The townships in counties like to call it going back to nature conservation, when they cut their budget to look after things. Nothing gets done unless there is an injury.,or someone filed suit .
Love how the secret cam got you so many puppy kisses. It seems like every improvement brings all the bad drivers out. Bless your heart about the people who continued to hit your boat. I am sure it didn't take too many times for that to be old.
Watching you guys move thru the canals with all the overgrowth gave me anxiety. It almost looked like you were steering the boat thru a cornfield. I can’t imagine how stressful that was for you both😳😳😳
Thanks for taking us along on this beautiful cruise but at the beginning I thought I was watching a very old film, "The African Queen" cruising up a tributary of the Congo or something. I hope that you four are doing well, ( I hope that your back gets better Julie ). Take care and all the best. Stevie
Totally agree with your ‘rant’ about the vegetation. CRT have been using the leave it for nature excuse for far too long and everyone knows it’s nothing to do with that but the expenditure on their part. I thoroughly endorse the looking after the canals by local residents & thank them for their hard work but there are obviously stretches that are beyond their remit. Some parts that are truly overgrown are in danger of not being used as much and may be unnavigable in the future like parts of the BCN 💕🦆
The canal looked like a boaters nightmare....but I enjoyed looking at all the foliage on the sides..and in the canal. Your vlogs are always interesting, thank you. Cheers.
Loved this cruise in an exciting way. Fast water and so much vegetation needing cut back. But you maneuvered it so well. Looking forward to next weeks thrilling episode. Take care and hope you better soon Julie. Hope cow got home to his field ok .
I love the thought of the narrow boat lifestyle but after 2 narrowboat holidays and watching various canal boat RUclips channels I’ve come to the conclusion narrowboating (and wide beams) = really stressful lol
Good evening ,your RUclips channel came up on my RUclips feed and I was very happy to subscribe to it.. As I live in city that is by the water ,down in the southwest..I love living by the water and watching the ships(naval frigates etc ), boats and wildlife..I’m not very good on boats ,I’d rather be in the water ,rather than on it as I say lol .. Take care and I look forward to watching your next video .. (though I will go back and look at some of your older videos too) .. oh forgot to say I totally understand what it’s like to have a bad back ,mine has been bad for many years..i do love the wildlife paintings and yes I can also relate about glitter getting everywhere .. lol
Hi, thank you for subbing to the channel. It's always nice to get new crew members. Back pain is draining, especially when it goes into spasm. It's something I've lived with for years but it seems to be getting worse.
Watch out with your notebook near that silver leaf. It is likely to get in your keyboard and can cause malfunctions. Many modern notebooks no longer have keyboards that can be serviced, so then it is a case of getting a new keyboard fitted.
I did a cruise a number of years ago and it went through the Suez Canal - we did an excursion and we’re meeting the ship at the Port of Said , and as we approached we could see ships going through the canal without being able to see the canal and it really did look like this massive ship was going through a field, pretty remarkable - I imagine that for this very over grown section, ppl thought your narrowboat was motoring through a field
I am so sorry, it must be so heartbreaking to have your lovely wide beam hit 7 times right after you have all new blacking and paint work done! I would have had so many choice words for those idiots!
Hope the dogs vet visit went okay . So sorry you are still suffering with your back julie good luck with your shows Bet you are really looking forward to getting back on the Thames That canal was more reeds than canal no room to swing a cat let alone get a widebeam through . Take care .
So normal canal stuff, maybe we just forgot how tight they are. I think during summer time we used to be hit daily! This is why we did blacking on the Thames. But I feel your pain.
I know, but that doesn't get away from the fact that the CRT are selling a bit of a con here because the canal is so overgrown, you can barely see it at all. How they expect people to enjoy the calming effects of water when it's obscured by 8 feet of weeds.
Just stumbled across your video. There is so much canal maybe it's difficult for the canal and river trust to keep on top of cutting back the vegetation, especially in the summer months a lot of it is volunteer work and they do a very good job.
