In 1973 on July 4th (U S Independence day ) I was in a pub in Statford Upon Avon where I met a couple who had a Narrow Boat tied up right out the front door of the Pub. They were kind enough to give me a tour of their boat and I have been keen to Narrow Boat England ever since. They, and all the patrons of the Pub, were most hospitable and treated me like a long lot relative,,,,,we had Great fun teasing each other about the independence of the US from England. I will never forget those wonderful people and that memorable evening.
Nick Halford that sounds lovely. You totally should visit England by narrow boat. Just think how much fun you could have. Planning all the places to visit that are accessible via the canals and rivers, enjoying a traditional pub lunch, taking in the scenery, making new friend and memories.
I was born and grew up in the US, have lived in Germany for more than 50 years, but am fascinated with your journeys on the canals and rivers of England and Wales. I have watched all of them up to 113 and am looking forward to the next one. Thank you for the beautiful camera work and excellent narration. I probably will never even get on a narrow boat, but I feel like I have lived on one.
Watching the whole series of vlogs from the beginning. I'll have to say that not only are the quality of videos getting better each time but your puns are also top notch. "Breaker, breaker, looks like got ourselves a swanvoy".
"Isn't it gorgeous" was an UNDERSTATEMENT. Most of what we get to see is Beautiful countryside and Urban sites & historic structures . This vlog is at the top of the list.
This was lovely and the commentary was spiffing! (I’m still miffed at the “gentleman” who had the audacity to criticise the commentary a couple of vlogs back...)
I remember standing looking in awe at Shakespeare's house at the age of 12 in 1958 while we were camping through England and Scotland on a summer vacation out of Paris (S.H.A.P.E. HQ then. I'm an R.C.A.F. brat). I loved the whole trip. What a beautiful country you live in! I must confess to having nicked more than a few shots of the gorgeous greenery along the canals for wallpaper for my computers - forgivings, please.
Thumbs up! The extra long video made my husband very happy, as did your lovely pun "swanvoy". A treasure, as always. Thank you, Maggie & Dave, Vermont, US
Ok, I'll say it. Your soothingly beautiful videos are too short - just as I'm settling into a very relaxed state, they're over.😟No...wait a minute, I can hit 'repeat'!👏🏻
Pleasure craft, kayaks and even a "swanvoy" on this trip. Lots of traffic! I certainly enjoyed the scenery with you. Glad that massive lock worked out well and you were able to make it to the basin without a lot of fuss. Thanks for another great vlog!
What a lovely vlog. Those canoeists reminded me of the Sunday afternoon cyclists who frequent the country lanes in my area, cycling two or three abreast and refusing to pull in. Really looking forward to seeing your trip up the Stratford Canal 👍
I genuinely think that had no idea I was there (because if they did then clearly they were just being awkward by not moving over). If I'd pressed on, assuming they'd heard or seen me, I'd probably have run them down...
CruisingTheCut I really find it hard to believe they couldn't hear you behind them. Lol. I give you a lot of credit for being so patient. I probably would have blasted the horn after about 20 minutes.
Frost warning tonight of this side of the Pond. Chilly high winds yesterday. Ever colder as October draws to a close. Perfect timing then for dip back into the high days of summer afforded us vicarious narrow boaters via this vlog. Thanks, David.
Thanks for sharing. Here in Queensland Australia it is said to be beautiful one day and perfect the next. By your standards it may well be. I love a rainy day and look forward to grey skies. Your video however showed just how lovely a day can be.
CruisingTheCut I visited my brother when he lived in your area of the world and with me I bought a rain gauge because he couldn't buy one at the hardware to measure rain. Afterwards we realized why. If you get lots of rain you don't care how much you get and if water freezers it will expand and crack gauge.
