I have mooring pins, all narrowboaters do. However, leaping off the boat with pin and hammer, banging it in and tying to it then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
@@CruisingTheCut Perhaps something like this would be useful for a temporary mooring? www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=120&pf_id=66259 I see these used for boats, canopy, tents, etc.
Having to leap off the boat with any kind of pin, screw or other device and force it into the ground then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
"Hello, and welcome to the vlog": always a prelude to something wonderful! Thanks for these marvellous pieces David - the more so given that you do it all single-handedly: steering the boat, doing the locks, filming, editing, and above all, your ever-enlightening commentary. It's a rare delight to watch your progress along England's canals.
CruisingTheCut I'd just add that you have planted a rather disturbing seed of an idea in my partner's mind... I hold you entirely responsible, but in a good way. Best wishes, and keep them coming please.
Ok I have no clue why youtube would suddenly think that I'd be interested in boat videos but apparently it knew something even I didn't, was interesting.
@Maria Olden Years ago, I read something about a narrow boat in England traveling in a tunnel in some book I like (oh, my brain broke and I don't remember the title of the book). So I got interested. I'm American but I've been an Anglophile for 30 years.
@@ethyhayes I don't own any vehicles, land or water, but there was a narrow boat going through a tunnel in England in a book I liked years ago. That's what brought me here.
I'll never understand why this ended up in my recommended video list, but it was an interesting glimpse into something I'd never considered doing before. Cheers.
I have cruised this tunnel 5 times, and it is always a good feeling to reach the end. The last time I went though my hat was knocked off my head. So glad it was my hat and not my head that hit the roof.
roger,,,sorry,,,i misread your post. At first reading i read,,,i have cursed this tunnel,,,,I still wonder if id have written comments in my terms!! There are more brave limeys there than i had imagined!! many regards,,,we are jealous of your adventures!!
Been through this tunnel with chas hardern boats, it's certainly fumey in there, glad i experienced the harecastle tunnel... Once done never forgotten.
Great title cos it really was scary; you conveyed it very well. Always glad to see a new video posted and that was one of the best. Hats off to you and Robbie, it takes courage to meet all the challenges of a single boater. Those rung ladders in locks give me the creeps.
I'm not sure why RUclips sent me here, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It's almost like a scene out of Jaws or some other boating-related thriller, right in the middle of the beautiful English countryside. Fantastic job.
I also don't know why RUclips is suddenly recommending this (old) video to people so much but it's getting stratospheric views all of a sudden! Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Many more on my channel too :-)
Did Harecastle tunnel in 1973. In those days, at weekends, there were no tunnel keepers and the rule was from dawn until 12pm go north, from 1pm to dusk go south. We entered the tunnel northbound at 6am and kept tooting the horn in case someone was chancing it southbound. Luckily not. Interesting but damp experience. Loving your vlogs. Bringing back many canal cruising memories.
One of my fondest memories was spending an entire day cruising the Wey from Godalming, north past Guilford, on a canal boat our friends rented. My first trip to England in 1995. While working through St Catherine's Lock, watched as a Concorde flew overhead. Enjoyed your video immensely as it brought back that day.
I've just found your vlog. Wow I just love listening to you and sharing your adventures. I love your voice and your descriptions of everything you are doing and seeing. I believe I have watched 99% of your vlogs in the last 3 days. You are serious, funny, honest, and adorable too. I too love your editing and the wonderful quality of your videos. Keep them coming. And continue to have a glorious time on your beautiful boat.
I see what dedication and skill you must develop to cruise the cut and manage the tunnels and bridges and locks, and moorings. The tunnels are scary. Aqua ducts really terrifying, some of them but I love watching you do it all. The countryside is beyond words.
Hi David, you are our hero. My daughter and I are claustrophobic and watch this video with trepidation. My daughter has just said again that she would not make it through. Hubby is a truck driver as I have told you before, going through tunnels in the semi are not a problem so he is quite impressed that you take your narrow boat through. I am most impressed with your acknowledged nervousness about going through Scarecastle. You are making a vlog which you could edit out your uncertainty. BUT you go through anyway. Courage at its highest. I will give the Aussie vernacular to express your maturity and disregard for the perceive lack of manliness that expressing doubt could have viewers mumbling under their breath. As we always told our son growing up in circumstances where peer pressure could have you behaving stupidly : ( pardon my terminology here ), you have proved that you do not have to show how big your dick is to behave with confidence in your self esteem. Thanks for your display of real manliness. Cheers
we took a boat trough on our holidays one time and i loved the bit where they closed the doors and turned on the fan. as we were the first boat through we could see the whole tunnel fog up as the fans kicked in. interesting experience. we didn't have a light like yours on that boat so we didn't see the arches that clearly but i am still itching to take a boat the other way as well just to see if it is just as scary the other way round.
I'm glad you managed to survive 'Scarecastle'! Personally, I found it much less stressful than Braunston with two-way traffic and a kink in the middle. I actually quite enjoyed it. The tunnel keepers didn't check my horn..... just as well as I don't have one 😬. Being slightly pedantic, the canal passing over the Poole aqueduct and exiting left after the tunnel at Hardings Wood Jct. is in fact still the Trent and Mersey canal. The Macclesfield canal actually joins end-to-end at Hall Green stop lock shortly after the aqueduct. I also single-handed down Heartbreak Hill and failed to notice CRT's mooring bollard shortfalls on the non-towpath side.... maybe the locks that were in my favour all fell on the towpath side..... or maybe I had a G&T and you forgot to do so....?
I knew someone would pick me up on the Macclesfield not actually starting there; slight artistic licence to compress the information into a quicker form!
I love the little bit of music at the end of each video... I am becoming very addicted to these David... Now we just have to get canals in Australia and we are set....
