I've got an itch on my leg.
Scratch it.
I've scratched it.
River Thames, the Upper River Thames is definitely Horse-Fly alley.
[Laughs]
We're like this all the time.
In between filming and drinking coffee 90% of the time is like
Urgggh, urggghh!
It's there, it's there
[Laughing]
We're still at Tadpole Bridge,
there it is in the background.
Built in 1802,
It links,
that side with that side.
[Laughing]
Who'd a thunk it.
[Laughing]
There's village up there called Bampton
Farringdon is just down the other way.
Farringdon,
isn't that errr,
Isn't that a cage?
No, that's Faraday Cage isn't it.
[Laughs]
What's he talking about.
I don't know.
Today we're going to complete our journey of the Upper Thames.
According to the maps, it's about 10 and a little bit mile
between here and Lechlade, which is where we're going to stop for the next few days
once we get there, if there's enough moorings.
Not as long as last time is it.,
No.
There's a lot of low pressure around
and there's a lot of big heavy thundery showers forecast for the next 2 of 3 days.
So the hood may be going up.
[Laughs] Yeah.
Today is forecast to be the only dry day of the week,
that's why we're gonna make the journey today.
Hopefully no showers, but it did say that last time and it rained didn't it?
Yeah
An hour ago it was clear blue skies here.
It's cloudy now.
There's like a little bit a low cloud and mist rolling in,
but it's quite early it's only half past 7.
we're gonna get off, we wouldn't get there for about lunchtime.
Yeah, then we can get settled down.
The reference book says 4 hours 40 minutes.
Oh we'll get there at tea time then.
[Laughing]
Have we done all our engine checks?
I think so.
Has Dillon had his second poo?
Not yet.
Right, we're off, we'll see you in a bit.
[Music playing]
The sun's trying to come out.
It started off lovely this morning,
clear blue skies at like half past 5, 6 o'clock wasn't it?
And then as soon as we got the camera out just after 7 o'clock
[Blows raspberry]
Between Rushey Lock, which is by half a mile past there and Radcot Lock, the next lock.
The river is at it's windiest or windy-est if you were turning in it.
Yes.
It's very reminiscent of the Curly Whirleys on the Leeds and Liverpool.
Yeah, but curlier whirlier
Yeah it is.
and the bends are tighter and shorter so it's like little tiny bends.
You just have to slow down a little bit, because you've got current coming the other way,
if you kind of miss a corner or go a little bit too wide.
[Laughs]
That's it, your stern ends up in the side of the river.
[Laughs]
Oh I hope this sun comes out.
So you gotta take it easy haven't you?
[Music playing]
The thing about filming when you got the sun behind you,
is that we look very dark.
[Laughs]
That is Old Mans Bridge
[Whispers] Old mans bridge
and there used to be a weir there.
[Laughs]
No, not where there,
We're ya bin. [In a Yorkshire accent, Where have you been]
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're they're.
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're ya bin?
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're ya bin, I've bin darn at weir.
[In a Yorkshire accent] Darn they're at weir.
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're you bin?
Oh dear.
[In a Yorkshire accent] Have you bin darn't weir
None of these understand anything what we've just said then.
[In a Yorkshire accent] Av bin darn they're near't weir.
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're? ya bin near weir?
[In a Yorkshire accent] We're? We're's weir?
[In a Yorkshire accent] Av bin in tarn.
[Laughs]
Oh, don't confuse Old Man's Bridge
with Old Nan's Bridge before you correct me.
Old Nan's Bridge is further up towards that last lock.
There you go, that saved me.
Right, washer's spinning. I got to go sort my laundry.
[Music playing]
That was Radcot Lock,
beautiful lock, it was like a Spanish villa.
Yeah it was lovely, really beautiful.
It's like being in Alicante isn't it?
[Laughs]
Shaun, we're off to Benidorm.
[Laughing]
I don't know if you noticed, you won't have done, because we didn't film it, because it's closed.
So good luck if you did see it.
At the top of the lock there's a separate little like thing
for canoeists to go down.
I bet it's like a log flume at Alton Towers.
I wonder how much it costs.
I don't know, you might need a ticket, otherwise you pay £1.20 to the man at the top.
Errr anyway,
Yeah, I bet that's cool I'd love to try that.
I don't know why it's closed though, there might be somebody stuck in there.
Did you hear anybody shouting for help?
No.
Anyway, this whole area,
are you alright?
Are you sure?
This is just bizarre.
The whole area is kind of military-ish.
2 miles that way
or 2 and a bit miles if you want to be like that,
is RAF Brize Norton, that's the biggest RAF base in Britain.
But this whole area just feels like
defensive doesn't it?
Oooh yeah.
There's these like, the Pillbox watch out towers. not towers.
Turret things.
Yeah, where the home guard in the 2nd World War used to watch out in case we were been invaded by the river.
Don't tell em, Pike!
[Laughing]
That's good that isn't it?
[Laughing]
And in fact, in 1954 during the Cold War,
an American B47 bomber, definitely 47 not 52.
No, 47.
crashed here.
Might be where those trees are down, you don't know do you.
You don't know do you? It could have been anywhere around here
So it all feels kind of
war like.
You don't know, by the time this goes out we might be at war.
Colonel Coo-Coo-Bananas might have done his stuff and we.
Coo-Coo-Bananas?? [Laughing]
We might all be making bombs.
