what I do with my spare millions) And the houseboats are actually quite nice if you cruise past them - that is a great stretch of the river.

Sold for 1.5m... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64840625

OMG - I use a kettle all the time on my boat and in the van! I never realised how dangerous it was!! (mind you, I use an electric kettle via the inverter, is that safer?)

All the pancakes will be burnt, which is why it's called Ash Wednesday!

"Baby on board"? what will they think of next...???

Apparently it isn't just canal boats that are too wide for the infrastructure... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64717605 "Two top Spanish transport officials have resigned over a botched order for new commuter trains that cost nearly €260m ($275m; £230m)."

As others have said, long-term I would try to keep a toe in the bricks and mortar market. It might go up and down a bit, but the long-term trend is more likely to be up (nothing guaranteed). I am in a not completely dissimilar position, the principal difference being that the increase in base-rates has affected my ability to meet my obligations... I could possibly go back into the city, but am semi-retired and enjoying my life 🙂; I have been able to care for my mother for the last few years, and I've written a couple of novels so -- getting to the point -- one thing I am considering doing is "air b 'n b-ing" my house for the summer and splitting my time between boat, camper, and mother's house; would a similar model work for you? Sell the glam-pad, release the equity, buy a place that would make a good holiday-type home and perhaps a more modest boat?

That's knit funny

To be fair, with the feet flattened by years on the beat, he should have been a pretty good swimmer... Not sure that it appeels though.

That's awkward. You'll never get a copper out with a sea-magnet...

Hi @Robby789, I think your plan sounds perfectly feasible - familiarise yourself with the resources that @Bod mentions - the C and RT site also has a very useful list of available moorings and the prices which might help you to decide where you want to be. Another factor - you mentioned getting a "little" job like supermarket etc. - look for a mooring near an Aldi, they are supposed to be one of the best payers and one of the best to work for

Ahem... wouldn't Brexit have killed living in Ireland too? Or are there enough inland waterways in Northern Ireland?

Very bad form to bury the spout of the pump in the beer! That's the problem. If the spout doesn't touch the glass or the beer (which it shouldn't) then there is no risk of transfer of germs. Of course it happens a lot, especially with keg beer, as it's much easier to stop a lively keg beer from frothing up if you bury the spout, and if you're worried about risk of infection you should probably follow the bartender into the khazi to check that he/she washes their hands properly... this could lead to embarrassment depending on the combination of customer/bartender gender.

Yes, I was referring to the Three Horseshoes. It is a couple of hundred yards from the river, but there is a good 48-hour public mooring where you could leave the "runabout" boat (unless it's full of over-staying narrowboats/barges, which does happen sometimes...

Well some people treat an opening offer as an "expression of interest" and a cue to begin negotiations. Personally, if people come in too low as a starter, I refuse to negotiate with them, but you never know... I have friends who live down that road - it is very much a community so, no, not for hermits. The plus side is that you do get invited to a lot of parties, and the pub opposite is very nice, although, again, I suspect some might object to the prices... it isn't cheap. Good food, good beer, very friendly staff, but not cheap.

Well if you turned up with 425k in cash I'm sure they'd talk to you... 😇 It may seem a lot, but it's pretty good value for where it is. Lovely spot. Parking. Mains services, and the mooring has been camp-shed (that's about forty grand's worth these days!) One of which will almost certainly flood... The water down there had been up by a metre for the last week Yeah, me too. I have got cash... about thirty quid.

More modest river-side properties are available... this one near me looks quite sweet https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129840893#

That house has been on the market for aeons Something puts people off

I have two "boat" boats - I sold the steel cruiser and took a 27' GRP in p/ex, so have that (nice boat actually) and a trailer-sailer, plus a kayak (inflatable) and a tinker "funsail" dinghy which I use as a tender for the motorhome/camper... I should probably update my avatar