Marvellous. I love Harecastle, always an interesting experience. That high section of locks caught me out when I cruised that section single handed too. On one occasion a cross wind pinned my boat to one side of the canal near enough where you had that nice view. No amount of pushing the front end off hard worked, the wind just blew the bow back hard against the canal side by the time I reached the stern. In the end I found a large tree branch, pushed the bow out, used the branch to keep it out towards the middle by wedging it between the hull and the bank then powered the boat away from the tow path. I was pleased with my ingenuity!
Hi I n the late 1950’s me and my friends played along the canal and the adjacent railway line (since moved through a shorter rail tunnel). Apart from scrumpy apple picking in the garden of the house close to tunnel entrance and getting chased away, further back towards Tunstall was a pig iron smelter called Goldendale close to the canal. Most of the iron was a mixture of iron ore and any reclaimed iron particularly redundant WW2 munitions. We would climb over the fence and look for 2inch mortar bombs and Mills grenades. Of course they had no fuses or explosive left in them. A visit from the police with a stern warning not to enter the site again, or I would be prosecuted. Sadly my collection was removed from our cellar.
En excellent video which has inspired me to give this tunnel a try. By the way, you are finding it so easy to steer because of something called "bank effect" which means as you get closer to either tunnel wall, the speed of your hull creates suction, pulling the stern in towards the wall and thus turning your bow away.
This is the first video of yours that I saw, I still love coming back and watching it every so often. Not sure why your channel got put into my recommendations but I am really glad it did.
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question but being from the USA these narrow boats are completely new to me. My question: It seems that MOST of the canals and locks and tunnels are set up for narrow boats of @ 7'-0" wide right? Okay then, why are there so many wide body canal boats at 11'-0"" wide. How do they navigate the locks etc? Or do they? Are they stuck in designated areas only? What a shame if so. The extra room is great but loss of mobility wouldn't seem worth it. Am I missing something? Sorry I just know the answer. It's all so darn interesting and England is so very beautiful. I'll never be able to travel to see it in person so watching these videos from you Narrow boaters is a real joy to me. Thanks again. Cape Cod , Ma
The canals in the Midlands are all narrow however those in the north and south of England are wide. Wide boats are therefore "stuck" in the top or bottom of the country but within those areas there are substantial amounts of canal to navigate. See www.aqualinemarine.co.uk/where-to-cruise/
I hadn't realised that a wide beam would be stuck as such. If you use the Wash, you can almost get from one to the other, apart from a narrow section just West of Northampton or an *unrestored section between Bedford & Milton Keynes. *unbuilt
We went through Scarecastle on a hired Freeman 22 mk1 narrowbeam in 1967. It had the remnants of a towpath with bits of scaffold tube sticking out! Those were the days !!
So - once there was a towpath right through, before collapsing occurred ? Bad luck to the first one through post any further central sinking of the u/g construction.
reading about the Harecastle tunnel which opened in 1820 and is 1.5 miles long, because it has no tow path , i.e for horses to pull the boats though, the boatsmen had to 'leg' their way through the tunnel, i.e lying on top of the boat and using their feet to push against the tunnel walls.
There is a tunnel near me and it is between drayton manor and sutton. it actually seems lower than that but it is way shorter. it has also got a path aswell but the roof is really low on the path so you can’t really cycle through you have to walk. the cieling is also covered in cobwebs and spiders and it’s really dodgy aha. nice video
Been through this tunnel a couple of times back in the early 80's. We used to always do canal holidays as part of our Church youth club. A true story that came from friends that boated with us is that the tunnel is well haunted. They were on a family holiday and went through the tunnel. Their 3 year old daughter saw a man painting white lines on the walls. She told her mum but there was obviously nobody there. When they came out the other end they asked the tunnel keeper about the incident. He smiled and said. Yes it is usually the children that spot the ghost in there. Love this channel. Just wish I could afford a boat. Keep up the great work. Regards Colin
From the sound of the engine to the moment you exited the tunnel i was trying to keep my balance on the side of the armchair :) Thank you so very much for what i consider the best channel on RUclips.
Ah, this reminds me of my boating, I was a single hander too most of the time so your concerns are very familiar. I've traded steel and water for brick and mortar but I still really enjoyed my time on the cut and this brought back the memories ... and fears. Good RUclips recommendation!
I don't know how you did it. MRI machines give me panic attacks, and just barely made it thru this vid. Between the diesel fumes and that inches away from my head, would have lost it. You're my hero💕👍
Another excellent addition to the vlog! The combination of your voice and editing make these videos really relaxing and enjoyable. Kudos for you for making it through the tunnel unscathed. The gentleman who died in May of 2014 was Michael Holgate. Apparently he had just retired, bought a narrowboat, and was planning to spend his retirement cruising with his wife. I am pleased that you take safety seriously. As always, thank you for sharing.
The first time I went through Harecastle, I was so worried I would break down (it was a new boat so there was no reason it should) but I was stressing about it anyway. My boat was fine, but the boat in front who had been winding me up, broke down and we had to tie the stern of their bat to mine and I pushed them through! An experience not to be repeated!
Great video as usual, thank you. Seeing heartbreak hill brought back memories of a holiday many years ago. Check out the 'strapping post' on the single upstream lock gates, slip a short loop over the post on the gate as you slowly go into the lock and the boat will both close the gate and come to a halt. Saves a little bit of work.
Holy mother of Bob!! I was having a mild panic attack just watching you. Good thing you were multitasking to much to be preoccupied with how scary that was. There's the journalist spirit! Well done you.🙋🙌👏
Still going through all your vlogs, and I really find watching them at the end of a busy week very relaxing. Sitting back after a very hard week with a G&T. This tunnel is fascinating and I can’t help but think of how hard it was to build back in the day. Thanks for posting.