It's way too much for the trust to manage, but they also state that their policy is to repair when something goes wrong rather than to maintain to prevent things going wrong. A bit like someone eating junk food everyday with the doctor watching and eventually they need open heart surgery instead of simple dietary advice.
I've been battered several times one hire boat hit me so hard it opened all my draws in the bedroom.he then proceeded to head towards the bank until i told him to put it in reverse he didn't understand why you and me passing would be funny both widebeam. Looks like joes drydock. I've a feeling that little"moor it anywhere" was moored in front of mine used mine to stop it had a near disaster avoided spilling my cup of tea. He did apologise.think it was his last trip out before putting it up for sale.
Hi Mark and Julie I sent you a text a couple of months ago with a treatment for your back using a cork coaster put it on your skin and usually within 20 minutes to half an hour the pain will go give it a try you've got nothing to lose and it's drug Free
It's getting to the point where the canal is dangerous. Crumbling locks, rotten gates with malfunctioning paddles etc. We know the CRT are strapped for cash, but unless they do some maintenance the K and A will die.
Flipping eck . Trouble is , any Wally can go purchase a boat and get on the rivers and canals with no training . Scary shit . Stay safe guys and gals . Any chance of putting a few more bumpers on the boat . But I guess it’s more weight to haul and you can cover the entirety of it . Looks like the river trust is slacking , no sign of them and surely this is their peak season when vegetation is thriving .
it's not the hire boaters because they don't know any better, but more the hire companies who rarely give them the training they need. Ah well, looks like I'll need to open the paint again!
A great video to watch especially on waterways I now know very well!! I share the same sentiments as Julie about the Thatcham Reed Bed area. Is there really a need to have so much waterway taken up by them - I know there is a need and want from the CRT to protect nature, and the reed beds themselves are protected, but to only have a strip of water less than 11 ft across on a wide beam canal, is ludicrous. The amount of weed I had taken up into the water intake on the boat over that stretch, was enough to thatch a roof!!!!!! Looking forward to part 2!
To be honest, you don't get much steerage when going with the flow no matter what speed, but you do need to power on when trying to get out of the flow or avoid hitting trees etc
Hi Mark and JuLIE, Well well all this drama and NOT A SINGLE SHOT ,at least Julie could have made a quick sketch of each incident as it happened !,. They should cut all those rushes back a bit ,perhaps set up a rush mat workshop and make a few bob for towpath maintenance Otherwise a nice bendy over grown cruise..I can empathise with Julie's back problems I go for a massage once a month and each time makes me feel six months younger so I'm rapidly approaching the age of five ...the fact that the masseur is a pretty personable 25 year old doesn't hurt either ,she uses an oil made from Holly trees so I get a Christmasy feeling too. Our weather has been very changeable with lots of thunder storms and a bit cooler ,days around 23c and nights down to 10c Lots of wildfires out west in BC and up north with lots of evacuations going on but no smoke yet I'm guessing they are exporting I tto Trumpland no wonder he's in hot water and not quite so orange .Take care happy bumpless cruising Cheers from me and Canada
Just came across your channel, also a longtime widebeam owner and love your Wabbit on your tiller, where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking? Yes really annoying when twits hit your boat, even worse when you have done all the graft yourself I can tell you. PS Rants are obligatory for grumpy old men like us!
You’ll have to walk around your boat with GoPro strapped to your head! Just kidding - I don’t know how ppl have the presences of mind to switch on a camera at times of stress
A lovely trip with lovey people...”secret cam”🤣😂...you two are going to be awesome Grands!! A question for Mark though...is it REALLY a “rant” if it is simply speaking some common sense truths? Wouldn’t that be better described as informed commentary? Best to you both...safe travels.
Mark, I was completely aghast when you started that sentence with "So...". We all know that only people with no education and a very bad upbringing start their sentences with "So..." because they are too bone idle and watch too much Tiktok to even know what planet they are on!!!
