A COUPLE ditched their high-flying jobs in London to travel the UK on a narrowboat, and they’ve “never been happier”.
Joanna and Victor Gould left their corporate jobs in London to travel the lengths and breadths of the UK on a canal boat.
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The couple were working as freelance TV editors and had a combined salary of £150k, but they were fed up of their lengthy commutes and long work weeks.
When they met, Victor had previously owned one boat and was having another one built.
Joanna said: “He was so passionate about narrowboat life and I was so intrigued, but I never thought I’d be living on a boat too.”
Buying their boat in 2015, which they lovingly nicknamed Zero, the couple spent over one year and £30,000 renovating the vessel.
After moving into the boat in 2017, they tried to keep their London jobs but the commute become unsustainable.
Victor said: “We’d be getting up at 6am for the two-hour commute that consisted of paddling to the river bank from the boat, walking to the train station, and then from the station to work.”
In 2019, the couple left their corporate roles and started uploading videos about their UK travel adventures on their YouTube channel.
Joanna said: “Our life now, compared to the city, is so much better because now we are open to a more wholesome pace of life.”
While the couple still have long days, they prefer living for themselves rather than being on a company clock.
She added: “On a boat we have to make sure the water is topped up, making sure we have the diesel for the Aga.”
In April 2021, the pair transformed a second boat into a cafe, known as Holly The Cafe Boat
Victor said: “It means we’re able to give back to the communities that we travel to through barista coffee and conversations with locals.
“It’s lovely when people recognise us from our social media because it’s like we know them already.”
The canal boat coffee shop is open seasonally from 10am until 3pm where the couple take it in turns to serve up teas, coffees and cakes to their customer.
Joanna and Victor also travel with their one-year-old son William who remains a firm favourite among their online fans.
Victor said: “We’re so thankful that he’s having this childhood, not two parents working all hours in the city.’
“He loves nature and his first work was ‘duck’.
“We’re able to spend lots of family time and people who come to the cafe always get a smile off him.”
The family of three use Chesire as their main base, but spend their time exploring towns and cities in the UK.
Joanna and Victor have now visited over 50 locations in the UK including Coventry, Cheshire, South West London, Macclesfield and Oxford.
Iain and Brioni Cameron, a couple from Scotland, gave up their boring lives to sail around the Caribbean on a catamaran.
Another couple have saved £1,000 a month after switching their Hertfordshire flat for a boat.
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