I've never really been into canal boat videos, but this one was very enjoyable. It popped up in my reccomended section which is fairly mainstream, so I reckon lots more people are going to find the video. Just out of interest, have you ever done Five Rise in Yorkshire. They're the nearest canal landmark to me
I enjoy your episodes so much, it's better than Netflix. That last tunnel was claustrophobic for me! I look forward to your next episode. You are a joy to listen to. Best wishes with all your travels from a fan in Maine.
An interesting vlog indeed, Just a side note: I notice that you are adding more detail and history to points of interest along the way; this makes the vlogs even more interesting. Keep up the good work :)
Brought my first boat last october from northwich move down to stoke thought it never steered a boat in my life before but when i got though it i wanted to turn around and do it again it was the best part of the trip
Wow! I was amazed at how small that tunnel got, and when you said the whole thing took half an hour I couldn't believe it! What an experience - thank you for sharing it with us!
Fabulous video David. Very scary and soooo low inside the tunnel. Well done you. Lovely, section to follow. Interesting junction with the Macclefield Canal.
I was unaware of the beautiful canal system of the UK until I happened across this video! In the last couple of days I've watched dozens of your vlogs, all the while becoming increasingly enchanted with the idea of spending some time roaming the canals. Cheers from the decidedly canal-less American southwest!
Dude. You are in fact becoming an intrepid rock-star of all narrow-boat/canal challenges. (and I know from the titles that you go on the Thames in future videos.)
Id think the tunnel entrance could be well served to have added a psychiatrists office somewhere along side at the entrance to check the mental stability of any captain daring to enter!! Yet, on exiting, David simply calls it interesting?? 3000 meters?? Thats similar to the name of a movie i once saw called, "To Hell and Back", it seems it was every bit that long. Isnt there a bus line on the bypass route?? I think Ill take that with the rest of the sane crew, and leave the transit tunnel excitement to the brave. I wonder about the construction of this, how many laborers, how many brick, how long did it take, and the foundation preparation and calculations needed to insure final water surface clearance,,,,Oh well, at the very least you did redeem your misadventure by the follow ons of beautiful views and stories on the other side...Thanks for another GREAT video!! Im announcing your site to my friends if thats ok, i want them to share in the fun!!
The tunnel was quite an experience on my screen so I can only image what you were thinking then you showed us your face and it was clear. GMTFOOH I am surprised the inquest did not recommend hard hats as well, the victim was either unconscious, in capable of swimming or could not swim, the hard hat would help as far as the head injuries.
I don't know if you noticed but for each (most) time (s) the roof drops down suddenly it goes back up either slowly or suddenly - you see sudden drops in the north-south direction too. So the roof does not get as low as you think it does. It's a good idea to have a torch on your roof facing forward (so you can see the front corners of your cabin) and also to have the lights on inside your boat. These lights make it easier to keep it in the middle of the tunnel. Keeping the concentration is the key thing though. Looks as if you did well with it anyway, this is one of the worst tunnels on the system so no need to worry about any others from now on!
Yes, I always have a floodlight with me at the back, pointing up and forwards in every tunnel. I've never found the "lights on inside" to make any difference.
~ eyup chuck, that were great .... so, you're cruisin' the cut and you see the next lock up ahead, open and waiting for you, how do you know when to cut the engine so as not to slam into the closed gate? are you able to engage reverse to slow down? Inquiring minds and all that. anyhoo, nice to see "Olde England" again, from here in Florida (been 18 yrs since I left) ....keep up the good work!
Dear sir, I think a "meerpen" (dutch) might suffice your needs to vasten your boat to the side of the canal. It's a steel spike with a ring. Intended to put in an angle into the ground away from the water, after which you can tie a rope to it. I don't know and can't find the english word for it. But a google search will show the right images.
I have mooring pins, all narrowboaters do. However, leaping off the boat with pin and hammer, banging it in and tying to it then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
Well done David, Going through the Tunnel.It is a feat of engineering....We lost a fender going through.We both thought we would never 'See The Light At The End Of The Tunnel'! Keep the Vlogs coming David they always make my day.
Acetylene miner’s light would be very period, dontcha think? I am impressed with your preparation for the dark journey. Quite a rite of passage for which you should be quite chuffed with yourself.
PS, thank you for the huge number of questions answered in your link about the narrow boats and living ,ect on them. I have wanted to build something more of a house boat to travel where I live near the great lakes in the US , along the river from Chicago to the Mississippi river , Then south in the winter months and back home for the summer on the same route.
Interesting tunnel? Bloody hell; that was like driving into a wet coffin! Don't know how you managed the boat through. Too creepy for me; but great video of a near death experience!
Love your vlog! I did experience a bit of panic in the tunnel and found myself holding my breath and ducking my head down - LOL! Thank you so much for the work you put into these vlogs to share with all of us. I look forward to checking RUclips everyday for a new video :-) The very best to you!
Love the videos. I think I'm addicted now. One thing that I haven't sorted out though - how exactly do the locks work? I see you with a crank handle. I guess that's opening gates to adjust the water level? Are there water pumps at each lock? It would be very interesting to see you explain the different types of lock gates/doors, and how that actually operate. You see, I'm physically sitting in my recliner in west Texas, USA but, mentally, I'm traveling 'the cut' with you along canals that my ancestors may have traveled before they immigrated in the mid 1800's.
