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00:10my name's Robbie Cumming that's me crossing a wonder of the waterways the
00:16sheer drop is incredible I'm almost speechless it's a good job I've got a
00:22head for heights and this is my old narrowboat the naughty lass for over a
00:27decade I've been exploring Britain's rivers and canals camera in hand filming
00:33every bump scrape and tricky situation and there's been a fair few over the years
00:44yeah nothing I could do but just watch my camera just go straight into the canal this time I've
00:53headed west to discover the waterways of Wales and the Welsh marches I start in the town of
01:01Llangollen across the historic Ponta Cthulhty Aqueduct before traveling through Chirk Tunnel
01:08at Frankton Junction I joined the Montgomery Canal and make my way to journey's end the
01:15village of Crickheath in Shropshire it's around 23 miles in all there'll be plenty to see so jump
01:25on board for my canal boat diaries
01:49I'm just about to set off on another epic adventure all the way across the waterway
01:55of Britain and this time I am in a different part of the UK I'm in Wales I normally start
02:02my
02:02adventures off in England and I normally start them by simply pressing the engine on button and just
02:10getting cranking but this time I just need a few supplies and maybe something special for lunch but
02:17yeah follow me and we'll have a little look around it's funny I've been putting off exploring this
02:26canal for about 10 years because I know how popular it can be and it's looking busy already that'll be
02:33me
02:33later I just know it Llangollen is a tourist town and I'm after some local grub to take on my
02:45travels
02:48I've heard about Oggies which are like Cornish pasties and were once eaten around here by Welsh miners
02:56mine is filled with lamb leek and potato
03:01right I've got what I need for my lunch let's get the show on the road or canal
03:21this journey is gonna have it all aqueducts tunnels lift bridges locks the lot and I also get to
03:30explore canals I've never been on before which is always a plus considering how long I've been doing
03:35this over 10 years moving around the system I've got a rough plan I've got the route but if it's
03:43actually going to work out the way I planned it to I don't know right my first job is to
03:49reverse
03:50out into the middle of this basin turn around so I'm facing the right way which is that way
04:00now I might oversell the drama sometimes on this program but we are about to head into part of the
04:07canal where it's single file so I don't time this right I will have to reverse back a long way
04:13against
04:14the flow of the water that's not something I want to do so I might actually call in some help
04:23there's
04:24a local chap who's actually got a really interesting take on the construction of this canal so I'm hoping
04:30to get some info from him but also the same time get him to run ahead and see if anything's
04:37coming
04:41basically when this canal was built in the late 18th century working narrowboats didn't need to reach
04:48the town of Langoclan instead this section was designed as a feeder canal to carry river water to
04:56supply distant blocks to keep construction costs down it was built very narrow
05:10this guy Tom he is a local geologist so I can't wait to hear what he's got to say about
05:16this local
05:16area specifically about fossils which I love so yeah once he's done his first job of walking ahead to
05:24find out if any boats are coming and get a chat with him right I think we're all right to
05:31take a small
05:32break here so you can tell me about these rocks why is it so special this area yeah it's incredible
05:38the story you can tell here so obviously we're next to the canal now fresh water running through here
05:42right 420 million years ago through the bottom of an ocean well what I really want to know is what
05:49fossils have you got let's have a look so this is one of my favorites it's a 350 million year
05:54old
05:54brachiopod and I found this one not too far from the canal just up the road here it's pretty special
06:00stuff these are the ancient cousins of things like muscles and bivalves that live in the ocean today
06:05do you think the canal engineers who are digging this out do they have any idea about fossils or what
06:11they were finding you know what probably not right because they would have found these things though it's
06:15quite cool but they wouldn't have the understanding that we do today because geology is a new science right
