Here are our most updated videos, hosted by YouTube.
You will find our vlogs on YouTube. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to our channel so you can follow our journey and see what we’ve been doing recently. We film and post regularly (even more so once we’ve got our boat and travelling on the network).
You can also help to support our channel and, as a reward, get exclusive benefits. Check out our Patreon – link below:-
Become a Patron!(Please note that we are not responsible for links to external websites.)
VLOG 01 – A little intro about us and our family Narrowboat holiday from 2001 on the Grand Union Canal from Weedon to Milton Keynes and back.
VLOG 02 – A short trip around Braunston from 2005 where the girls take over the camerawork!
VLOG 03 – To celebrate our wedding anniversary, we take a trip on the Shroppie and Llangollan from Bunbury.
VLOG 04 – Is it cheaper to live on a narrowboat compared to living in a house? Tony looks at the costs involved and stresses that a life afloat is not always about the money….although it does help!
VLOG 05 – Well, you can finally see us out and about! We took a trip to Blisworth, have a walk down the towpath and gaze longingly at the narrowboats going past and moored up. We then travel to nearby Stoke Bruerne and how busy was it? A hire boat came untied, gongoozlers aplenty at the locks (including us) and we meet a Canal and River Trust volunteer who tells us about the historic narrowboat moored up outside the Canal Museum.
VLOG 06 – Yippee! We’re on the water on a boat….but where are we? It’s only half an hour from our home but we very rarely go there…isn’t that always the way? We walk around the village before finally taking a trip on the water. Fantastic vistas, luxury homes and endless boats are all encountered on our journey.
VLOG 07 – We’re back out on the water again – a cruise on the Norfolk Broads from Potter Heigham to St Benet’s Abbey. We learn about the history of St Benet’s, look around nearby Filby Broad and the village, visit Thurne and look at the boats for sale at Potter Heigham.
NOT A VLOG 1 This one isn’t a vlog, it’s 20 minutes of previously unseen footage from our two trips on the Broads. Some of it has gentle music in the background, the rest are the sounds around you. Nice and relaxing! Enjoy!
VLOG 08 – A sit down chat about the ins and outs of shared narrowboat syndicates and how it compares to regularly hiring a boat. Facts, figures and a look at what shared boats are currently on offer.
VLOG 09 – A lovely trip along the Regents Canal in London to Camden. But first, we take a look around Little Venice and Paddington Basin where lots of boats are moored up.
VLOG 10 – Part One of our family trip on the Trent and Mersey canal – we cruise from Great Haywood, via Armitage, get scared by Naomi’s Landing (!) and end up outside The Mucky Duck at Fradley!
VLOG 11 – Part Two of our family trip on the Trent and Mersey canal – the first time our daughters have been on a narrowboat for many years. Did they enjoy it and what do they think about our plans to liveaboard? Plus, what happens when you try and go too fast on the canal….
NOT A VLOG 2 – This is SLOW TV. 2 and a half hours of footage from our front (bow) camera, giving uninterrupted views along the canal. Relax, unwind and chill out – there’s no music, no commentary, just the natural sounds.
VLOG 12 – On a day trip to Lowestoft, we sit down and contemplate what top ten “must haves” we would like in our new narrowboat home.
VLOG 13 – There’s a lot of planning to do before moving to live on a narrowboat. Tony goes through the 10 important things we have to do in order to change our lifestyle. What happens about post, your medical needs?
VLOG 14 – We start our narrowboat search in Derbyshire at Mercia Marina. Lots to take in and plenty of boats to look at…
VLOG 15 – Our narrowboat search continues. Lots to consider when buying a boat, the interior is important but it’s also important to look at the engine and the hull. Having reviewed our search, does it give you any ideas as to which one we will choose???
VLOG 16 – After a break for Christmas and covid restrictions, we finally reveal which boat has become our new home! Did you guess correctly and choose the same one that we did???
