Whether you’re a solo narrowboater or have plenty of crew aboard, there’s no doubt that at busy and long canal lock flights, a team of helpful volunteer lock-keepers can be a blessing to help you through. I spent a couple of days at Fradley Junction near Lichfield, talking to the volunteers as they prepare for the new boating season, and they explained what they do and why they do it.
Back cruising again, quickly before a) winter and b) another lockdown. I headed back up to Fradley Junction and turn east onto the Trent & Mersey canal, going through Alrewas and onto Barton Turns marina.
It’s not really a vlog because in this episode I’m just re-tracing my steps from the prior five cruising videos and didn’t really film as usual but I compiled this selection of clips to illustrate Stuff Of Interest – mostly to do with how amazingly busy the canals got after July 4th when lockdown restrictions were eased and people could use their boats again.
After almost drowning in the sea of rain falling onto Fradley, a new menace threatened my journey as the furious weather switched tack, turning instead to attack me with blazing rays of sun at a million degrees. Parched, weak and craving to escape the furnace I hauled myself to the back of the boat and just about had enough energy to propel the boat in search of shade, even as my last drops of water were exhausted. This is that traumatic tale.
This is the vlog version of the trip shown in real-time in the last video; I leave Kings Orchard Marina near Lichfield and head north up the Coventry canal to Fradley Junction where it rains a lot and I moor above the locks.
A “slow TV” (real-time) bow-camera recording of the trip from Kings Orchard Marina at Lichfield to Fradley Junction on June 21st 2020.
The end of August meant the resumption of my travels on the canals so I set off again from where I left off in Vlog 184 – Fradley Junction – and went up the Trent and Mersey canal towards Handsacre, in the process managing to look like an utter incompetent as I bashed into another, stationery, boat at a lock queue.
No, this is NOT a vlog. Hence the title. No, there is no commentary, that’s deliberate. No, it wouldn’t be “better with music”. This video will not be for everyone – they never are – but for those who enjoy a few hours of uninterrupted slow TV from the bow of a canal boat: enjoy!
By mid-July it was time for the final gentle amble up the last bit of the north Coventry canal to Fradley Junction. The main thing of note was how thick the overgrowth was not only on the offside but the towpath side as well – and quite a lot of weeds growing up within the canal itself. I’ve been told this whole area is earmarked for a good cut back by CRT’s volunteer team and you can see it really does neeed it!
In this vlog, I move on from Fradley Junction, take a sharp 90 degree turn to the right and start heading North West, still on the Trent and Mersey canal, up towards Shugborough. En route, I get a haircut in Rugeley and despair of the plastic waste drifting along the canal.