06:20so they wouldn't know how old these things were and the story they could tell us right I think I've
06:27been lucky so far anyway I'm with your help Tom thank you I'm gonna press on ahead and I'll yeah
06:32see you around yeah you enjoy fossil hunting thanks Robbie see you later all right that was great that I've
06:43been fascinated by fossils and this is a little boy so it's have a part of the canal where you
06:48can
06:48actually find some I've been told I can't just tunnel into this bit in there get fresh ones I'm gonna
06:56wait for them to fall down and then it's fair game apparently but yeah absolutely brilliant now though
07:06I'm hoping I'm gonna scrape through this narrow bit without meeting any of the boats
07:15with steep sections running along the edge of a valley the Klangoklen canal has a history of leaks and
07:22breaches back in the 1940s disaster struck when the canal collapsed after heavy rainfall sweeping away a
07:33railway track below a locomotive operated by the Great Western Railway literally flew across the gap
07:44and buried itself into the bank sadly the driver was killed and others were injured and it took over a
07:51week to clear the wreckage but just ahead lies a remarkable aqueduct a must-see for a narrowboater
08:02like me the thing I'm about to tackle in a minute is something that I have been looking forward to
08:11for
08:12years it's one of the seven wonders of the waterways there's Anderton boat lift the Cain Hill flight in
08:19Devizes there's a Bingley five rise but this one well yes I'm just thinking do I do it now or
08:27do I save
08:28it for tomorrow morning well I've done quite well so far avoiding other boats so this might be a really
08:35good time as the Sun's going down maybe we'll see now thankfully I do like heights I've done bungee jumps
09:02before I've done it all me I've never been on my boat over an aqueduct that's this high with very
09:13little in the way of health and safety on this side check this out it's a sheer drop
09:26I could see exactly why this is one of the most popular clouds in the world it's the views the
09:33valleys that you're crossing through the unique engineering structures that just blow your mind
09:39just looking at them what can I say about it at the moment I'm just looking down at the river
09:47D
09:48the sea that's flowing glistening underneath I'm almost speechless this is this is incredible
10:00opening after a decade of planning construction and testing this aqueduct spanning the river D Valley was
10:10originally built to transport minerals and materials from local quarries and mines to fuel Britain's heavy
10:17industry I was gonna go through another lift bridge but I'm just gonna moor up I haven't had my augie
10:26yet I'm hungry and yeah that aqueduct just about enough excitement for me today I need to come down
11:06I've got the unique sensation of feeling absolutely exhausted but still wired possibly from yesterday's exhilarating adventures
11:19uh and also a lot of vent in my roof if I don't cover it up it lets the sunlight
11:24in about half past four in the morning so
11:26that's been sort of waking my eyes up I can't shut them again and yet I've just been lying here
11:33trying to get back to sleep
11:35so I'm just going to have to get out
11:55it'll be slightly different today it is a Saturday so I've got a lot more activity going on here I've
12:00got the first corner
12:01before I tackle a lift bridge I've got another obstacle and that is these little kayakers possibly on their way
12:09to cross over the aqueducts
12:21I get asked a lot by other boaters where you going to next where you headed to well this time
12:26thank you
12:27I'm headed across the northwest from Wales Manchester area and into Yorkshire again but from these boaters all I'm hearing
12:36is
12:36oh no you're not gonna get there because that's broken and this is shut this canal's not got enough water
12:42in it
12:43so yeah you never know last year I wanted to go to Bristol I wanted to go on the Kennet
12:47and Avon Canal
12:48but that was sadly closed when I got there so you just never know what's gonna happen I've got a
12:54rough plan
12:54I've got the route but if it's actually going to work out the way I planned it to I don't
13:00know
13:07right that's the lift bridge back in place now it's off on my travels got loads to show you today
13:19it's a rainy morning in Wales but I'm continuing on my way and it's here the canal engineers cut
13:26through an ancient man-made earthwork