Yes! - it's lovely! What an amazing journey along the River Avon. The question - canals or rivers? Which do you enjoy? I guess each have their merits. Your videos from the Severn to the Stratford Canal/River Avon were amazing. So much to see. So much to take in. Thank you so very much
Wow! This is the best vlog yet. Sitting here drinking a large G&T watching the lovely scenery-and I am right there chugging along the river! Really like your vids, gradually working through them, watching a few at a time but this is the best one yet. Great views, many thanks for posting all these super vlogs. Very enjoyable, many thanks, Mark
Having just paddled my canoe from Stratford to Tewkesbury over three days, I really enjoyed re-watching this mini-series to remind myself of just how beautiful the Avon is. Thanks again David
I used to camp on the up stream bank (village side) at Welford with 28th St Peters scouts every easter from 1955 to 1959. many happy memories & my introduction to Kayaks, before the lock was rebuilt. One of the peittest villages I have ever known.
Beautiful scenery. I love these videos. Also, I totally agree with you that the large multimillion homes are lovely. However your lifestyle is also very nice in your 56ft boat. You don't need to sit in traffic, grind away in office meetings and sell your soul to survive. I think in all honesty I'd prefer the lifestyle of a canal/river pirate. You may not have a Ferrari and a maid, but you do things on your own clock. There's something to be admired about being able to step away from the hustle and bustle of life in 2018. If you aren't starving and have a roof over your head then your doing fine.
Ah memories, in my youth help HMP Birmingham refurbish the Stratford lock & basin early 60's, used to walk into Stratford by the cut footpath, thank you for the vlog
BRAVO! Another wonderful vlog! "Isn't it LOVELY!" (It really is!) Thanks so much for sharing your adventures. Eagerly looking forward to your next installment... J.
I was on your narrow boat last night when I fell asleep rewatching this vlog. It was cruising through places where I use to work, canals springing up in pastures, and next to roads where I use drive so many decades ago. A strange and wondrous dream. You were pleased to be in Massachusetts, you said, and created canals.
While watching this episode, I realized I had two Lockmaster Maps, No. 15 and 16, that I picked up at what you would call a boot sale. So, I got to follow your progress visually on video and on the map. Maybe I'm a dullard, but what fun!
i think one of your best trips so far .so glad you shut up on occasions ..... and just let us enjoy being there on the canal with you ,with just the sound of the engine water and nature ...swan voy did make me smile catch you on your next trip {:-) PAV
Super video, brough back many happy memories of our trip a couple of years ago when the festival was held in Stratford. I distinctly remember having to breathe in to get under the bridge on exiting the basin.
Trying to think of a word to describe this video. Perhaps you would oblige ............................. oh wait. Lovely, now how did I think of that. A great part of the English countryside. Many a year since I was there, thank you for sharing.
Really good videos. That was us you passed at 1.53, can’t believe I didn’t recognise you. We moor at Bidford on Avon & use this beautiful stretch of the river all the time
Thats just what i needed. After just moving aboard our first live aboard with all the stress that involves a twenty minute time jump to next summer was the reminder of why we chose this life in the first place. Top vlog. And thankyou.
CruisingTheCut its taken a week of the horrendous realisation of how very little we know but were slowly relaxing... takes time to shrug off the tension of city life.
Put Stratford on a ☀️y Sunday afternoon on your bucket list just to see how packed it gets. File it under life's challenges & curiosities;) BTW: this was/is one of you most "lovely" vlogs. Absolutely gorgeous. A veritable "fist pump of happiness!"
Just to prove the consistantly high quality of your productions that we have been treated too, I did actualy reach out to the laptop screen to wipe off a smudge beleiving the smudge had to be at my end, only to find, to my suprise, it was in the video. Well done on another well crafted peice, I truley do like your output.
Oops, sorry about the smudge! The bow cam sits behind the glass in the well deck cratch board, to stop it getting wet in locks and that glass is always getting mucky :-(
Hi David I have watched all your films and enjoyed them all, but you were quite right about this one, everything looked absolutely superb, lovely job mate, keep ‘em coming.