Hi Mark, Being comical in one respect, yes. I know you are far more educated than myself and so stopped yourself when you said it. All the other social media followers out there that get hooked on a trend are far less educated. You lot know who you are!!! @@WeirontheMove
![The UK's Largest BOAT SHOW | Boat Tours, Historic Boats & Rum [Ep 159]](/img/1.gif)
What a stressful bit of the canal for you guys. I shudder to think of next week's vlog. Hope your back is feeling better. Leigh
The next vlog is good and bad in equal measure
The townships in counties like to call it going back to nature conservation, when they cut their budget to look after things.
Nothing gets done unless there is an injury.,or someone filed suit .
So true!
Love how the secret cam got you so many puppy kisses. It seems like every improvement brings all the bad drivers out. Bless your heart about the people who continued to hit your boat. I am sure it didn't take too many times for that to be old.
They were nice people but clueless about driving a boat. I helped them get unstuck and waved them on their merry way.
The life of a working artist is sooooo glamorous ! Still, fantastic you are busy 👏👏👏👏
About as unglamorous as it gets
Watching you guys move thru the canals with all the overgrowth gave me anxiety. It almost looked like you were steering the boat thru a cornfield. I can’t imagine how stressful that was for you both😳😳😳
it was pretty stressful on the last stretch. Who said boating was relaxing?
Lovely cruise but that Woolhampton bit was hell on a day boat. How u did that in your widebeam I don’t know. Very very well done. Best wishes
I just pointed the front of the boat into the flow and hoped for the best
Thanks for taking us along on this beautiful cruise but at the beginning I thought I was watching a very old film, "The African Queen" cruising up a tributary of the Congo or something. I hope that you four are doing well, ( I hope that your back gets better Julie ). Take care and all the best. Stevie
It felt like we were cruising through the jungle, Stevie. It is pretty but also challenging to negotiate
Yay, Mark, happy happy tune as you head back to the Thames!
A clean bottomed boat slips along well too. P🇳🇿
Absolutely!
Totally agree with your ‘rant’ about the vegetation. CRT have been using the leave it for nature excuse for far too long and everyone knows it’s nothing to do with that but the expenditure on their part. I thoroughly endorse the looking after the canals by local residents & thank them for their hard work but there are obviously stretches that are beyond their remit. Some parts that are truly overgrown are in danger of not being used as much and may be unnavigable in the future like parts of the BCN 💕🦆
The K and A is at the tipping point where a few more years of underinvestment will close sections. We truly believe it will happen
Nice one Mark Julie have a Top week 🙂🐶🐶✌️
Thanks, you too!
The canal looked like a boaters nightmare....but I enjoyed looking at all the foliage on the sides..and in the canal. Your vlogs are always interesting, thank you. Cheers.
Glad you enjoyed it
What a trip looking forward to part 2 hope not too bad!
It was pretty bad, Helly
Just amazing! Love watching you!
Thank you so much!
Really beautiful scenery !
It is for sure
Loved this cruise in an exciting way. Fast water and so much vegetation needing cut back. But you maneuvered it so well. Looking forward to next weeks thrilling episode. Take care and hope you better soon Julie. Hope cow got home to his field ok .
We think the cow got back safely, Shirley
I love the thought of the narrow boat lifestyle but after 2 narrowboat holidays and watching various canal boat RUclips channels I’ve come to the conclusion narrowboating (and wide beams) = really stressful lol
It can be a challenge, especially when you are precious about fresh paintwork.