13:37just about to pass something that was created in the eighth century by an anglo-saxon king called offer
13:44this is offers dyke it's a pathway now but there are many theories of how it was made and what
13:51was
13:51made for was it a border between offers kingdom and the Welsh princes was it a trade barrier or was
14:01it
14:02just a display of power we don't know
14:20it's about to go into the first tunnel on my trip normally very very exciting however I've
14:26just spotted on the sign an ominous warning against spiders as far as I know there aren't too many venomous
14:36spiders in the UK but I have heard some people are too scared to go through this tunnel because of
14:42spiders I'm absolutely fine I can do this it's just the unpredictable nature when they sort of
14:51suddenly drop down in fact the other night in bed I had a big house spider just jump on my
14:57back in the
14:58middle of the night it did wake me up oh yeah I'm seeing a few spiders already now is it
15:04possible to
15:05see on my camera tiny little specks during the golden age of canal building civil engineer Thomas
15:15Telford travelled across Britain overseeing numerous projects like this one but his skills weren't limited
15:24to waterways years later he also surveyed the route of the a5 the London to Hollyhead trunk road which now
15:35runs above his canal tunnel
15:48where I'm going next is fairly remote no shops and certainly nowhere to empty my toilet which is
15:55getting a little bit full so what I'm going to try and do is pop into the marina that's right
16:02alongside
16:03me here see if they can squeeze me in for a pump out they do look incredibly busy I think
16:12it's changeover day
16:13for their hire boat fleet when I called in on church marina I was fully aware that their main business
16:25especially in summer seems to be hire boats and sure enough soon as I arrived they were all lined up
16:32it
16:32was changeover day I arrived at the worst possible time yeah let's do it now if you've seen this before
16:47certainly me doing this job before you'll know that there was a slight risk of certain liquids spilling
16:54out or exploding all over the place because of all the suction and everything yeah we keep a little safe
17:05distance
17:05I must be the only person in the world filming themselves emptying their toilet and TV
17:17right thanks so much mate that's brilliant thank you that was like a military operation pit stop pit stop pump
17:28out
17:35it's time to crack on with my journey as I've got two more miles to cover to get to tonight's
17:41mooring
17:44right with the marina behind me now I've got a couple more sites to show you I've actually saved the
17:49best till
17:49last on this one I've got a tunnel and then aqueduct coming up which I think you'll like
18:03I've seen some pretty bizarre things on boats over the years especially on higher boats I've seen people
18:08have barbecues obviously at the side of the canal lovely very very nice but not on top of your boat
18:16whilst you're between two tunnels I've just seen a boat literally just come out of one and they're about to
18:23go
18:23into another I'm glad I'm not following them that's all I'm saying
18:38I'm about to enter chirp tunnel one of the first canal tunnels and possibly the first to include a towpath
18:46so that horses could pull boats through
18:50earlier tunnels were smaller and cheaper to build but without towpaths horses had to be led over the top
18:59while crews used a tough method called legging lying on the boat's roof and pushing along the walls with their
19:06legs
19:08in fact this physically demanding process is thought to be the origin of the term legging it
19:18all right I've just left the tunnel behind me and immediately I'm onto this aqueduct running side by side
19:24Chirk viaduct is there that was built 15 years afterwards but I tell you what as border crossings go
19:33we're going from Wales into England doesn't get better than this
19:48the train had just gone over the viaduct it's all happening lots of people watching me crash into the side
19:57it's hard to say which is more impressive the landscape where I am on the England-Wales border
20:03or the engineering that's been put in place to help me traverse it
20:09the aqueducts particularly but also the tunnels just allows the canal to meander through these valleys
20:17it's just mind-blowing if you really think about it
20:35right after all that excitement I am going to find a mooring now
20:46there we go that's a mooring spot there for me
20:50on Chirk bank right on the border of England and Wales
