Category: Background

Welcome Aboard

Riverwolfe and Life is a place to share the quiet pleasures of travelling through England’s canal system, where each lock, towpath, and waterside village invites a gentler pace. This journal begins with a simple idea: that slow travel reveals details we often miss, from early morning mist over still water to the warm conversation waiting at a canalside pub.

What You’ll Find Here

Here, you can expect personal travel stories, route highlights, practical notes for exploring by boat, and reflections on the character of England’s historic waterways. Some posts will linger on scenery and atmosphere, while others will offer useful tips on planning a canal-side day out, choosing stretches to explore, and noticing the small landmarks that make each journey memorable.

• Travel stories from journeys along English canals
• Route inspiration for scenic walks, boat trips, and waterside stops
• Practical tips for readers curious about slow travel and canal culture

Why Canal Travel Matters

England’s canals offer a different way to experience the landscape. They connect industrial history with wildlife, quiet reflection with local character, and movement with stillness. Whether you are a regular boater, or simply someone who loves discovering places with a story, the waterways have a way of making travel feel more personal.

“The best journeys are not always the fastest ones. Sometimes they are the ones that give us time to notice where we are.“

Come Along for the Journey

If you enjoy reflective travel writing, practical inspiration, and the charm of England’s waterways, this journal is for you. I hope these posts encourage you to explore a towpath, plan a canal escape, or simply pause long enough to imagine life moving at the pace of the water.

I wanted to talk about how my journey came about. Often when life seems to be moving along nicely it suddenly throws a curve ball. For me it wasn’t just one but a series of events that led to a decision to shake up my life and change things.

My series of curve balls started with a very minor stroke just before Covid. It hasn’t affected me particularly and physically you wouldn’t know that I had one.

Getting home on Christmas Eve and then discovering I had bought Covid with me from the hospital (Thank You NHS)

Next curved ball, while I was still recovering Caroline had one of her breakdowns and moved out. We are now divorced thank goodness.

Then a couple of months later a collapse in Ely whilst walking the dogs, not a stroke, more likely a TIA. During the scans they discovered a growth on the inside of my skull, which was first diagnosed as a cancerous tumour and I was told I was terminal. The diagnosis changed a couple of times but at last they decided it was a Giant Arachnoid Granulation. This explained why the headaches and double vision that started the year before happened.

A GAG is not terminal but the visual and physical pain it caused meant that I was advised to give up driving. When the treatment took hold I did try again but have decided it is too dangerous and am again not driving at all.

So what to do ….. vegetate in front of a tele? No way.

So I looked at alternatives and settled on buying a narrrow boat. This changed my life, it has given me a kind of peace I have never known. My life is gentle, relaxed and very very happy.

So why Blog, after all isn’t everyone trying it now?

My background is photography and it is a love I have had for most of my life. Couple that with the love of nature and wildlife photography and it is the ideal companion to my blogging.