VLOG 17 – We’re in a marina during lockdown so we get to know our neighbours and take a walk around the marina. Every boat is as individual as its owner which makes narrowboat life so varied.
VLOG 18 – Many people have been using Zoom to stay in touch remotely. Here in the marina, the normal social events have also gone online, with a series of cook-a-longs. We get the recipe in advance, get the ingredients and then login and have some fun! This recipe includes Coq Au Vin with mash potato cooked in the multifuel stove. You’d be surprised just how tasty these are!
VLOG 19 – One of the wonders of the canal waterways, Foxton Locks is on our doorstep and in this vlog we take a walk around this heritage site and wonder about the inclined plane – an alternative way to locks, but how successful was this technological marvel?
VLOG 20 – We’ve made a start on some internal improvements to The Boat. Tony takes a winters walk around the marina and we look at our boats history.
VLOG 21 – The second of the Zoom cook-a-longs see’s Tony making Chicken Jalfrezi with naan bread that only has two ingredients. Surely he can’t cock this up, can he?
VLOG 22 – It’s a big day for The Boat as she gets hauled out of the water to be blacked, an essential piece of narrowboat maintenance. Jan gets emotional and Dave our man with a brush, explains why this process is so important.
VLOG 23 – How dirty can your water tank get? Apparently VERY dirty indeed! Ours is full of sludge and all manner of things that you don’t want to drink! Marina manager, Gary, squeezed into the tight hole that holds our water tank to clean it out and paint it with special paint to make sure it’s clean for us to use. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry we a take a trip to nearby Welford Arm.
VLOG 24 – A quick update vlog on what jobs we have left before we can get cruising. Did we mention chocolate and teeth…???
VLOG 25 – Tony wires a new radio in and reverses the boat. One of these things he’s good at…you’ll have to watch to work out which one it is!
VLOG 26 – We finally get round to giving you a tour inside our narrowboat (called The Boat)
VLOG 27 – With everything almost done on our boat, we take her out for the first time. But things don’t always go to plan…
VLOG 28 – Time to get the engine serviced and Tony learns how to do the basics from ex Royal Navy engineer, Charlie. However, there is a slight problem when they try to service the generator…
VLOG 29 – We finally leave the confines of the marina and head out onto the cut. We head along the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal and enjoy the freedom we’ve been looking forward to for so long.
VLOG 30 – We venture to Braunston, a popular narrowboat location and home to one of the best butchers on the canals. Their pasties are HUGE. We discover the kinky tunnel (No, not like that!) and end up getting stuck at Bascote locks due to seriously low water levels…
VLOG 31 – The Hatton Flight is 21 locks in total, so not to be taken lightly. We undertake them in pouring rain but before we get going the sight of an historic boat, in miniature and sailing on the canal, takes our eye.
VLOG 32 – We’re joined by our eldest daughter as we await the vital part that will kick start our generator into life. A pain to wait for so long, but we have plenty of distractions nearby to take our mind off things – a visit to Warwick and Hatton Country Park make our day and Tony explains why it looks like there are two sets of locks at Knowle.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mQy7a3UCPNM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>VLOG 33 – Whilst our eldest daughter is with us, we can celebrate Tony’s 60th birthday. We decide to have a BBQ using a new all in one grill and fire pit. But, typical Tony, things don’t go to plan…but Jan does make a tasty salad…!And there’s sadness as we say good bye to our daughter having been apart for almost a year due to the restrictions.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3g_Pw_idFeE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>VLOG 34 – With the generator finally fixed we can continue our journey and go through the heart of the Midlands – Birmingham. Whilst it may be the countries second largest city, it is renowned for it’s canals and rural landscapes. Even the industrial parts make this a wonderful journey as we marvel at the way the canals were built
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FwajACJaRM4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>VLOG 35 – As we head past Wolverhampton, we move onto the Shropshire Union Canal, otherwise known as The Shroppie. We have to go through a set of locks which have a strong weir as you leave them, making steering a little tricky. It’s all part of the fun of narrowboating on the canals!