Hi. No pumps. The water has two levels - entry and exit level. It's held back by gates at either end of the lock, each gate has paddles to let water in (at the higher end) or out (at the lower end, it's purely gravity based). Thus when you approach a lock to go down, the lock needs to be full - if it isn't, you open the top paddles with the crank handle (aka "windlass") to let water in until it's full at which point you can swing open the gates and let the boat in. Close the gates and paddles behind you. Then open the lower paddles and the water drains out taking the boat down whereupon you can open the lower gate and take the boat out, again closing the gates and paddles behind you. Going up is the reverse process.
Thanks. I can assume then that the the stretch of canal at the very highest altitude of your journey would be replenished by rain runoff or underground springs, etc.
I've lived in Kidsgrove all my life and traveled on the cut many times, approaching the Harecastle tunnel on both sides but have never entered it. Thank you for filming your journey through the tunnel, I was with you every step of the way and can definitely say without a shadow of a doubt that I wont be entering that tunnel ever.
Noooooooo the boggart might appear. This urban legend is believed by almost everyone in Kidsgrove and many sightings of her have spread throughout the town. englishlocalhistory.wordpress.com/staffordshire-history/the-kidsgrove-boggart/
Went through the Harecastle both ways in the summer of 2018 in a 70ft boat. The top of my hat scraped on the lowest part of the tunnel as I was steering through as we went through southbound and bears the soot marks to this day! North of the tunnel is a beautiful section of the T & M and we moored overnight at Red Bull, not far from the pub, but far enough away to have a peaceful night's sleep. There were six of us on the boat, so we were well crewed for the locks. This was a repeat of a cruise my wife and I did with my children on the T & M and the Caldon Canal some 30 years ago.
CruisingTheCut lol it was a very Scary experience,I would panic going through there.My Husband and I are looking for Narrow boat breaks etc,He used to Own His Own boat years ago,I've always wanted to step inside one lol. I said to My Husnand if He was to ever take Me through that Tunnel I'd want a Divorce hahaha xxxxx
A little known fact. 1 out of 100 boats never makes it out. It just disappears somewhere in the tunnel. Many attempts have been made to set up cameras and capture this but it has been unsuccessful. They fail recording, have a lapse in time or some other malfunction. When the diesel fog gets to dense, it is usually the time where the boat goes missing. Some experts thinks that the orange oxide colour actually are the remains of the boats rather than iron from the rocks.
Great video, found it Interesting but couldn't work out why you didn't just tap stakes in the ground
I have mooring pins, all narrowboaters do. However, leaping off the boat with pin and hammer, banging it in and tying to it then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
@@CruisingTheCut Yes fair point. I did get caught out a few times myself but then I did only have a 23ft sports cruiser.
Good video!
@@CruisingTheCut Perhaps something like this would be useful for a temporary mooring?
www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=120&pf_id=66259
I see these used for boats, canopy, tents, etc.
Having to leap off the boat with any kind of pin, screw or other device and force it into the ground then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
@@CruisingTheCut Point taken. Indeed, too much ' screwing' around. ☺ Great vlog by the way.
"Hello, and welcome to the vlog": always a prelude to something wonderful! Thanks for these marvellous pieces David - the more so given that you do it all single-handedly: steering the boat, doing the locks, filming, editing, and above all, your ever-enlightening commentary. It's a rare delight to watch your progress along England's canals.
Thank you. When you phrase it like that, it is quite remarkable ;-)
CruisingTheCut I'd just add that you have planted a rather disturbing seed of an idea in my partner's mind...
I hold you entirely responsible, but in a good way. Best wishes, and keep them coming please.
Uh-oh...
Ok I have no clue why youtube would suddenly think that I'd be interested in boat videos but apparently it knew something even I didn't, was interesting.
:-)
Same! I've never searched for anything like this but it came on randomly and now I've watched loads 🤣
This happened to me. The algorithm gave me canal boats even though I was scared of water 😂 few years later, I'm obsessed, trying to buy my own boat!
@Maria Olden
Years ago, I read something about a narrow boat in England traveling in a tunnel in some book I like (oh, my brain broke and I don't remember the title of the book). So I got interested. I'm American but I've been an Anglophile for 30 years.
@@ethyhayes I don't own any vehicles, land or water, but there was a narrow boat going through a tunnel in England in a book I liked years ago. That's what brought me here.
I'll never understand why this ended up in my recommended video list, but it was an interesting glimpse into something I'd never considered doing before. Cheers.
RUclips can be odd like that sometimes! Glad you enjoyed it.
That tunnel scares the beans out of me, you are braver than i am. I would avoid it like the plague.
I agree! The real thing would scare the beans out of me. The video doesn't scare me, though.
This might be the most British video I've ever watched.
whys that
Whew! I felt like I was going through that tunnel with you, my heart was pounding.
I have cruised this tunnel 5 times, and it is always a good feeling to reach the end. The last time I went though my hat was knocked off my head. So glad it was my hat and not my head that hit the roof.
roger,,,sorry,,,i misread your post. At first reading i read,,,i have cursed this tunnel,,,,I still wonder if id have written comments in my terms!! There are more brave limeys there than i had imagined!! many regards,,,we are jealous of your adventures!!
RUclips, I don't know how I got here or what made me click this video but I'm onto you.
Thank god I'm not alone
Man... I just found this video and for some reason it's really relaxing
I'm really impressed at you driving AND filming through the Harecastle! Well done!
I was quite impressed with myself too ;-)
Been through this tunnel with chas hardern boats, it's certainly fumey in there, glad i experienced the harecastle tunnel... Once done never forgotten.
Great title cos it really was scary; you conveyed it very well. Always glad to see a new video posted and that was one of the best. Hats off to you and Robbie, it takes courage to meet all the challenges of a single boater. Those rung ladders in locks give me the creeps.
They really can be quite slippery!
I'm not sure why RUclips sent me here, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It's almost like a scene out of Jaws or some other boating-related thriller, right in the middle of the beautiful English countryside. Fantastic job.
