Baby on board as family sets up home on narrow boat in Staffordshire

Elizabeth Ray came into the world on April 9 and her home is narrow boat 'Ant', moored at Norbury Junction.

For new parents David Ray and Sarah Brereton, and probably also for Stella the dog and Marmalade the cat, life is different with a baby on board.

Sarah said: "I didn't know what to expect, because I hadn't had children before, but Elizabeth has settled in just fine.

"Some people may be surprised about us living on a boat and having a baby, but for us this is normal life."

Sarah has been around boats all her life and David grew up on a narrow boat, living on one since he was four.

He said: "She's been as good as gold since we brought her home, I think it's the rocking of the boat that's making her calm and sleep so well."

David said that when he and Sarah decided to have a baby, the decision about where to live was discussed.

He said: "I gave Sarah the option of moving back onto dry land before Elizabeth came along, but it wasn't something she wanted to do.

"Life here on the boat is very good, it is peaceful, you can't hear any traffic, so it is a nice environment for our daughter to grow up in."

The 'Ant' weighs 32 tons, is 70 feet in length, seven feet wide and features a lounge, kitchen, nursery, bathroom and bedroom.

Everything on the inside of the boat is made from solid oak, seven tons of solid oak.

The couple have lived on the 'Ant' for two years and the only modification they had to make for the arrival of their baby was to install a nursery. David said: "I took out the dining table, fitted a new wooden bulkhead and then put in a cot for Elizabeth.

"Sarah is very resourceful and we have managed to give Elizabeth everything a new baby needs.

"Looking further ahead, there is a school nearby, so that won't be an issue and she will also benefit from the close community that exists here at Norbury."

David, who is the manager of Norbury Wharf Ltd, still has a large smile on his face weeks after Elizabeth's arrival and is now planning his daughter's first canal trip.

That trip will be made on David's other boat, the Ibex, a working boat that is more sparsely equipped than the Ant.

He said: "Ibex is a sort of baby too, at least to me, and I have been getting her ready for this summer over the past few months.

"It will be wonderful to take Elizabeth and our working boat to Braunston where a lot of our friends in the historic narrow boating community are meeting up. I suppose we are all concerned about to get more young people involved in the waterways, and I can't help hoping that Elizabeth will be at the helm of an historic boat a few years down the line.

"I enjoyed lots of boating as a child and want her to have that experience too."