I'm an American in university and I have to say, these videos are so relaxing and interesting. I'd love to be able to go do this. Thanks for making such good content
14:05 I've said it before and I'll say it again I love when the water is that still and you can see the sky reflected so perfectly in it it makes me want to just lie down on a narrowboat roof and read poetry all day long
![FORTNITE CLASSICS IS BACK! Fortnite Item Shop [November 15th, 2024] (Fortnite Chapter 5)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RbQURbeFwqs/mqdefault.jpg)
![A wonderful trip through Shakespeare's land in 1910 in colour! [A.I. enhanced & Colorized]](/img/1.gif)
In 1973 on July 4th (U S Independence day ) I was in a pub in Statford Upon Avon where I met a couple who had a Narrow Boat tied up right out the front door of the Pub. They were kind enough to give me a tour of their boat and I have been keen to Narrow Boat England ever since.
They, and all the patrons of the Pub, were most hospitable and treated me like a long lot relative,,,,,we had Great fun teasing each other about the independence of the US from England. I will never forget those wonderful people and that memorable evening.
What a fabulous memory!
Nick Halford that sounds lovely. You totally should visit England by narrow boat. Just think how much fun you could have. Planning all the places to visit that are accessible via the canals and rivers, enjoying a traditional pub lunch, taking in the scenery, making new friend and memories.
Great David, for 20 minutes or so I forgot about Covid 19.
I was born and grew up in the US, have lived in Germany for more than 50 years, but am fascinated with your journeys on the canals and rivers of England and Wales. I have watched all of them up to 113 and am looking forward to the next one. Thank you for the beautiful camera work and excellent narration. I probably will never even get on a narrow boat, but I feel like I have lived on one.
Thank you; glad you're enjoying them. Cheers.
LOL "breaker, breaker; we got a swan-voy" lol that was great!!!
:-)
Watching the whole series of vlogs from the beginning. I'll have to say that not only are the quality of videos getting better each time but your puns are also top notch. "Breaker, breaker, looks like got ourselves a swanvoy".
"Isn't it gorgeous" was an UNDERSTATEMENT. Most of what we get to see is Beautiful countryside and Urban sites & historic structures . This vlog is at the top of the list.
Glad you liked it!
Well what an I say... utterly lovely!!! Thank you once again for a wonderful escape from reality!!! Do love!!!
:-)
When you exhausted your vocabulary, your pictures said it for you. And what a song they sang.
:-)
Whatching this on Election Day in the US. YOUR VIDEOS ARE SO CALM AND SOOTHING
This was lovely and the commentary was spiffing! (I’m still miffed at the “gentleman” who had the audacity to criticise the commentary a couple of vlogs back...)
Seeing the canals through your eyes gives us an entirely new perspective of the English countryside. And yes, it IS lovely. Thank you!
Cheers
Yes, you're right David, very lovely indeed :-)
:-)
A day with a new CTC vlog is a good day.
Thank you
As many have said, this was one of your best vlogs.........superb! Who doesn't love Stratford on a sunny Sunday?
Thank you. It was a glorious day.
"Oh what terrific hardship it was to continue..." Ha! I feel your pain.
I remember standing looking in awe at Shakespeare's house at the age of 12 in 1958 while we were camping through England and Scotland on a summer vacation out of Paris (S.H.A.P.E. HQ then. I'm an R.C.A.F. brat). I loved the whole trip. What a beautiful country you live in!
I must confess to having nicked more than a few shots of the gorgeous greenery along the canals for wallpaper for my computers - forgivings, please.
Now that was a real treat. I never realised that the Stratford Avon was some beautiful and tranquil except perhaps for the wash creating cruiser!.
He's allowed to do 8mph downstream :-)
It's just like being there, and the joy you feel comes across wonderfully, thank you so much
Much appreciated, cheers
Thumbs up! The extra long video made my husband very happy, as did your lovely pun "swanvoy". A treasure, as always. Thank you, Maggie & Dave, Vermont, US
Glad you liked that, I was rather pleased with it myself!