I also don't know why RUclips is suddenly recommending this (old) video to people so much but it's getting stratospheric views all of a sudden! Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Many more on my channel too :-)
Did Harecastle tunnel in 1973. In those days, at weekends, there were no tunnel keepers and the rule was from dawn until 12pm go north, from 1pm to dusk go south. We entered the tunnel northbound at 6am and kept tooting the horn in case someone was chancing it southbound. Luckily not.
Interesting but damp experience. Loving your vlogs. Bringing back many canal cruising memories.
One of my fondest memories was spending an entire day cruising the Wey from Godalming, north past Guilford, on a canal boat our friends rented. My first trip to England in 1995. While working through St Catherine's Lock, watched as a Concorde flew overhead. Enjoyed your video immensely as it brought back that day.
A really exciting vlog today! Thank you for taking us with you.
Thank you for coming along!
“I’ve checked the weed hatch”
You know what? This whole cruising doesn’t seem that bad after all...
David, Even though I am a dedicated sail boater, I am fascinated by long boats cruising the cut. What a grand life.
Cheers, glad you like it. Not longboats though - narrowboats.
Sorry you are correct.... but you must admit they are long also
youtube recommended this video for me and in 10 seconds i knew i would enjoy this. subbed
Thank you!
I've just found your vlog. Wow I just love listening to you and sharing your adventures. I love your voice and your descriptions of everything you are doing and seeing. I believe I have watched 99% of your vlogs in the last 3 days. You are serious, funny, honest, and adorable too. I too love your editing and the wonderful quality of your videos. Keep them coming. And continue to have a glorious time on your beautiful boat.
Thank you Darlene, what lovely things to say; I really appreciate it. Cheers!
I see what dedication and skill you must develop to cruise the cut and manage the tunnels and bridges and locks, and moorings. The tunnels are scary. Aqua ducts really terrifying, some of them but I love watching you do it all. The countryside is beyond words.
Hi David, you are our hero. My daughter and I are claustrophobic and watch this video with trepidation. My daughter has just said again that she would not make it through. Hubby is a truck driver as I have told you before, going through tunnels in the semi are not a problem so he is quite impressed that you take your narrow boat through. I am most impressed with your acknowledged nervousness about going through Scarecastle. You are making a vlog which you could edit out your uncertainty. BUT you go through anyway. Courage at its highest. I will give the Aussie vernacular to express your maturity and disregard for the perceive lack of manliness that expressing doubt could have viewers mumbling under their breath. As we always told our son growing up in circumstances where peer pressure could have you behaving stupidly : ( pardon my terminology here ), you have proved that you do not have to show how big your dick is to behave with confidence in your self esteem. Thanks for your display of real manliness. Cheers
we took a boat trough on our holidays one time and i loved the bit where they closed the doors and turned on the fan. as we were the first boat through we could see the whole tunnel fog up as the fans kicked in. interesting experience. we didn't have a light like yours on that boat so we didn't see the arches that clearly but i am still itching to take a boat the other way as well just to see if it is just as scary the other way round.
I'm glad you managed to survive 'Scarecastle'! Personally, I found it much less stressful than Braunston with two-way traffic and a kink in the middle. I actually quite enjoyed it. The tunnel keepers didn't check my horn..... just as well as I don't have one 😬.
Being slightly pedantic, the canal passing over the Poole aqueduct and exiting left after the tunnel at Hardings Wood Jct. is in fact still the Trent and Mersey canal. The Macclesfield canal actually joins end-to-end at Hall Green stop lock shortly after the aqueduct.
I also single-handed down Heartbreak Hill and failed to notice CRT's mooring bollard shortfalls on the non-towpath side.... maybe the locks that were in my favour all fell on the towpath side..... or maybe I had a G&T and you forgot to do so....?
I knew someone would pick me up on the Macclesfield not actually starting there; slight artistic licence to compress the information into a quicker form!
CruisingTheCut I suspected so.
I found myself actually ducking down as I watched! Great video.
Lol
I love the little bit of music at the end of each video... I am becoming very addicted to these David... Now we just have to get canals in Australia and we are set....
Start digging...
I really enjoyed the tunnel, thank you for your beautiful videos
Marvellous. I love Harecastle, always an interesting experience. That high section of locks caught me out when I cruised that section single handed too. On one occasion a cross wind pinned my boat to one side of the canal near enough where you had that nice view. No amount of pushing the front end off hard worked, the wind just blew the bow back hard against the canal side by the time I reached the stern. In the end I found a large tree branch, pushed the bow out, used the branch to keep it out towards the middle by wedging it between the hull and the bank then powered the boat away from the tow path. I was pleased with my ingenuity!
The wind can be a right nuisance!
Never blinked once I'd bet. More thrills than a rollercoaster!
Hi
I n the late 1950’s me and my friends played along the canal and the adjacent railway line (since moved through a shorter rail tunnel). Apart from scrumpy apple picking in the garden of the house close to tunnel entrance and getting chased away, further back towards Tunstall was a pig iron smelter called Goldendale close to the canal. Most of the iron was a mixture of iron ore and any reclaimed iron particularly redundant WW2 munitions. We would climb over the fence and look for 2inch mortar bombs and Mills grenades. Of course they had no fuses or explosive left in them. A visit from the police with a stern warning not to enter the site again, or I would be prosecuted. Sadly my collection was removed from our cellar.
Hahaha, that's a great story!
En excellent video which has inspired me to give this tunnel a try.
By the way, you are finding it so easy to steer because of something called "bank effect" which means as you get closer to either tunnel wall, the speed of your hull creates suction, pulling the stern in towards the wall and thus turning your bow away.
Sounds like bernouli's principle to me though with a weird change in name lol.
