197. Tackling the Bosley lock flight solo on the Macclesfield canal
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- čas přidán 11. 11. 2019
- #narrowboat #narrowboats #canal #canals #liveaboard #cruisingthecut
Pressing on from the mooring at LMH - see last vlog - I unexpectedly stop early for a week when the Bosley lock flight is closed due to a leak in the canal at the top. Once it's re-opened, I go up the flight in a pretty good time, all things considered, despite the peculiar "dual top gate" installation on these locks.
Start point: goo.gl/maps/VX31MJHz5GPXvsEa8
End point: goo.gl/maps/A26VaNUwSxeY2181A
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Theme music: "Vespers" by Topher Mohr and Alex Alena, from the CZcams music library
Nothing is more illustrative of the pace of canal life than the fact that a lock flight can be closed for a week and your only thought is, "Hmm. I guess I'll need some supplies, then." Reminds you that life is about the journey, not the destination.
I live in Connecticut USA and had visited the Bosley Locks in the early evening of August 24. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and via phone/text message, I reminisced in real time with my friends about our canal boat trip up this flight in 2007. We loved this section of our Cheshire Ring journey!
Parking my rental car near Lock 5, I walked about a half mile up the canal and thoroughly enjoyed the evening sun and the perfectly pleasant temperatures. Not one boat came up or came down while I was there, although somebody had decided to moor overnight in one of the pounds between the locks. It was a glorious couple of hours spent before a difficult couple of days visiting a sick relative... for what it is worth, if I had seen you attempting the locks solo (or anybody navigating solo for that matter,) I would certainly have helped in any way that I could. It would have been an honour to work your windlass, David! Turns out I was a couple of months too early for you...
Anyway, sorry for my ramblings. Had to get it out; I think about my whirlwind few days in the UK a lot, and the peaceful time I spent at Bosley meant a ton to me on this particular visit.
Steven Linton I’m a bit obsessed with British canals!. Kind of hard because we don’t have anything like that over here so I have to get my fill when I am over there. This section is wonderful, so happy David got to do it. Sucks about his delay though. Yikes...
I have to admit your vlog has saved me from complete depression because of the political climate here in the U.S. Instead of watching the news, I get to look at beautiful British countryside and relax.......thank you!
Best way to fight depression is not watching the news..
86 year old widow here in rural Nebraska USA. Lifetime of traveling in caravans or motor homes with spouse and later alone. Now grounded using walker. Your vlogs on the canal give me a sense of freedom haven’t felt in a long time. Thank you.
I'm glad they help, thank you
Wow, you are so wickedly clever, as you entered the lock - blaming the two clumsy bumps on a flock of flying insects, which none of us saw at all... 🤣👍
2:10 after extensive research I've found out that the bridge was named for one Wilhelmina "Billy" Brouwer, Dutch transplant to the English countryside in the late 19th century. Billy had a brewery on a golf course nearby and had been working on an excellent microbrew that needed stinging nettles from across the canal.
Now in her native Delft the canals in those days were shallow enough to wade across without wetting your ankles and so our heroine stepped boldly onto the Macclesfield. Unfortunately the dunking she got shocked her badly and also ruined the fine pair of heirloom satin tights her mother-in-law had given her on her wedding day.
Infuriated and humiliated and grieving for the tights, Wilhelmina spent the next three months building a footbridge in a gin fueled rampage of masonry. Her husband brought her cups of tea to help her sober up on Sundays (even God rested). When she finished she crossed over got the nettles and made her beer.
To conclude, the local yokels had a hearty laugh at the pub over mugs of the new brew and dubbed the footbridge Billy Tights to baffle everyone that didn't know this very true not at all made up story.
All sounds very plausible, for sure.
After I watched you do this flight of locks I was so exhausted I had to fix myself a toddy and kick back in my recliner chair.
18735 views in 9 hours. It seems like I'm not the only one who loves your work. Thank you very much from New South Wales.
Interesting stripy paddocks, followed (in time) by one of my favourite things.....a paddock full of baled hay. Found the cactus next to the Giraffe interesting, looked like it was waving at the passing traffic. Another interesting, relaxing and very scenic vlog. Thank you.
I have to tell you, I was having a beer at my local in Tewksbury Massachusetts and the new bartender follows you as well. What great fun we had chatting about the channel. Thank you again for all your good work.
Wow! How bizarre. Say hello to him from me too :-)
CruisingTheCut I most certainly will, he’ll be heartily impressed.
The locks in this video constructed with the large stones look very, very similar to our mostly defunct canals in Ohio. Except ours are about twice as wide. Our minimum canal dimensions were 40 ft. wide at water level, 26 ft. at the bottom and 4 feet deep.
