Canal and Narrowboat

Who are Canal & Narrowboat?  Where did you come from?
What is this site all about?

My name is Robin Dengate and I am a freelance landscape photographer. I think I can claim to be a professional photographer in the sense that I have made my living to a greater or lesser extent from my photography over a period of some 20 plus years out of the last 25.

I say '20 plus' as it is difficult to be specific as I lived and worked in France for a period of 5 years until recently, during which time my photography took a very part time second place to the running of a B&B and gite, along with my wife and youngest daughter. 

Back in the UK again

But now we are back in the UK. For a variety of reasons the French life was not to be ours for ever, and having returned to England a few months ago, I began to look around for a new direction. I have been involved in building and designing websites for some years and, due to health issues, I have been looking for something I could base from home and do at my own pace.

Add to this my love of photography. Throw in a long-time fascination with the UK's inland waterways, which stems from a holiday on the Norfolk Broads some 35 years ago and which was followed by many, many miles of cruising and towpath walking. Stir in a chance discovery, whilst searching the net for some waterways information, that in fact it is actually not very easy to find much in the way of good, well organised sites dedicated to waterways photography. And the idea is born....

Recording the British waterways system in the 21st century

I realised that my own library of waterways photography was in need of updating and much additional work, not least because much of my previously existing canal photography stemmed from my early days touring the canals and much has changed since then.

So, whilst hoping that I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, I decided to create a website based around building a new and up to date library of quality images of the British canal and waterway system as it is now - that is to say - in the first quarter of the 21st century (Yes it could take that long to finish the project if I ever do!)

So that's it really. So here we go......

Keep a look out for a guy with thinning white hair and and beard, with a camera round his neck and please don't push him in the canal - it's probably me!