I feel very fortunate to have found you on youtube. I find you to be a delightful jocular person.
A great vlog with all that beautiful countryside. David, thank you for posting.
Cheers Marian
Geese, swans, cows, and "Jaws"!! The Avon has it all!! Great video!! Best wishes!!
Thanks Walther!
So darned lovely, it’s true.
Ok, I'll say it. Your soothingly beautiful videos are too short - just as I'm settling into a very relaxed state, they're over.😟No...wait a minute, I can hit 'repeat'!👏🏻
Absolutely beautiful, makes me even more determined to keep saving for my boat😊
Good - keep going!
greetings from Ohio USA - I love your vlogs where you actually get off the boat and walk around
Pleasure craft, kayaks and even a "swanvoy" on this trip. Lots of traffic! I certainly enjoyed the scenery with you. Glad that massive lock worked out well and you were able to make it to the basin without a lot of fuss. Thanks for another great vlog!
Cheers
Well I must admit it was very lovely 😊
“Swan-voy”
Cracked me up 😂
🙂🐿🌈❤️
Glad you made it out of Midsommer safely. According to DCI Barnaby there are a LOT of murders in Midsommer ;)
Someone calculated that the murder rate in Midsomer was far worse than the worst neighborhoods in the Americas.
That may be, but I'm sure the estate agents are doing very well!
What a lovely vlog. Those canoeists reminded me of the Sunday afternoon cyclists who frequent the country lanes in my area, cycling two or three abreast and refusing to pull in. Really looking forward to seeing your trip up the Stratford Canal 👍
I genuinely think that had no idea I was there (because if they did then clearly they were just being awkward by not moving over). If I'd pressed on, assuming they'd heard or seen me, I'd probably have run them down...
CruisingTheCut I really find it hard to believe they couldn't hear you behind them. Lol. I give you a lot of credit for being so patient. I probably would have blasted the horn after about 20 minutes.
This is why I like your video's. You focus on the beauty of the countryside, and the subtle little details of the journey.
Glad you enjoy them, cheers
Thank You for another scenic cruise through the verdant British countryside.
Cheers
Beautiful mature trees all along the banks, such variety. The stuff that dreams are made of in that sunshine.
Indeed.
Absolutely stunning ! A cruise I look forward to 😏
As we said in the U.S. Navy.........."Well done". And that's for all your episodes!
Thank you!
Frost warning tonight of this side of the Pond. Chilly high winds yesterday. Ever colder as October draws to a close. Perfect timing then for dip back into the high days of summer afforded us vicarious narrow boaters via this vlog. Thanks, David.
Bit nippy today here too; stove's on though so that's OK
I think it was quite.... I think the correct expression is, although I could be wrong... lovely.
I adore Stratford ,it's just so...... civilized! I have lived in Spain for 13 years and sometimes miss certain places.
How absolutely delightful.
:-)
Thanks for sharing. Here in Queensland Australia it is said to be beautiful one day and perfect the next. By your standards it may well be. I love a rainy day and look forward to grey skies. Your video however showed just how lovely a day can be.
The occasional rainy day is fine, I agree!
CruisingTheCut I visited my brother when he lived in your area of the world and with me I bought a rain gauge because he couldn't buy one at the hardware to measure rain. Afterwards we realized why. If you get lots of rain you don't care how much you get and if water freezers it will expand and crack gauge.
Haha love it
Have to make a note to watch this in mid February in Hamilton, Ontario :) Thanks David
Yes! - it's lovely! What an amazing journey along the River Avon. The question - canals or rivers? Which do you enjoy? I guess each have their merits. Your videos from the Severn to the Stratford Canal/River Avon were amazing. So much to see. So much to take in. Thank you so very much
3:11 that is a work of art, your photography composition is very good
Wow! This is the best vlog yet. Sitting here drinking a large G&T watching the lovely scenery-and I am right there chugging along the river!