Several of the scenes you've captured have given me a glimpse back in time in a way to our canals in Ohio that we unfortunately sacrificed to progress.
Love the videos David!
It was a magical summer, sunny and warm, but now it's time for frosty nights and winter gales, fireside chats & narrowboat tales!
I've just caught up too! only taken me from the begining of August! You'll have to speed up production I need more! lol!
I love your shows. Always something different. What views. Thanks for taking us along.
I know there are a lot of beautiful sights in Britain.
But the sights in this vlog is on top.
Thank you.
Yes, another pleasureful trip. I do enjoy your view of things. You find the beauty in the ordinary and it's wonderful. Thanks loads.
Another great video. I always enjoy them. I remember some time ago that you were surprised when you reached 25K subscribers. I see that you are now at over 87K. Wow! Just shows how good your videos are.
Thank you so much for easing my mind down to a slower pace -- very relaxing, very enjoyable!
Billy Tights footbridge was originally Billy Tights swing bridge. According to reliable sources, no one knows who he was, but he may or may not have been the first man to put cream cheese on french fries.
Maybe Billy was a goat and his owner had a thing for making him wear tights. That would put a new slant on "swing" bridge. :) lol
Wait you can do that?
I'm amazed at how beautiful the English Midlands are no matter where you travel and on which canal. It certainly seems to me that it would be really hard to give up canal life once you got used to it (I don't know if you feel that way as well).
I hope you realize those of us not previously familiar with UK geography are getting a very detailed lesson thanks to following your travels and learning about all the different canals. I'm always interested in where your travels take you next. Cheers! :)
I hope it was a nice grilled cheese sandwich. I like to get my grill pan hot butter one side of the bread put it butter side down on the pan and give it a light dusting of pepper or onion powder, and ( when I'm feeling crazy both). put a second slice of buttered bread on top. Buttered side up. Flip it a couple of times till it's a golden brown and the cheese is nicely melted. Let it cool a bit and eat with your favorite drink. Enjoy. Another excellent v'log beautiful English country side. You are spoiling us. Thanks.
Great show as usual. The field added a fine bit of nostalgia for me. I loved educational aspects of the snake bridges, SKYLARK, and the stone mile markers .
I've had a couple incidents with wasps crawling out of vents in my car, nearly precipitating an accident. However my worst confrontation came moments after takeoff in a light aircraft. A wasp crawled around my A pillar and, just as I mentioned it to my instructor, it took flight and hovered inches from my face. He said, 'I've got the loose stuff' and that's all I needed to hear. I popped the window. Amazing how windy it gets in a single engine prop plane at full power when you open a window :) All my instructor said after that was 'maintain focus'. After about 30 seconds he reminded me to close the window. Fortunately there wasn't a narrow lock right in front of me or I would have hit it for sure. The takeoff was from a VERY narrow runway however. 30 ft wide with power poles on the left and a fence to the right. Luckily he didn't pop out until we were at about 50 feet above the runway.
It never ceases to amaze me how one can travel in a boat and be above the surrounding landscape, house, roads, etc. Very interesting and beautiful. Thanks.
Absolutely lovely. Well done David with going up the Bosley Flight. Superb video and commentary. You really have deserved your mug of tea and a cheese sandwich
Beautiful. One to do again next year, but slowly, stopping for a few days here and there.
When I was sheep-shearing in Cheshire, we stayed with the contractor in that farmhouse, (which was the former pub for the canal workers). The contractor was Arthur and Barbara Malkin. It was a lovely place to stay and I have fond memories of my time there and of shearing around Cheshire.
I recall round 1970 seeing Charlie Atkins at the time one of the last professional (narrow) boatmen singlehanding his boat and butty through (I think) locks on the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie. Let us say he used various methods now considered to be entirely out of order including leaving his motor running to open the gates, closing them using a running line to the beam and dropping the paddles with his hand as a friction brake.
He refused help, even though, I later found out he was about 80
I AM AMAZED HOW MANY LIVE ON THESE BOATS!!!
The Uk is such a lovely place to be in the warmer months. You really show it off in the best way. Wonderful
Almost 20 years ago (could it really be that long ?!?) Calgary had fundraiser called “Udderly Art” where artists painted ceramic/cement cows which were then auctioned for charity
The cow you passed reminded me of this, but all the Udderly Art cows were all standing 🇨🇦
Now then David, I'm beginning to wonder if you are a friend of the canal god, as nearly every lock you approach seems to just been used by a boat traveling in the opposite direction, negating any work on your part. I must confess to being very impressed - and a little envious! Nice blog as always, many thanks for your time and trouble in producing these videos. Stay safe.
I really like how the bow camera shows the bow. It really adds to the idea of "being on the canal."