This is the first video of yours that I saw, I still love coming back and watching it every so often. Not sure why your channel got put into my recommendations but I am really glad it did.
I'm sorry to ask such a dumb question but being from the USA these narrow boats are completely new to me.
My question:
It seems that MOST of the canals and locks and tunnels are set up for narrow boats of @ 7'-0" wide right? Okay then, why are there so many wide body canal boats at 11'-0"" wide. How do they navigate the locks etc? Or do they? Are they stuck in designated areas only?
What a shame if so. The extra room is great but loss of mobility wouldn't seem worth it. Am I missing something? Sorry I just know the answer. It's all so darn interesting and England is so very beautiful. I'll never be able to travel to see it in person so watching these videos from you Narrow boaters is a real joy to me. Thanks again.
Cape Cod , Ma
The canals in the Midlands are all narrow however those in the north and south of England are wide. Wide boats are therefore "stuck" in the top or bottom of the country but within those areas there are substantial amounts of canal to navigate. See www.aqualinemarine.co.uk/where-to-cruise/
I hadn't realised that a wide beam would be stuck as such. If you use the Wash, you can almost get from one to the other, apart from a narrow section just West of Northampton or an *unrestored section between Bedford & Milton Keynes.
*unbuilt
We went through Scarecastle on a hired Freeman 22 mk1 narrowbeam in 1967. It had the remnants of a towpath with bits of scaffold tube sticking out! Those were the days !!
So - once there was a towpath right through, before collapsing occurred ?
Bad luck to the first one through post any further central sinking of the u/g construction.
reading about the Harecastle tunnel which opened in 1820 and is 1.5 miles long, because it has no tow path , i.e for horses to pull the boats though, the boatsmen had to 'leg' their way through the tunnel, i.e lying on top of the boat and using their feet to push against the tunnel walls.
I recall John Noakes having a go for Blue Peter.
Very well shot video. As a pilot, I’m impressed at how well you steered the vessel through. Great job!
just found this channel, weirdly relaxing. keep it up!
Welcome along!
One of your best videos since I started following you.
There is a tunnel near me and it is between drayton manor and sutton. it actually seems lower than that but it is way shorter. it has also got a path aswell but the roof is really low on the path so you can’t really cycle through you have to walk. the cieling is also covered in cobwebs and spiders and it’s really dodgy aha. nice video
.....not sure I could go through that tunnel!!! WOW !!! What a busy day - but fun and certainly beautiful
Been through this tunnel a couple of times back in the early 80's. We used to always do canal holidays as part of our Church youth club. A true story that came from friends that boated with us is that the tunnel is well haunted. They were on a family holiday and went through the tunnel. Their 3 year old daughter saw a man painting white lines on the walls. She told her mum but there was obviously nobody there. When they came out the other end they asked the tunnel keeper about the incident. He smiled and said. Yes it is usually the children that spot the ghost in there. Love this channel. Just wish I could afford a boat. Keep up the great work. Regards Colin
From the sound of the engine to the moment you exited the tunnel i was trying to keep my balance on the side of the armchair :) Thank you so very much for what i consider the best channel on RUclips.
Wow, thank you! Much appreciated.
Ah, this reminds me of my boating, I was a single hander too most of the time so your concerns are very familiar. I've traded steel and water for brick and mortar but I still really enjoyed my time on the cut and this brought back the memories ... and fears.
Good RUclips recommendation!
My word is right! I could feel the tension in the tunnel. Great job!
Thank you :-)
I don't know how you did it. MRI machines give me panic attacks, and just barely made it thru this vid. Between the diesel fumes and that inches away from my head, would have lost it.
You're my hero💕👍
This video can give you a panic attack, it's like being buried alive. Cruising the cut has some serious guts.
@@NEOGEO1966 the video doesn't scare me but the MRI did. I've had several MRIs for my brain, and it never gets any easier.
Another excellent addition to the vlog! The combination of your voice and editing make these videos really relaxing and enjoyable. Kudos for you for making it through the tunnel unscathed. The gentleman who died in May of 2014 was Michael Holgate. Apparently he had just retired, bought a narrowboat, and was planning to spend his retirement cruising with his wife. I am pleased that you take safety seriously. As always, thank you for sharing.
Very sad indeed, poor chap.
The first time I went through Harecastle, I was so worried I would break down (it was a new boat so there was no reason it should) but I was stressing about it anyway. My boat was fine, but the boat in front who had been winding me up, broke down and we had to tie the stern of their bat to mine and I pushed them through! An experience not to be repeated!
Oh my word!!! That sounds awful!!
Great video as usual, thank you. Seeing heartbreak hill brought back memories of a holiday many years ago. Check out the 'strapping post' on the single upstream lock gates, slip a short loop over the post on the gate as you slowly go into the lock and the boat will both close the gate and come to a halt. Saves a little bit of work.
Good tip, cheers
This is the worst MRI scan of all time.
Hats off to Cruising the cut.
I hate the MRI. I had panic attacks about it.
Holy mother of Bob!! I was having a mild panic attack just watching you. Good thing you were multitasking to much to be preoccupied with how scary that was. There's the journalist spirit! Well done you.🙋🙌👏
The sacrifices I make for your viewing pleasure... ;-)
Brings back memories, used to be the Tunnel Keeper
Still going through all your vlogs, and I really find watching them at the end of a busy week very relaxing. Sitting back after a very hard week with a G&T. This tunnel is fascinating and I can’t help but think of how hard it was to build back in the day. Thanks for posting.
I've never really been into canal boat videos, but this one was very enjoyable. It popped up in my reccomended section which is fairly mainstream, so I reckon lots more people are going to find the video.
