Boater

A Life on England's Waterways

Author:	Jo Bell
Published:	2025
Format:	Hardback, 304 pages
Size:	222 × 141 × 29 mm

£16⁹⁹

Tax included

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Portrait of life aboard England's waterways

Jo Bell shares twenty years of canal life with wit, insight and warmth. A personal, poetic memoir of the waterborne communities of England’s inland routes.

Boater: A Life on England's Waterways is a mesmerising voyage along the tranquil waterways of England, written by former UK Canal Laureate, Jo Bell.

‘It's not a lifestyle. It's a life.’

For over twenty years, Jo Bell, archaeologist and poet, has travelled the waterways of England (and sometimes Wales) meeting extraordinary people in an extraordinary environment. It’s a journey that's taught her about human nature, including her own; about rope and Brasso and bravery; about ducks and locks, and above all, about the necessity for a constant supply of biscuits.

In this smart, funny memoir she describes an alternative nation within a nation, a place of different maps and deep history, and home to people who live and work in a world quite separate from the land a few feet away on the banks.

Always at home, always on the move, Jo's peaceful life is interrupted when a turbulent relationship takes her on a year-long odyssey through tranquil waters and on to the treacherous Bristol Channel. Join her as she navigates shallow waters and deep trouble, and welcomes readers onboard a remarkable voyage through the past, present and future of our remarkable canals and the communities they support.

Praise for Boater

"A vivid, illuminating account of canal history."

— Stuart Maconie

About the Author

Jo Bell was an archaeologist for twenty years, working in the UK, Greece, and Turkey. She is an award-winning poet, broadcaster, and former director of the UK’s National Poetry Day. She is the founder of the global online poetry community The Poetic Licence.