This is why the not-a-vlogs are very relaxing for me. I put those videos on full screen and drink my morning coffee.
Thank you for these videos!
There's another (long!) notavlog coming soon when I have the time to render it - it takes hours - and the bandwidth to upload it!!
@@CruisingTheCut if i can do 12 hr 496gb vids at 4k - so can you!
CruisingTheCut I also appreciate the time and effort that goes into the Not-a-vlogs. I have been saving one for January, so to have new one will be lovely! 😊 Your vlogs are by far the most relaxing, they ought to be prescribing them on the NHS!
What a wonderful treat for a dreary, rainy day in Virginia. It's a pity that more of the US canals haven't been restored to navigable condition yet, doing the locks looks like great exercise!
Love the "stripey field"! Beautiful stretch of canal and a good workout at the locks. You deserve that cheese sandwich! Great vlog as always.
Nearly eight locks an hour is really knocking on David and all twelve in just over two is brilliant. I calculated we hit a stretch of the Caen Hill (going 'downhill') where we had 'overrun' the CRT volunteers - that's not to say we didn't appreciate them - we were doing just over six locks an hour. That's on a contiguous flight and with crew though. To be fair, some of the Caen Hill locks leak so badly, it didn't matter how quickly we cycled the one above it, we still had to half refill the next lock down. The very strong wind was right on the bow, so making it across the very short pound without getting blown to one side or the other was a trial. If you got pushed onto the lock landing, it was really difficult to get off and the other way, with those very shallow ponds, didn't bear thinking about! Well done sir! Expert locking.
Geese, ducks and a stripey field. Another fabulous vlog.
Wonderful Vlog. I always learn something new. "Buried the markers so paratroopers would not be able to find their way? Great stuff!
Love all your vlogs. Slowly working through them all. Much better than anything on TV.
Hello -- that was lovely viewing. So relaxing! So easy to watch. Lovely countryside. Thank you very much. Best wishes from a very wet & watery Sheffield . ☕️🥪
Don't think I'll ever see it in person, but Wolverhampton is a great name for a city.
Another lovely journey. I rather enjoyed the building at timemark 4:00 between the railway and road bridges. It reminded me of Venice and I imagine having breakfast with a window at or near water level and being able to look up at passing narrowboats. Cheers.
A cheese sandwich and a cup of tea, if only you had a dog, you would without doubt be the Wallace and Gromit of the inland waterways.
Mike Ede. That made I laugh! Just imagine the gadgets Wallace would have thought up for his narrowboat?
Seriously David, have you considered a dog? It seems more than half the narrowboats you see have got a dog. Kath and Ann-Marie are quite unusual with cats.
It wouldn't be right for me to have a dog; the cost, the requirement for regular walks (I'm damned lazy) plus who knows what the future holds. Can't take one on if I'm not sure of things.
@@CruisingTheCut I can see your point and it's the considered and responsible view - too many people take on dogs without realising the seriousness of such an undertaking. You know what they say; 'A dog is for life....' Having said that, it was exactly the point of view I had about dogs. I knew the best dogs had the best owners and I was very uncertain about my ability as a 'dog owner'.
It was 'my mates' (actually my 'Enthusiastic Hire Boater' mates) who persuaded me I needed a dog to make me walk, when I retired. That was more than three years ago and I wouldn't be without him. He's been on a number of narrowboats and a cruiser on the Belgian canals and he just likes being with me and my mates. Exercise isn't a problem, as long as he or she is trained to behave at locks and on the tow path. They will exercise themselves! You just have to keep an eye on them, so you know where to go to use the pooh bag!
If you look at your fellow vloggers, to see how many have a dog - Spaniels seem to be favoured, although they have boundless, almost unlimited energy, that needs to be dissipated. Invite a friend with a 'little dog' (>5Kg
Another great video.Thanks for sharing, keep the videos coming and safe travels 🙏.
What a lovely place to moor up. Great vlog David. Look out for all those cold squally showers. Cheers
Wonderful. I have all sorts of stress in my life and find your videos really cathartic. A genuine thank you .
A wonderful canal trip. With winter hard on our heels, we will have to rewatch many of your glorious vlogs to get us through it.
I wish the US had canals like this seems a peaceful life
Go to old part of the northern states. They do have these
You could perhaps do the Great Circuir route in a narrow boat. Just have to watch the weather closely.
@@areguapiri Agreed. Not to mention the wide temperature swings.
Such wonderful weather. Got down to -12C last night here in the, middle of the, US. Great Vid thank you
Our refrigerators aren't that cold in Australia ! :-)
Very scenic. Thanks for the video David.
I always love your videos. Just something to put on and sip a cup of coffee in the morning. Really makes me want to visit England.