Really like your vids, gradually working through them, watching a few at a time but this is the best one yet.
Great views, many thanks for posting all these super vlogs.
Very enjoyable, many thanks,
Mark
Thank you. I think this was one of the loveliest bits of boating I've yet done!
Another great episode once again 👍Thanks, David.Poor Shakespeare 😲
What an indignity :-(
It is VERY LOVELY.
@Phil Weatherley LOL
Ahhhhhhhhhhh......Beautiful...spectacularly so, for which i am indeed grateful. Thank you !
Cheers
Having just paddled my canoe from Stratford to Tewkesbury over three days, I really enjoyed re-watching this mini-series to remind myself of just how beautiful the Avon is. Thanks again David
I loved it
Thoroughly enjoyed that tour of the river Avon, not the least bit envious of your lifestyle, of course. ;-)
So lovely, 20 minutes without a care in the world.
I used to camp on the up stream bank (village side) at Welford with 28th St Peters scouts every easter from 1955 to 1959. many happy memories & my introduction to Kayaks, before the lock was rebuilt. One of the peittest villages I have ever known.
Love seeing the canal drifting gently past your boat.
Hi there. I love your videos. You have a calming effect on me.Thank you.
The courntryside was simply so darned lovely!
i enjoyed that, great views and commentary Thank you.
Pretty sure Top Gear went down this section of water in their Hovervan hover craft.
Great video! Jealous
Nice one David, I look forward to the next instalment. It really was quite lovely
Ta
Thanks again David.
Beautiful scenery. I love these videos.
Also, I totally agree with you that the large multimillion homes are lovely. However your lifestyle is also very nice in your 56ft boat.
You don't need to sit in traffic, grind away in office meetings and sell your soul to survive.
I think in all honesty I'd prefer the lifestyle of a canal/river pirate. You may not have a Ferrari and a maid, but you do things on your own clock. There's something to be admired about being able to step away from the hustle and bustle of life in 2018. If you aren't starving and have a roof over your head then your doing fine.
Some stunning scenery many scenes would not look out of place on a chocolate box!
Mmm, chocolate...
Ah memories, in my youth help HMP Birmingham refurbish the Stratford lock & basin early 60's, used to walk into Stratford by the cut footpath, thank you for the vlog
BRAVO! Another wonderful vlog! "Isn't it LOVELY!" (It really is!) Thanks so much for sharing your adventures. Eagerly looking forward to your next installment... J.
Thanks John
I was on your narrow boat last night when I fell asleep rewatching this vlog. It was cruising through places where I use to work, canals springing up in pastures, and next to roads where I use drive so many decades ago. A strange and wondrous dream. You were pleased to be in Massachusetts, you said, and created canals.
Sounds lovely!
Many thanks for the vlog of loveliness David, that appears to be a very well kept navigation.
Worth the £50 week's fee, I thought!
Delightful and the prompt for some very happy memories.
Good
Fabulous! Very relaxed now after watching this. Thank you.
Thank you Rebecca. I like to think of my vlogs as the Radox of the video world ;-)
Wasn't this lovely. Another splendid VLog!
Well David you have done it again. Magic. One of your best so far..
Cheers
Absolutely stunning scenary David and not a rain cloud insight. Great vlog as usual. 👍👏👏👏
Cheers
While watching this episode, I realized I had two Lockmaster Maps, No. 15 and 16, that I picked up at what you would call a boot sale. So, I got to follow your progress visually on video and on the map. Maybe I'm a dullard, but what fun!
I allways have this up in a separate tab whilst watching...
canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network
thanks mate,loved it. from the philippines
:-)
i think one of your best trips so far .so glad you shut up on occasions ..... and just let us enjoy being there on the canal with you ,with just the sound of the engine water and nature ...swan voy did make me smile catch you on your next trip {:-) PAV
I do shut up sometimes... ;-)
hahaha no disrespect but others shut up then play music over the top of the scenic stuff ..... was my point
I have been known to do that but mostly I try not to!