We've just lost a load of subscribers [Laughing]
[Laughing]
[Music playing]
Radcot Bridge, just round that corner from these GRP cruisers,
these lovely GRP cruisers.
Well people often say, do people in narrowboats dislike people cruisers,
no not at all.
Nope.
The other bridge, the road bridge that goes over the old bit of the cana,l the cut thing,
dates back to the 13th century. It's actually regarded
as the oldest surviving Bridge on the River Thames.
[Music playing]
[Music fading]
The Thames path is amazing, it's about 184 miles long
and it starts at the Thames, the source up in Kemble just a few miles away from Lechlade
and the path goes all the way from the source right down to the Thames Barrier in London 184 miles away
and it's alright, I guess in the winter and when the rivers up,
because a lot of it is floodplain around here, that would make it possible wouldn't it unless you're a kayak.
You shouldn't be on a flooded river in a kayak anyway should you.
Right, I think he's ready for me.
[Music playing]
[Music fading]
[Laughing]
[Sound of fly spray can]
We have an issue.
No, you have an issue.
I have an issue,
We've arrived in Lechlade and I seem to have attracted
a group of flies that will just not leave me alone.
Where ever he goes, they're above his head.
[Laughing]
Hello and welcome to Lechlade,
home of the flies.
And swans, there's load of em.
There are tons of swans, there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 About 20 swans in a group
and one's carrying, not a Gosling,
a cygnet on its back.
A gosling? [Laughs]
What?
There's a swan carrying Ryan Gosling on it's back [Laughing]
We're here
and we've cheered up a little bit
because we found out that the GoPro we've lost
to replace, isn't as much as we thought it was.
Colin's not impressed with me
No, Colin's not impressed because it had a third of the vlogs footage in it.
Oh well, we'll have to order another GoPro won't we.
So we're going to have to make do without
what we call the GoPro back folder
[Laughs]
for a while.
We have a GoPro at the front
and a GoPro
which is more mobile, usually it does the back and side shots and stuff like that
and that the one that's fallen into the canal.
And before you say, did you try this and did you try that.
Yes
It was this deep.
We tried everything.
There was 3 or 4 boats in each direction waiting to use that lock
because we were there trying everything to retrieve the [Beeeep] thing.
So yeah, we're a GoPro down.
RIP GoPro.
Yes.
[Laughs]
Is that a minute?
Get on with it.
[Laughs]
So we've got to save up for a new GoPro now,
so no Jaffa cakes for another three years.
But we are in Lechlade.
I'm going to have to find out what it means, because Leche is Spanish for milk.
Yeah.
It's probaly nothing to do with milk.
Lade?
Is that lad?, Milk Lady?
Lady Milk?
No you cannot say that. [Laughing]
[Laughing]
You can't say that [Laughing]
[Laughing]
You're gonna have to start again now. [Laughing]
[Laughing]
Ohhhh dear. [Laughing]
[Laughing]
[Clears throat].
Errrr, yeah, we've suffered Horse-Flies and
[Sound of the can of fly spray]
Urgghhh, give up with that.
We've go flies.
[Laughs]
So we're here in Lechlade, now it does carry on a little bit further
there is a place where you can turn round,
but a few people have said well don't bother
because it's wayyy too shallow.
Because it's a bit too shallow at the sides and it's just a faff
and you know we like faff
[Laughs]
but today we've had a bit too much faff.
So we turned round just after the bridge
and we've come back and we've found this lovely little spot.
Well actually no, we found a lovely little spot next to the bridge,
but there's some iron gates
that people just don't close like a lady,
they just kind of slam it shut and that was pretty annoying.
So we've moved about three or four hundred yards further up
and it is a little bit quieter here.
It's lovely.
Are we done?
Lets have a cuppa.
I need to go see if I can go find a cheap second hand GoPro.
I know, I'm off to the shop for a beer.
Mmm!
Oh right
Errr, hope you've enjoyed the vlog, if you have,
the best thing you can do is subscribe.
We haven't finished.
Click the subscribe button.
If you've enjoyed the video, please give it a thumbs up, give it a like, that would mean a lot
and if you hit notifications, YouTube will let you know every time we release a brand new video.
[Sighs]
If you'd like to help support the channel,
we're gonna make a big deal of this this week because we need a GoPro [Laughs]
We need a new GoPro, so if you'd like to support this channel so that we can actually film this stuff.
There is a join button on the home page or you can do it by joining Patreon,
the link is just up above Shaun's head in that corner up there.
Shaun's off for a beer while I save for a GoPro.
You see, it all makes sense.
We'll see you later, take care of yourselves, bye.
Ta-ra.
[Music playing]
We'll do it again.
Urggghhh..... Horse-Flies
Did you get it?
YAYY!
Dead Horse-Fly
Another one there look.... Arggghh!
Get away.
That was Radcot Lock
I'm spitting, I'm that excited.
Sorry, we've got a wasp on our muff.
Horse-Flies!!
Sorry, Horse-Flies
They're everywhere.
Get away.
Arrrrggghhh!
Heeeeelllp!
[Laughs]
Something like that, I might have made that up.
[Laughing]
B52 Bomber crashed.
Really?
Or is it a B47.
Or is that the bus to Kirkby.
[Laughing]
They built it and then they replaced it.
So it's like Trigger's broom, it's brand new, but it's had 20 new handles and 14 new heads.
[Music plays to the end]