9:45 rhe wasps again...😂😂😂
(no officer, I crashed the car because a dog ran out in front of me. I haven't neen drinking, honest).
I'm really enjoying the videos 👍 Thanks.
I don't seem to tire of your unique presentation style. Do keep the vids coming, if winter freezes you out you might perhaps consider restarting your camper van series?
Yes, I'll be moored for winter and going to collect the campervan :-)
Oh my David you've just wore me out watching you open all those lock gates.
Very lovely trip down the canals.
Chris from Missouri
Very enjoyable. Thanks David.
Congratulations on your Amazon Prime Series I enjoyed the content very much.
I'm going to have to look this up
See cruisingthecut.co.uk/amazon-prime-video/
Great vlog with your professional production.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I enjoy them. Calming.
Ah the old ‘wasp‘s made me hit the wall’ excuse😀
An eventful journey. But....after all that work, bug*er the cheese sandwich and tea. I'd be wanting a pie and a pint!
A cup of tea and your vlog, a great start to my day.
Hugh Carson, It is a great end of the day for me. I seen to enjoy watching his vlogs late in the day. Even late in the night on occasion as they have a way of making it easier to fall asleep after watching one and even during one of the not a vlog videos. 👍
Very enjoyable and relaxing trip with you on the Macclesfield. Thanks very much.
another beautiful trip logged in the manner i've become accustomed to! perfection. with every vlog you post i find myself more and more interested in retiring and moving on to a narrow boat!
Enjoyed the journey. So peaceful, wasps notwithstanding.
Great history on those markers , David. Thank you.👍
Thanks for another good show.
Nice, sunny weather is but a distant memory.
Thank you again for another great video. I love watching them with my son. Beautiful scenery and great narration. Thanks heaps and keep them coming. From Melbourne Australia
David, I hope you never stop cruising the cut. Should we all meet up to watch the return of Haley's comet in 2061? I will be 110 at that point in time. It could be a real gathering. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Another nice video. Thanks for doing what you do.
I think I'll be dead by then!
Thankyou for yet another brilliant vlog! 🌻
Outstanding, as usual!!
Lovely vlog David, the wasps seem to have taken a liking to you, fame, or the smell of your lollies. Before you do any damage there are ways to naturally get rid of them. Mix a tablespoon of peppermint oil in four cups of water and spray it around the rear of the boat. If you are not keen on peppermint try citronella or eucalyptus.🦟🦟🦟🦟
such a lovely start to my day. thanks David.
Another excellent vlog David, many thanks for taking the time to make and edit it.
Great video again thanks, keep them coming!
Thanks David. Striped fields,fancy giraffes and cows, locks set your way; capital!
Absolutely awesome, as usual. Thank you for another video
Approximately a year ago, after never searching for houseboats, waterways, sailing, canals or any similar such waterbased videos, CZcams suggested your Vlog. Fast forward to present and I've seen all the Cruising The Cut videos and a narrowboat vacation is now high on my bucket list. CZcams got it right on this one.
So rare for CZcams to suggest something useful!! Haha glad you like them.
love these vlogs....
Another great vlog. I don't think I have missed one of your fine works. Thank you for sharing you canal life with us land-locked folks.
Another relaxing CtC video. Thanks David!
Another great instalment. Thanks David.
Brilliant vlog David....well explained.....thanks for sharing
Delightful as always..
Another very lovely day on the canals. Thanks.
Another wonderful vlog, David!
Lovely ~ 👍💕🙏🏻 Thank you for the tour. Very nice
What lovely countryside.I am going to miss your adventures over the dark,dreary months of winter.
I do still post videos over winter, usually, albeit not cruising ones!
Thanks again for another great adventure
Brilliant video,just love watching your amazing narrowboat cruising along the canal system,beautiful scenery all around you,
Very good as usual
That looks so lovely as I bundle up for 5C in Houston
I am bonkers for your excellent videos!
Thanks and what a great timing ! dit not wath to watch, stil love this channel
Well, looks like you got your cardio in for the day! Also, agree abt the stones on the first lock, especially the detail of the beveled edge & trim line, very nice. Thanks so much for the journey!!! Now, off to watch the first day of Impeachment hearings! Woohoo! Didn't watch President Clinton's, but did President Nixon's, so this oughta be fun. I'm a geek. hahaha
A cheese sandwich and tea. Not at all surprising, I should have expected that. Sounds wonderful. Lovely trip.
Thank you. Very enjoyable.
Well nice to see you having a good time and love it keep it up nigel 👍🍵😌
I have watched many of your vlog's. I subscribe to Britbox and could see your boating being a series. These are very well done. The beautiful scenery never stops to amaze me. Thank you.
So happy to have found your channel! Looking forward to watching more and dreaming of narrow boats! From Canada!
Welcome along!