Just out of interest, have you ever done Five Rise in Yorkshire. They're the nearest canal landmark to me
I have not been up that way yet.
Lived in Kidsgrove and walked past the tunnel for over a decade. I finally got to see inside of it. Thank you.
Same story here, I don't know what I expected from it, definitely meets the haunted vibe though.
I kept understanding "Scarecastle Tunnel" and just accepted it.
Scarecastle Tunnel is alot more fitting than Harecastle
I enjoy your episodes so much, it's better than Netflix. That last tunnel was claustrophobic for me! I look forward to your next episode. You are a joy to listen to. Best wishes with all your travels from a fan in Maine.
Cheers Pamela, much appreciated.
Your reply has made my day!! Thank you so much.
:-)
That low ceilinged tunnel reminded me of an MRI scan I'd taken a few months back. It stretched endlessly and I almost freaked out.
I fervently agree about the MRI. I've had MRI scans and I hated them. But this is just a video, so I don't find it scary.
HOLY CRAP tunnel vision. Awesome video David.
Haha, thank you Tom :-)
An interesting vlog indeed, Just a side note: I notice that you are adding more detail and history to points of interest along the way; this makes the vlogs even more interesting. Keep up the good work :)
that was one cool tunnel!! great job going thru.
Ta
I would absolutely love a chance to go through that tunnel! That looks terrifying and exciting at the same time!
Brought my first boat last october from northwich move down to stoke thought it never steered a boat in my life before but when i got though it i wanted to turn around and do it again it was the best part of the trip
Wow! I was amazed at how small that tunnel got, and when you said the whole thing took half an hour I couldn't believe it! What an experience - thank you for sharing it with us!
35 mins all-in; yes, we didn't hang about!
Thanks for such a interesting upload. Seriously tight squeeze though the middle of the tunnel 😮. Definitely worth a subscribe 👍🏾
Fabulous video David. Very scary and soooo low inside the tunnel. Well done you. Lovely, section to follow. Interesting junction with the Macclefield Canal.
I was unaware of the beautiful canal system of the UK until I happened across this video! In the last couple of days I've watched dozens of your vlogs, all the while becoming increasingly enchanted with the idea of spending some time roaming the canals. Cheers from the decidedly canal-less American southwest!
Ditto to everything you said for me.
That was scary. I am claustrophobic and was panicking for you even though you seemed calm and in control! Fantastic vlog - thank you
I was oddly calm, perhaps distracted by filming!
Dude. You are in fact becoming an intrepid rock-star of all narrow-boat/canal challenges. (and I know from the titles that you go on the Thames in future videos.)
also! AQUEDUUUUCT!
I live close to the tunnel but never been throw it, thanks for that experience
My goodness I find myself ducking to help you get through that tunnel.
I loved the Harecastle Tunnel, the highlight of my 2001 Four Counties Ring! Yes, it is incredible how low the ceiling gets!
Id think the tunnel entrance could be well served to have added a psychiatrists office somewhere along side at the entrance to check the mental stability of any captain daring to enter!! Yet, on exiting, David simply calls it interesting?? 3000 meters?? Thats similar to the name of a movie i once saw called, "To Hell and Back", it seems it was every bit that long. Isnt there a bus line on the bypass route?? I think Ill take that with the rest of the sane crew, and leave the transit tunnel excitement to the brave. I wonder about the construction of this, how many laborers, how many brick, how long did it take, and the foundation preparation and calculations needed to insure final water surface clearance,,,,Oh well, at the very least you did redeem your misadventure by the follow ons of beautiful views and stories on the other side...Thanks for another GREAT video!! Im announcing your site to my friends if thats ok, i want them to share in the fun!!
The tunnel was quite an experience on my screen so I can only image what you were thinking then you showed us your face and it was clear. GMTFOOH I am surprised the inquest did not recommend hard hats as well, the victim was either unconscious, in capable of swimming or could not swim, the hard hat would help as far as the head injuries.
Wearing Life Jackets, on a Boat...what an absolutely super idea.
SEAN HAHN oooook... nice to know buddy
Its a canal not a motorway or river or sea.. most don't on broads.. I did but felt like a right beginner with other boats bigger passing without
I don't know if you noticed but for each (most) time (s) the roof drops down suddenly it goes back up either slowly or suddenly - you see sudden drops in the north-south direction too. So the roof does not get as low as you think it does. It's a good idea to have a torch on your roof facing forward (so you can see the front corners of your cabin) and also to have the lights on inside your boat. These lights make it easier to keep it in the middle of the tunnel. Keeping the concentration is the key thing though. Looks as if you did well with it anyway, this is one of the worst tunnels on the system so no need to worry about any others from now on!
Yes, I always have a floodlight with me at the back, pointing up and forwards in every tunnel. I've never found the "lights on inside" to make any difference.
checked the weed hatch, where all the weed is kept
Your videos have me so intrigued with narrow boating!!!
A beautifull place you have there..
I will lovely to live there
Holy CRAP! That is sooooo claustrophobic. Amazing bit of engineering.
Agreed, on both counts!
That tunnel was insane!!
~ eyup chuck, that were great .... so, you're cruisin' the cut and you see the next lock up ahead, open and waiting for you, how do you know when to cut the engine so as not to slam into the closed gate? are you able to engage reverse to slow down?
Inquiring minds and all that.
anyhoo, nice to see "Olde England" again, from here in Florida (been 18 yrs since I left) ....keep up the good work!
Yes, steer into lock (gently!) and engage a bit of gentle reverse to bring to a halt. You get used to it after a few tries.
Dear sir,
I think a "meerpen" (dutch) might suffice your needs to vasten your boat to the side of the canal.
It's a steel spike with a ring. Intended to put in an angle into the ground away from the water, after which you can tie a rope to it. I don't know and can't find the english word for it. But a google search will show the right images.