I remember visiting there as a teen, in one of my first visits abroad. It is a lovely place, thank you for the new perspective :)
Cheers
Binge watching, reached here, congrats on reaching 125K!
Awesome video thanks ..its always a joy to watch.
Ta
The C.W. McCall reference was absolutely hilarious! Breaker breaker here comes a swanvoy I busted out laughing
And for anyone who doesn't know it ... ruclips.net/video/Sd5ZLJWQmss/видео.html
I am Shocked , Shocked ! That you even know that song. Cheers from California !
it was a number 2 spot in the uk charts in 75/76
ruclips.net/video/d189uP-48sU/видео.html
the uk alto of convoy hahahah
Super video, brough back many happy memories of our trip a couple of years ago when the festival was held in Stratford. I distinctly remember having to breathe in to get under the bridge on exiting the basin.
Yes, it was very much a case of doing that. And the next bridge too!
Trying to think of a word to describe this video. Perhaps you would oblige ............................. oh wait. Lovely, now how did I think of that. A great part of the English countryside. Many a year since I was there, thank you for sharing.
Good choice of word :-)
Hi David what a lovely day you had fantastic weather and surroundings and scenery And only 200 odd miles away from York 👍😀😀😀
A great video of the wonderful Stratford-upon-Avon
Ta
The right video to christen that new CruisingtheCut-Mug
Oh, perfect! (and thank you)
A beautiful part of the country and a great way to see it !
:-)
Really good videos. That was us you passed at 1.53, can’t believe I didn’t recognise you. We moor at Bidford on Avon & use this beautiful stretch of the river all the time
Thank you. Perhaps I was in disguise...
Thats just what i needed. After just moving aboard our first live aboard with all the stress that involves a twenty minute time jump to next summer was the reminder of why we chose this life in the first place. Top vlog. And thankyou.
Well done with the move, hope you can chill out and relax into it :-)
CruisingTheCut its taken a week of the horrendous realisation of how very little we know but were slowly relaxing... takes time to shrug off the tension of city life.
Indeed it does.
Good morning! Nice journey!
:-)
Great video as always thank you
Ta
Hello from New England, Thank you, for a wonderful video....simply gorgeous.
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
What a perfectly beautiful place in the world! Thank you so much for sharing.
Too pretty for words. Your montages did all the talking. Blissfully beautiful.
Put Stratford on a ☀️y Sunday afternoon on your bucket list just to see how packed it gets. File it under life's challenges & curiosities;)
BTW: this was/is one of you most "lovely" vlogs. Absolutely gorgeous. A veritable "fist pump of happiness!"
Yes! It was one of my favourite cruises too
I so enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming.
Cheers
I’m fortunate to live in Stratford, this was brilliant to watch :)
Yes, it WAS lovely, you lucky dog !!
;-)
You never cease to amaze me, shawvoy, re, C W Mcall and CONVOY.
Just to prove the consistantly high quality of your productions that we have been treated too, I did actualy reach out to the laptop screen to wipe off a smudge beleiving the smudge had to be at my end, only to find, to my suprise, it was in the video. Well done on another well crafted peice, I truley do like your output.
Oops, sorry about the smudge! The bow cam sits behind the glass in the well deck cratch board, to stop it getting wet in locks and that glass is always getting mucky :-(
Wasnt a negative comment as I know you take a lot of care over your work, just made me smile when I instingtivly reached out lol.
Lovely!
Hi David I have watched all your films and enjoyed them all, but you were quite right about this one, everything looked absolutely superb, lovely job mate, keep ‘em coming.
Will do, cheers
I'm an American in university and I have to say, these videos are so relaxing and interesting. I'd love to be able to go do this. Thanks for making such good content
14:05 I've said it before and I'll say it again I love when the water is that still and you can see the sky reflected so perfectly in it it makes me want to just lie down on a narrowboat roof and read poetry all day long
Way back was a nice place to go. Thanks!
Ta