Adrift : the secret life of London's waterways

From deep winter to late autumn, from east to west, Adrift takes the reader on a tour of the people, politics, history and wildlife of London's canals and rivers. Blending nature writing, social observation and memoir, Helen Babbs invites you on an eye-opening journey into a different side of the city. From Walthamstow Marsh in the east to Uxbridge in the west, Helen Babbs journeys along London's waterways on a canal boat called Pike, putting down roots for two weeks at a time before moving on. Taking in the River Lea and the Lee Navigation, the Regent's Canal and the Grand Union, she explores the London landscape in all its guises: marshland, wasteland, city centre and suburb. Adrift charts a year of Helen's life on Pike, exploring the changes wreaked by the seasons as well as by developers, and recounting the practical trials of living aboard. It is a story of mapping and discovery, of escape and opting out, but also of making connections and finding home. Just as the coots and... After ten years renting expensive rooms in small flats, Helen Babbs swapped bricks and mortar for a boat called 'Pike'. She now calls London's canals and rivers her home. Without a permanent mooring, she cruises ever-onwards, cast adrift in a sometimes hostile city. From deep winter to late autumn, we travel with Helen as she takes us on a tour of London's canal and river flora, fauna, people and history, revealing intricate details and taking us to places only accessible by boat. Adrift also explores issues relevant to city dwellers across the world: the pressures of urban life, alternative ways of living and the age-old experience of setting up a first home. Blending autobiography, nature writing and documentary, Adrift invites the reader on an eye-opening journey into a different side of the city A beautiful piece of nature / travel writing akin to Robert MacFarlane or Richard Mabey.