This: www.jonesboatchandlery.co.uk/mooring-pins-stakes-spikes/
I have mooring pins, all narrowboaters do. However, leaping off the boat with pin and hammer, banging it in and tying to it then having to wrench it out again just a few moments later is exactly the kind of hassle that a conveniently-placed lock bollard would avoid! ;-)
Wonderful video. I learnt so much about the canals I always travel along
Wow! That's one heck of a tunnel. Feels like I was just on a roller coaster or in a haunted spook house, and that's just as a viewer! OoO
Well done David, Going through the Tunnel.It is a feat of engineering....We lost a fender going through.We both thought we would never 'See The Light At The End Of The Tunnel'! Keep the Vlogs coming David they always make my day.
Thanks Sarah; how annoying for you to lose that fender; hope it didn't damage anything when it ripped off. Cheers
No idea why youtube is recommending this stuff to me, but it's unexpectedly enthralling! Great stuff, you have a very good presentation style.
Ha, yes RUclips is odd like that. "Unexpectedly Enthralling" - I may have to put that on the t-shirts ;-)
Acetylene miner’s light would be very period, dontcha think? I am impressed with your preparation for the dark journey. Quite a rite of passage for which you should be quite chuffed with yourself.
PS, thank you for the huge number of questions answered in your link about the narrow boats and living ,ect on them. I have wanted to build something more of a house boat to travel where I live near the great lakes in the US , along the river from Chicago to the Mississippi river , Then south in the winter months and back home for the summer on the same route.
Yikes, your reathers were fustled a wee bit concerning solo pilot discrimination. Perhaps a support group is needed. All together now...big hug!
You really did it. no tunnel fever. It is nice to see the sun still shines.
It is!
Interesting tunnel? Bloody hell; that was like driving into a wet coffin! Don't know how you managed the boat through. Too creepy for me; but great video of a near death experience!
Love your vlog! I did experience a bit of panic in the tunnel and found myself holding my breath and ducking my head down - LOL! Thank you so much for the work you put into these vlogs to share with all of us. I look forward to checking RUclips everyday for a new video :-) The very best to you!
Thank you; very pleased you enjoy them.
I kept ducking watching this loved it
It was ducking nerve-wracking!
Love the videos. I think I'm addicted now. One thing that I haven't sorted out though - how exactly do the locks work? I see you with a crank handle. I guess that's opening gates to adjust the water level? Are there water pumps at each lock? It would be very interesting to see you explain the different types of lock gates/doors, and how that actually operate. You see, I'm physically sitting in my recliner in west Texas, USA but, mentally, I'm traveling 'the cut' with you along canals that my ancestors may have traveled before they immigrated in the mid 1800's.
Hi. No pumps. The water has two levels - entry and exit level. It's held back by gates at either end of the lock, each gate has paddles to let water in (at the higher end) or out (at the lower end, it's purely gravity based).
Thus when you approach a lock to go down, the lock needs to be full - if it isn't, you open the top paddles with the crank handle (aka "windlass") to let water in until it's full at which point you can swing open the gates and let the boat in. Close the gates and paddles behind you. Then open the lower paddles and the water drains out taking the boat down whereupon you can open the lower gate and take the boat out, again closing the gates and paddles behind you.
Going up is the reverse process.
Thanks. I can assume then that the the stretch of canal at the very highest altitude of your journey would be replenished by rain runoff or underground springs, etc.
Ah, right, well yes there are pumps that replenish back to the very top (plus large reservoirs)
That tunnel...I’m not claustrophobic but I was panicking a bit when you got to the lowest point.
I've lived in Kidsgrove all my life and traveled on the cut many times, approaching the Harecastle tunnel on both sides but have never entered it. Thank you for filming your journey through the tunnel, I was with you every step of the way and can definitely say without a shadow of a doubt that I wont be entering that tunnel ever.
Haha, thank you. C'mon, you've got to do it if you live there!
Noooooooo the boggart might appear. This urban legend is believed by almost everyone in Kidsgrove and many sightings of her have spread throughout the town. englishlocalhistory.wordpress.com/staffordshire-history/the-kidsgrove-boggart/
Went through the Harecastle both ways in the summer of 2018 in a 70ft boat. The top of my hat scraped on the lowest part of the tunnel as I was steering through as we went through southbound and bears the soot marks to this day! North of the tunnel is a beautiful section of the T & M and we moored overnight at Red Bull, not far from the pub, but far enough away to have a peaceful night's sleep. There were six of us on the boat, so we were well crewed for the locks. This was a repeat of a cruise my wife and I did with my children on the T & M and the Caldon Canal some 30 years ago.
That sounds like the right number of crew for Heartbreak Hill!
This gave Me Goosebumps and I dont think I blinked once watching You go through that Tunnel.
Very Very brave xxxxx
Haha, you can now blink again
CruisingTheCut lol it was a very Scary experience,I would panic going through there.My Husband and I are looking for Narrow boat breaks etc,He used to Own His Own boat years ago,I've always wanted to step inside one lol.
I said to My Husnand if He was to ever take Me through that Tunnel I'd want a Divorce hahaha xxxxx
That's quite a threat! Better plan your routes carefully :-)
CruisingTheCut 😂 xx
A little known fact. 1 out of 100 boats never makes it out. It just disappears somewhere in the tunnel. Many attempts have been made to set up cameras and capture this but it has been unsuccessful. They fail recording, have a lapse in time or some other malfunction.
When the diesel fog gets to dense, it is usually the time where the boat goes missing.
Some experts thinks that the orange oxide colour actually are the remains of the boats rather than iron from the rocks.
That tunnel was trippy. The fog made for nice visuals.