Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 10:01:36 GMT -8
I watched on Prime Video the first season of a reality series called Cruising the Cut. A former television news reporter, David Johns, who appears to be in his 40s, buys and refurbishes a narrowboat which he intends to use to cruise the over 2000 miles of canals in Great Britain. This is definitely a homemade venture but it has some polish…but not too much polish. This is a real bloke doing real things and making all kinds of mistakes (and discoveries) along the way. There is very little of the kind of self-masturbatory “look at me” stuff that is the heart of most of this kinds of efforts. It’s a nice mix of homey and professional. The canal system is a product of the industrial revolution in the late 18th and early 19th century. In the mid-19th century, railways began to replace canals. As roads were improved as well, canals fell out as a means of commercial transportation. In the latter half of the 20th century, a revival began for using the canals for pleasure craft (as well as the extensive refurbishing needed in order to do so). There now seems to be hundreds of thousands of narrowboats in Britain. It’s a picturesque pursuit. But the reality is you’re often going through major urban areas. In one interesting scene in Birmingham, he travels directly under a huge concrete building.
And even when in the sticks, there will likely be a noisy train or major highway nearby. That aside, it does look like something that could be thoroughly enjoyed for a few weeks of travel. And many make of the canals a permanent home. One bugaboo is the number of locks you will encounter when doing any real distance travel. And that’s a lot of slow work, although many locks have volunteers manning them. All in all, this first season (the second season is just underway) is a pleasure to watch. You can’t say there isn’t anything good on TV. You just have to find it.  |
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 10:05:48 GMT -8
I believe this would also be a Kung-Approved® series. This guy can be hilarious. At one point he sees some graffiti on a wall near Birmingham and wishes that such people were flogged or put in stocks.
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Post by timothylane on Feb 4, 2020 10:08:25 GMT -8
Well, there's always Jerome K. Jerome's famous Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog (that's the full title). It concerns a canal trip to London, though it's also a series of digressions on various issues. These can be interesting; in a sequel, set on a tour of Germany, Jerome notes that Germany is a nice place under a good ruler -- but would be a horror under a really bad one. Funny how that works out.
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Post by kungfuzu on Feb 4, 2020 10:19:44 GMT -8
The guy sounds like a man after my own heart. That and the fact that I have long wished to do a canal tour in the U.K. recommend this series to me.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 10:21:14 GMT -8
As the series goes along, David Johns is making necessary repairs along the way. One assume he’s dipping into some substantial savings. As they say, a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money. He doesn’t use that phrase but he does illustrate it. Still, these are wonderful boats in their own way. The typical top speed is 3 mph, so in completely flat and calm canal water, you’re never going to get in too much trouble. The only danger is in the locks. If one end of your boat lodges on the little ledge near the lock gates, that could lead to catastrophe for the boat when the water drains out of the lock and cause the boat to tip. Aside from that drawback of the lifestyle, the boats are fairly spacious.  [ Original] Johns is humorous in his dislike of the tunnels. And his dislike is not without reason. They are wet (ample dripping comes from the ceiling), dark, and often difficult to navigate. Some transits take 20 minutes or more. That is a lot of time to be in the dark. A constant task is refilling the water tank and emptying the toilet cartridge. We’ve seen the former, hands-on, and the latter is only hinted at what that involves. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Feb 4, 2020 10:24:47 GMT -8
Water transport has always been the cheapest form of transport, thus many major cities have been founded near rivers, lakes and the sea.
Wikipedia has this to say about the locomotion of the early boats.
Horses were also used on the Erie Canal.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 12:09:28 GMT -8
Maybe an expense shared. Wouldn’t that be a blast for me, you, and the Kungian Krew to do before we’re 70 or 80? It sounds as if boat rental isn’t particularly cheep. This site notes that although the boats are typically 62 foot long and 7 feet wide, they will sleep up to 6 comfortably. Rental seems to be about $237 per night with some less expensive options available. I would want to do a week minimum. Running the numbers on a website I found online, a fortnight for 4 persons on a 69 ft. narrowboat that starts at Bradford on Avon Wiltshire goes for about $2539.00. Combined air fair (very rough estimate) is about $2800 round trip. I think that’s a worst case scenario. I assume some package deal could be included with the rental of the boat. So, anyway, with meals and such, $8000.00 ought to get it done. You being the world traveler would have a much less naive estimate of the costs on something like this. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 12:19:35 GMT -8
Yes, water transport is amazingly efficient compared to bad roads. Even so, it makes you appreciate just how more efficient water is considering the enormous effort it took to build those canals and maintain them. Think of the dirt that had to be removed just to move a boat 20 feet.
The tow paths are now bike, jogging, and dog-walking paths and fairly popular as you might expect.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 4, 2020 12:23:12 GMT -8
Of course, living in and around Puget Sound where this inland sea itself is the equivalent of a large network of canals, the more economical course of action would be to rent a boat and wander around a bit. There is plenty to see, that’s for sure. And I’ve done a very little of that.
But the charm of those canals is enticing.