Must say do love your vlogs boats looking good can’t wait for the following vlog 😊
Thanks so much! 😊
Love what you guys do thank you
You're welcome 😁
Good evening ,your RUclips channel came up on my RUclips feed and I was very happy to subscribe to it.. As I live in city that is by the water ,down in the southwest..I love living by the water and watching the ships(naval frigates etc ), boats and wildlife..I’m not very good on boats ,I’d rather be in the water ,rather than on it as I say lol .. Take care and I look forward to watching your next video .. (though I will go back and look at some of your older videos too) .. oh forgot to say I totally understand what it’s like to have a bad back ,mine has been bad for many years..i do love the wildlife paintings and yes I can also relate about glitter getting everywhere .. lol
Hi, thank you for subbing to the channel. It's always nice to get new crew members. Back pain is draining, especially when it goes into spasm. It's something I've lived with for years but it seems to be getting worse.
Watch out with your notebook near that silver leaf. It is likely to get in your keyboard and can cause malfunctions. Many modern notebooks no longer have keyboards that can be serviced, so then it is a case of getting a new keyboard fitted.
My notebook already has a sticky keyboard and a failing battery, so I'm not too precious about it.
I did a cruise a number of years ago and it went through the Suez Canal - we did an excursion and we’re meeting the ship at the Port of Said , and as we approached we could see ships going through the canal without being able to see the canal and it really did look like this massive ship was going through a field, pretty remarkable - I imagine that for this very over grown section, ppl thought your narrowboat was motoring through a field
Mark suffers with green blindness because you can't see the water it's so overgrown
I am so sorry, it must be so heartbreaking to have your lovely wide beam hit 7 times right after you have all new blacking and paint work done! I would have had so many choice words for those idiots!
It was so frustrating. Still, we can touch it up again!
Hope the dogs vet visit went okay .
So sorry you are still suffering with your back julie good luck with your shows
Bet you are really looking forward to getting back on the Thames
That canal was more reeds than canal no room to swing a cat let alone get a widebeam through .
Take care .
We are really looking forward to getting back on the Thames.
So normal canal stuff, maybe we just forgot how tight they are. I think during summer time we used to be hit daily! This is why we did blacking on the Thames. But I feel your pain.
Also, the crt mental health well being is just to get more grants.
Yep, just another day travelling along the unloved K and A.
I know, but that doesn't get away from the fact that the CRT are selling a bit of a con here because the canal is so overgrown, you can barely see it at all. How they expect people to enjoy the calming effects of water when it's obscured by 8 feet of weeds.
Well, it's probably a nature reserve lol, they love that cos it doesn't cost them!
Just stumbled across your video. There is so much canal maybe it's difficult for the canal and river trust to keep on top of cutting back the vegetation, especially in the summer months a lot of it is volunteer work and they do a very good job.
It's way too much for the trust to manage, but they also state that their policy is to repair when something goes wrong rather than to maintain to prevent things going wrong. A bit like someone eating junk food everyday with the doctor watching and eventually they need open heart surgery instead of simple dietary advice.
I've been battered several times one hire boat hit me so hard it opened all my draws in the bedroom.he then proceeded to head towards the bank until i told him to put it in reverse he didn't understand why you and me passing would be funny both widebeam. Looks like joes drydock. I've a feeling that little"moor it anywhere" was moored in front of mine used mine to stop it had a near disaster avoided spilling my cup of tea. He did apologise.think it was his last trip out before putting it up for sale.
Hi Mark and Julie I sent you a text a couple of months ago with a treatment for your back using a cork coaster put it on your skin and usually within 20 minutes to half an hour the pain will go give it a try you've got nothing to lose and it's drug Free
I'll pass on that tip to Julie. Thanks for the suggestion, Terry
I agree with you on lack of clearing weeds how can you more if it’s so over grown
It's getting to the point where the canal is dangerous. Crumbling locks, rotten gates with malfunctioning paddles etc. We know the CRT are strapped for cash, but unless they do some maintenance the K and A will die.
Julie!!😂😂😂😂.
Indeed!
You never said if the cows husband was investigated for pushing his old lady into the water!
God Bless you both
Ken from California
How do we know it wasn't the cow's husband's mistress what did it?
