Berth of adventure
Floating base lets you explore without leaving home, writes Paul Drury
Fancy a nautical weekend without leaving home? That’s the enticing possibility offered by this intriguing property, a Dutch-style barge moored at a former 19th century whisky distillery in the heart of Glasgow.
Gerda, as she is known, can easily slip her moorings and take you off on a weekend adventure to opposite parts of Scotland, all the way from Bowling in Dunbartonshire to the Falkirk Wheel.
Her domain is Speirs Wharf on the Forth and clyde canal, once a key component of the industrial revolution, now restored to its original glory.
Gerda was built in Liverpool last year and driven on the back of a lorry to Bowling, where she was gently lowered into the waters of the canal. From there, she was safely navigated to her current berth by owner John Moore, a wind turbine engineer.
He said: ‘This is a lovely place to be. I wake in the morning to see cormorants through my porthole windows.
‘Everyone is really surprised at how big it is. They think a boat is a small space but this is 36 tons of steel and wood.’
The 19ft-long living area is Gerda’s beating heart, the place where you would spend most of your time.
Don’t worry about catching cold – the barge has electric central heating and the living area has a log-burning stove. The arched roof is a constant reminder you are on a boat, rather than in a flat.
There is a neat galley-style kitchen in the living area and two roomy bedrooms, the larger of which has a window positioned right behind your head.
now for the practical bits. Gerda is offered at a fixed price of £110,000. There is a further 5 per cent of the purchase price to be paid to the canal owners in the form of a mooring transfer fee, £5,500.
you also pay £150 per month in a payment similar to council tax, which takes care of your costs for bins and water.
Unlike living in a house, you have to fill up Gerda’s fresh water tank from a hose, once a week. The waste tank needs emptied every couple of months or so.
Mr Moore said there has never been an issue with security.
He said: ‘Speirs Wharf is a dead end, so there’s no through traffic. The barge is also overlooked by many apartments and has its own alarm.’
Mr Moore has been known to fire up Gerda’s diesel engine of a weekend and slope off to see the Kelpies through in Falkirk.
How appropriate. The giant horses were designed to pay tribute to the working animals which would have dragged barges along the same canal long before the invention of the engine. Bon voyage! Fixed price of £110,000. Contact Nicola Jenkins at Clyde Property Tel 0141 576 1777