let's see what's inside here
oh not a lot
the trent and mersey canal is one of the oldest in the uk
this plan drawn up in the 1760s by the great canal engineer james brindley shows
the route of the navigation from shardlow in derbyshire north through staffordshire
and into cheshire at preston brook the trenton mersey was met by the bridgewater canal and at
runcorn a series of 10 deep locks originally allowed boats to drop down into the river mersey
something that is no longer possible why have i started droning on about canal history
well A because it's cool obviously and B because i just want to make a point and that
point is the the system that i use to travel around in my only motorised form of transport
it's old and i don't take that into consideration a lot of the time i'm not rough with my boat by
any means i'm always being careful but i do think i take it for granted in my travels
traveling around as a solo narrow boater i do think a lot about my surroundings
and i wonder what the canals would be like if none of them would have been restored
i wonder what it would be like if perhaps too many people were using them you know
would there be more funding available or would they just be completely ruined by
overuse and crowd overcrowding i love the fact that these waterways can be so creative at times
but also allow for nature wildlife farming transport everything to thrive all at the same
time there are plenty of other people who use the canals as a place to contemplate life and
perhaps all the problems that they've got or to use it as exercise and to carry out their hobbies
and also just to share really precious moments with members of their family perhaps
another thing i think about is all the industry is still going today from
its early beginnings that actually help to build the canals around them
entering the outskirts of stoke-on-trent we really get a feel for how much of a
contrast there is on the canals from lovingly restored structures
to others that weren't so lucky or have taken on a new identity
you can feel joy at seeing a boat that's made the most of its uninspiring surroundings
to somewhere where it's just been overgrown and taken back reclaimed by nature
it's sad that a lot of the modernizations made to the canals were done in such brutal ways
like the concrete sides of this deep lock but i am grateful for one addition and that is the
ladder that allows me to climb out without that it wouldn't take too much imagination
to think how hard it would be to travel on this waterway on my own
scenes like this with my boat passing by this mid 19th century flint and bone mill it almost feels
like i'm traveling through history and this is it this is the buzz that i get out of traveling
along this ageing waterway these canals that are crumbling apart it's that feeling of being
so close to history, canal archaeology - it's almost like a drug i'm completely addicted to it!
but like most drugs i guess has a come down and mine is that i've just realized my toilet tank
is full and my belly is empty so i need to more up and see if i can sort out both of those things
there are some relics on the canal system that i can do without and this is one of
them - this antiquated system of using a paper card with a strip on it to pay for services
such as in this case the pump out (i'm trying to pump out the toilet waste)
this is a brand new card completely straight no wear and tear or anything no creases no folds
card error
it's times like this when i need to get away from the canals it's times like this when i need...
this video like most of my journeys started out on the canal but ended up in the pub and that's
exactly where we want to be after a long hard day cranking it on the crumbly canals of the united
kingdom oh how i miss just being able to drink a pint and take stock of the frustrations of the day
and perhaps chat to some local people learn more about the area and just soak up the atmosphere
and the pub of the week well that's just my way of saying that this place
is where i can just feel like i can be myself and not be judged and just relax
but no swearing please
we are british after all!
right we're gonna have to go take this pizza back to the boat but before we leave i need to
thank a few people for funding this debauchery right let's add in richard chapman tracy halls
jonathan cox and then we've got andy greenshields he's pledging at a higher level so he gets
lovely little red flags next to his name giles radford and peter halls these generous people
are helping me keep adverts off my videos so thank you so much and welcome to the crank it crew!
i love cooking on my boat but i also love my takeaways
especially after a long day this one is a bit bespoke it's got olives some green peppers it's
also got anchovies i know i'm a bit weird aren't i i also love interesting beers
this one i picked up in my previous vlog from limehouse brewery uniquely
floral tasting lager which immediately after drinking led to a very peaceful night's sleep
i'm hoping that a good session in pub of the week
solves everything and that if i just magically try these cards again it's gonna work
no it's still not working this is so frustrating not even pub of the week can save us
just seen someone turn up for work a stroke of luck i found someone who works for the
canal river trust hopefully they can help me out yeah i've got two fresh ones there
no bends or anything someone said you gotta lick the strip to make it work i'm not doing that
but no it still won't read the cards so liam here is going to have to start the machine manually
there are obviously other types of toilet i just prefer this one but yeah canaan
rivers could make more money off this machine i think if it actually worked
it's no wonder boaters like me prefer to use private facilities in marinas or boatyards
well i'm really glad i got this working but it's a mad system just relying on some card and there's
not even a way of the um staff here checking to see if i've actually used those cards already
and the guy that's just helped me he's helped me before when i've been here before um but it's
not his job he he's out there doing maintenance he's only in this office to do some paperwork
to cost up the jobs but yeah canal river trust we need to sort this out because it's just a
ridiculous system so as i watch the dregs of my toilet tank disappear down a green tube
i realized that all of these canals they're nothing without the people
that built them without the people that maintain them and without the people like liam
who are going that little bit extra to help out a fellow human being
on the next voyage log in this autumn series i'm going to be taking on the macclesfield canal uh as
we cross over the trenton mersey more up to find a pub do a little bit of shopping for supplies
and generally explore the local area hopefully you can join me again cheers bye