Flipping eck . Trouble is , any Wally can go purchase a boat and get on the rivers and canals with no training . Scary shit . Stay safe guys and gals . Any chance of putting a few more bumpers on the boat . But I guess it’s more weight to haul and you can cover the entirety of it .
Looks like the river trust is slacking , no sign of them and surely this is their peak season when vegetation is thriving .
it's not the hire boaters because they don't know any better, but more the hire companies who rarely give them the training they need. Ah well, looks like I'll need to open the paint again!
A great video to watch especially on waterways I now know very well!! I share the same sentiments as Julie about the Thatcham Reed Bed area. Is there really a need to have so much waterway taken up by them - I know there is a need and want from the CRT to protect nature, and the reed beds themselves are protected, but to only have a strip of water less than 11 ft across on a wide beam canal, is ludicrous. The amount of weed I had taken up into the water intake on the boat over that stretch, was enough to thatch a roof!!!!!! Looking forward to part 2!
It's not about "protecting nature" it's about restricting access to nature. Stay inside your 15 minute city, eat bugs and be happy.
They call the K and A a conservation canal, which is ironic given the way they are failing to conserve it.
Please explain what you mean by restricting access.
mark can you tell me what the music is that you folks use on you vlog please, thanks Alex
Mabott Gum. Happy times. 🇳🇿
It's called Happy Mandolin on RUclips
You mentioned running at "tick over" and the rapid current. How much faster than the current does the boat need to be coming to have steerage?
To be honest, you don't get much steerage when going with the flow no matter what speed, but you do need to power on when trying to get out of the flow or avoid hitting trees etc
Hi Mark and JuLIE, Well well all this drama and NOT A SINGLE SHOT ,at least Julie could have made a quick sketch of each incident as it happened !,.
They should cut all those rushes back a bit ,perhaps set up a rush mat workshop and make a few bob for towpath maintenance
Otherwise a nice bendy over grown cruise..I can empathise with Julie's back problems I go for a massage once a month and each time makes me feel six months younger so I'm rapidly approaching the age of five ...the fact that the masseur is a pretty personable 25 year old doesn't hurt either ,she uses an oil made from Holly trees so I get a Christmasy feeling too. Our weather has been very changeable with lots of thunder storms and a bit cooler ,days around 23c and nights down to 10c Lots of wildfires out west in BC and up north with lots of evacuations going on but no smoke yet I'm guessing they are exporting I tto Trumpland no wonder he's in hot water and not quite so orange
.Take care happy bumpless cruising
Cheers from me and Canada
Hi Ralph, we've seen the news reports of the Canadian wildfires. Very scary.
Just came across your channel, also a longtime widebeam owner and love your Wabbit on your tiller, where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking? Yes really annoying when twits hit your boat, even worse when you have done all the graft yourself I can tell you. PS Rants are obligatory for grumpy old men like us!
the Rabbit came with the boat, so we don't know where it's from unfortunately. I find that as I get older, I get grumpier.
You’ll have to walk around your boat with GoPro strapped to your head! Just kidding - I don’t know how ppl have the presences of mind to switch on a camera at times of stress
We certainly don't have the instinct to capture these events
A lovely trip with lovey people...”secret cam”🤣😂...you two are going to be awesome Grands!!
A question for Mark though...is it REALLY a “rant” if it is simply speaking some common sense truths? Wouldn’t that be better described as informed commentary?
Best to you both...safe travels.
Good point, Tina. It just seems bizarre that the canal is so overgrown, it benefits no one, especially as you can't see it from the towpath.
Mark, I was completely aghast when you started that sentence with "So...". We all know that only people with no education and a very bad upbringing start their sentences with "So..." because they are too bone idle and watch too much Tiktok to even know what planet they are on!!!
Such kind comments, Brian. I take it you are being comical?
Hi Mark, Being comical in one respect, yes. I know you are far more educated than myself and so stopped yourself when you said it. All the other social media followers out there that get hooked on a trend are far less educated. You lot know who you are!!! @@WeirontheMove