Edwards retained a life-long interest in river-boating, owning several vessels, and during the nineteen eighties and nineties he resided on a 40ft-long canal boat converted into a houseboat, named 'Winchester' after the fictional private members' bar that he had run in the "Minder" television series, which was permanently moored on the South bank of the River Thames at Thames Ditton and Surbiton, where he could often be seen in the summer swimming in the river to cool off on hot days.