Originally from a village called Littleport (Near Cambridge), I was brought up in Chester in the North West when I was 6 or 7. I went to Queens Park High School and left after my GCSEs to go to West Cheshire College to do a BTEC National Diploma in Computing which I got a Distinction for.
Boat being surveyed at Gayton Marina
I decided to go back down south for university and went to Anglia Ruskin University to do a BSc (Hons). I achieved a 1st class degree and wrote my Dissertation on Active Badges designing a small PHP based mapping/tracking system.
Whilst at university, myself and my (now) Wife, Hannah, decided to invest in some property together but couldn’t afford it. So, prompted by yet another property program that featured boats, we decided that we should do the same. We read up on it and then decided to go looking at a few Narrowboats around the country.
Later that week we had bought one and were happily chugging it home from Gayton Marina in Northampton to Orchard Marina in Northwich. It took three or four weekends and a albeit a few mishaps we got it back in one piece. The boat was a bit of a mess and very dated (hence the price) so I decided to completely refit it over one of my summers from university. It was never entirely finished but nothing DIY related ever is!
The second Boat on the way to it's new mooring
After a while and once the refit was complete we decided to move out of the marina and get a new ‘inline’ mooring in Barbridge outside of Crewe. By this time we were both working in or around Crewe to it was a good move. We stayed there for a year or so and then decided to get a newer bigger boat.
We got one and luckily sold the old one about the same time although the marina we were in didn’t have any large enough moorings. We moved to another inline mooring near Northwich just outside Weaverham on the Trent and Mersey. This boat was large enough for pets so we decided to get two rabbits which lived in the saloon area (although sometimes escaped and started demolishing the rest of the boat).
We got married in summer 2007 and went to St Tropez for our honeymoon. When we got back we decided that both the commute from Northwich and an inadequate fire were too much so we bought a house in Crewe. We have now been there for nearly 3 years with 2 tortoises and a cat.
I have picked up quite a few things over the years in woodwork, plumbing, 12 volt electronics and general DIY skills. I am now a bit of a boat fanatic although have moved into Sailing more recently. I happily bore people to tears with our exploits at any and all gatherings.
