When ill health forced Carl Bentley, 63, to retire from his job as a roofer four years ago, he and wife Kath, 63, jumped at the chance to spend their retirement on the picturesque canal.
Carl says: "I have been boating for 20 years and Lancaster Canal is the best I have been on.
"There are no locks and you can go for 43 miles with a can in your hand. In other canals there are locks every other mile – it is beautiful scenery and countryside."
"We can go when we want – we have just been into the countryside for three days to Nateby."
Carl says despite having to do chores like fetching fuel, life on the canal is much better than living on land.
He says: "It is totally relaxing and there is nothing that is a hardship. We have got to get coal in the winter, and fuel, but we know what we are doing. It is quite easy."
The couple are the envy of the entire canal after bagging themselves a mooring right outside Th'Owd Tithebarn Pub, in Church Street, Garstang.
He says: "It is perfect. We can go for a pint then stroll back down to the river afterwards."
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