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Retired Uphill couple's year on a narrowboat told in new book

Rob Perryman Rob and Pippa Perryman aboard Frog in a BucketRob Perryman

A couple who spent their first year of retirement touring the UK on a narrowboat have turned their experiences into a book.

Rob and Pippa Perryman from Uphill in North Somerset travelled 1,300 miles on their boat Frog in a Bucket between September 2020 and October 2021.

They hope A Year on the Frog will be useful to other people who are thinking about doing the same thing.

The couple also documented their adventures on YouTube through the year.

Rob Perryman A stone frog in a bucket - the boat's mascotRob Perryman

"I'd only ever been on a narrowboat once in my life," Mr Perryman told BBC Radio Somerset.

"We had a holiday back in 2004 and I fell in the canal, so I wouldn't have put narrow-boating high on my bucket list for retirement.

"Pip on the other hand had done it lots of times and enjoyed it.

He added: "We're bell ringers and she painted this picture of riverside pubs and going around the country ringing bells - and I fell for it!"

Rob Perryman Rob Perryman steering the narrowboat under a bridgeRob Perryman
Halfway down the Hatton Flight near Warwick on the Grand Union Canal

The couple made 42 YouTube videos during their year-long odyssey, blogged and wrote a diary.

"The purpose [of the book] is to pull those together and give the warts-and-all version," said Mr Perryman.

"When you're looking at buying a narrowboat, there are lots of things you need to think about and ask - and that's one of the target audiences here.

"Things like maintenance and the toilets, which can be confusing.

Rob Perryman Blue narrowboat in front of a tunnelRob Perryman
The Perrymans travelled 1,300 miles across the British canal network

"I fell off the boat a couple of times while cleaning the outside of it.

"Luckily the Frog has a steel plate at the back so you can climb out, which is designed for idiots like me who can't stay on the boat."

He added: "You also have to get used to hitting your head on things when you first start - storage boxes and parts of the boat interior.

Rob Perryman Rob Perryman ducking under a low bridge on the Oxford CanalRob Perryman
Rob Perryman ducking under a low bridge on the Oxford Canal

Mr Perryman says they learned the hard way that low water levels can be more of a problem than high water levels.

"We got stuck on the Rochdale Canal for a couple of days because it basically ran out of water.

"They'd used up all their water allocation from the local water authority and couldn't top it up."

Upon ending their UK-wide narrowboat tour, the couple sold Frog in a Bucket, and appeared on BBC One's Escape to the Country to look for a new home.

They bought a house in Uphill, North Somerset, which they found on the programme.

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