A freelance artist and producer who grew up in Bucks moved into a houseboat on the River Thames after becoming fed up with high rent prices.

Shannon Lane, 28, grew up in High Wycombe, where most of her family still live, and partly credits her decision to buy a 30-foot houseboat earlier this year to her late grandfather, who lived in Denham and owned a barge that was moored near Ruislip.

It was nonetheless a spur-of-the-moment decision for the Bucks native when she spotted a boat with a 'For Sale' sign on it in Kings Cross after months of living in shared accommodation in East London and forking out around £1,000 a month in rent.

"I called the number and, I think, the following week, I looked around the boat and just fell in love with it. I called my mum to tell her and she thought I was mad - but then my family came and looked around it and they fell in love too."

@thatweirdboatgirl What ya think? #narrowboat #houseboat #narrowboattiktok #narrowboatartistlife #fypシ #explore ♬ original sound - Kaitlyn Morris

Shannon now pays £300 of the £12,000 loan she took from a bank back each month, but otherwise only has to pay for essential outgoings.

"You can have a permanent mooring license and pay rent, but I don't do that because I'm trying to save money.

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"Instead, I continuously cruise, which means I have to move a mile every two weeks. I started doing it alone, but I've met other women of a similar age who also live in boats, so now we all do it together."

Shannon, who lives alone on the boat except for her pug Gilbert, said that after living off-land for around eight months, she couldn't see herself going back.

Her plans for the future include heading down to Bucks in the winter, to be closer to her family, and, in the long run, buying a larger boat to share with her boyfriend - another person she has managed to convince of the merits of life on the water. 

@thatweirdboatgirl Best decision ive ever made. #narrowboattiktok #boatlife #tinyhome #fyp #explorepage #narrowboatartistlife ♬ original sound - ADMT

There are downsides, of course - patchy signal and a less-than-ideal toilet situation that consists of emptying waste into a giant well - but she still believes it's an option that should be taken more seriously by young people who feel discouraged by the state of the UK housing market.

"I just realised that I was never going to be able to afford a house in London - renting was getting ridiculous and it's pretty expensive in Buckinghamshire too. 

"I think it does depend on your lifestyle, job and personality but I've had people in their 50s and 60s message me on TikTok saying, 'I really wish I could have done something like this at your age', and now they can't because they have jobs and mortgages.

"I want to show people that they can do it - and they should now, while they still have time to turn back if they hate it!"