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Post by timothylane on Feb 4, 2020 12:30:21 GMT -8
I've had two significant trips by water. The first was on an army transport from New York to Naples (we drove to Rome, did some sightseeing, and flew to Athens) in 1961 and an Aegean cruise while we were in Greece. The first involved stops at Rota, Barcelona, and Livorno (where we went to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower -- the males climbed it as well). The second had stops at Mikonos (with a side trip to Delos), Patmos (to see the cave of St. John the Divine), Kos, and Rhodes.
The second, I think, involved something like a large yacht, but I don't remember it very well. I don't think any of us got seasick, unlike the first trip (my mother and sister skipped breakfast one morning because of it).
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Post by kungfuzu on Feb 4, 2020 12:43:58 GMT -8
This is the type of vacation which one needs to do with family and friends. There will be long periods of slowly floating down fields and dales with nothing to see other than growing crops. Good company will be a must.
But there will also be times when one can stop at a friendly pub for a half-pint of lager (I am not a big fan of bitter) or visit some town center.
My main concerns as to price would be the cost of fuel, which is very high in the U.K. and insurance. I wouldn't think of taking one of these things out without having coverage. Thank God, the U.K. is not as litigious as the USA.
If you are able and willing to cook instead of going out to restaurants, meals can be very inexpensive.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 12, 2020 13:30:44 GMT -8
There’s another show I’ve been watching about narrowboats in England. It’s just calming and peaceful to watch the beautiful English countryside slide by. It’s creatively titled Travels by Narrowboat. It’s basically just a bloke and a camera but it works for what it is. At one point he passes by multi-shelf booth full of goodies at the side of the canal. It’s call an honesty box. It looked something like this:  The one on the show was full of pastries, eggs, pies, and that sort of thing, not vegetables. But the principle is the same. There is no attendant. Prices are marked on everything and there’s a little “honesty box” into which you put your cash. All the items were wrapped in cellophane although they must not have seagulls on the cut (which is what they call the English system of canals) because they would have cleared off those shelves in an instant and left nothing in the honesty box but bird crap. Still, when I saw that, I thought “This is the way the world should work.” And the world can work that way only with moral and classy people. In an earlier video, he bypassed a trip through Birmingham because someone told him it could be dangerous. On the other show ( Cruising the Cut), the guy did go through Birmingham. He encountered to problem in regards to his physical safety. But the canal and canal sides were strewn with rubbish. Graffiti was all over the place. There are just different classes of people. And 90% of laws are there because of the dishonest and classless people. But you see little bits of what-could-be here and there in this world that make you realize that concentration camps or deportations for shoplifters and such might not be too harsh. It might be a price worth paying to live in a more civilized world, although many would not call such a world civilized. |
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Post by timothylane on Feb 12, 2020 13:50:09 GMT -8
We see a little this in stores here that put some merchandise on tables out front, which people take inside to pay for. They used to do this at a local bookstore that unfortunately went out of business (hopefully not due to this custom). It has been noted that one problem in high-crime areas is that this obviously can't happen, which means they can't make full use of their area.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 12, 2020 15:25:53 GMT -8
Another interesting take I’ve seen is the street front lending library. It looks like the one depicted here. There was one down the street but I’m not sure if it’s still there or if it’s a summertime thing only. But what a great concept. Obviously you need not a heart of gold but a heart of granite to keep something like this going because human nature is bound to intervene. But I really like these private efforts. I think it’s a bit awkward stopping in front of someone’s house and rifling through their collection. But if the owners don’t mind, and they can tolerate the maintenance and occasional vandalism, more power to them. I love the Doctor Who-style police box. Or maybe that’s just an ordinary police box. I’d love to put out a Make America Great-styled box (bright red, of course, with MAGA written across the top) which featured patriotic tomes and such. How long would that last? Not very. But I’d have a security camera on it as well and post photos and videos of all the vandals and let the local newspaper know, etc. Could be fun. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on May 29, 2022 6:08:08 GMT -8
Great Canal JourneysBritish actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales travel the canals in a narrowboat. They start in Britain but apparently also go to France as well at some point. The show ran for thirteen seasons (three or four episodes per season). The production values are top-notch and the cinematography is also excellent. Although both actors are characters of sorts, at least in the first two episodes that I watched, they come across more as real people in a real relationship. Although this couple is the excuse, the canals are the stars. And they've done a good job setting up some of the history. Both West and Scales were active participants 30 or so years ago in efforts to rehabilitate the canals, especially the K&A (Kennet and Avon). This couple are not mere props for a show about the canals. They have participated on them for years and were given the honor of being the first boat down the restored K&A back in the 90's or whenever. Show such as this aren't for everyone. But as West notes, you can't rush when on the canals. There is a pacing to this kind of program that stands in stark contrast to 99% of the other frenetic junk on TV. It interesting to note that David Johns of "Cruising the Cut" has recently sold his boat. He is buying a home although he will continue to make videos about narrowboats and the canals. But he had his go of living on a narrowboat for many years but he said the fun sort of wore off.
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