20:55it also happens to be next to a pub
21:10quite an impressive sounding storm that's kicking off today
21:14I think I will probably be spending most of it inside
21:18and maybe peeking out the windows to have a look
21:20but yeah it's just started raining so today is going to be a rain day
21:26but I've got a few jobs to get on with so I won't be bored
21:34now when I first bought my boat it did come with a load of old brass plaques
21:39and I thought oh that is sad
21:42like I just couldn't envisage myself ever being interested in showing how many canals I've been on
21:50fast forward 10 years and I've become a collector
21:53and if I see an old one specifically especially one that I've been along I will nab that
22:00and they seem to be really rare nowadays the old style ones you can buy them new but they do
22:06cost a fair bit
22:07so it is quite an expensive hobby
22:11quite an old one that it's got a price tag on the back that says five pound 5p
22:17and be at least double that now
22:21it's an antique
22:28got one side that's all canals
22:33and then just started a new panel that's just going to be things like lock flights
22:40and other notable engineering feats that I pass through along the way
22:45yeah looking good
23:06right the weather's looking a little bit better today and I have got a move because tomorrow I am booked
23:12in on a certain flight of locks
23:15where I've got to be there at a certain time as well
23:19but yeah that looks much better
23:23perfect weather for moving the boat
23:31I'm travelling along the Klangoklen Canal
23:34a 46 mile waterway
23:37that winds its way between Wales and England
23:40now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
23:43it's one of the most popular canals for both boaters and tourists
23:50in fact it's busier now than it ever was when it carried cargo
23:58today's journey is about seven miles and a couple of locks
24:02so not too many in the way of
24:05you're telling me to go that way I'll go that way
24:09I think there's going to be a crash here
24:13no we're professionals we've avoided it
24:19look at that
24:21we've been doing this a while haven't we
24:22we know what we're doing
24:27oh we have had a bit of a crash
24:29sorry about that
24:30that's because you were reversing that
24:35yeah there are a few obstacles on this canal
24:40this is a slightly low bridge
24:44we've got a slightly narrow canal
24:47and some slightly unpredictable boats
24:50that I keep coming across
24:58I do wonder how much longer can the Nautilus keep cranking it round the system
25:04and in terms of the hull
25:07it was quite interesting
25:0810 years ago
25:09I had it over plated as part of the buying process
25:12and they said
25:14oh you've got another 20 years at least on that
25:16when they were putting the extra layer of steel on the bottom
25:19so yeah I've got another 10 years from now
25:22before any serious problems in that regard
25:27I'm just approaching my first lock of this trip
25:31I've been on the canal four days
25:33and this is the first one
25:34always exciting for me
25:36because I just love going through the locks
25:39but we're also approaching a lock house
25:42a really quite remote one
25:56back in the 18th century
25:58a lot of jobs associated with the canal
26:00whether you were a maintenance person
26:03or a wharf manager
26:05or a lock keeper
26:07and although the job didn't really pay that much
26:10the main perk which would be a massive one today
26:14is that you've got your own house
26:17didn't own it
26:17but you're allowed to live in it
26:20you might have noticed that the lock was already open for me
26:23and that's down to you isn't it?
26:24Yeah
26:24what's your name?
26:25Arwell
26:26Arwell
26:26I think you're the first Welsh person I've spoken to on this trip
26:29well I'm surprised
26:30because there's plenty of us bobbing up and down
26:31and we're in England on this part here
26:34only just
26:34yeah yeah
26:35so are you heading home or?
26:37yes we picked up the boat the other day
26:39headed down to Ellesmere
26:40and now we're heading back into North Wales
26:42nice
26:43and that's where you live?
26:44yeah yeah
26:44well I've got to tell you
26:46I had a bit of trouble pronouncing the aqueduct at the end
26:50come on you can do it
26:51say it
26:52Fron Cysyllte
26:54Fron Cysyllte
26:56Fron Cysyllte
26:57Fron Cysyllte
26:57that's pretty good to be fair
26:59yeah yeah
26:59you got your sh in quite well
27:02I need a bit more practice
27:03yeah yeah
27:04Llangollen
27:05that's big
27:05that's pretty good as well yeah
27:07but yeah the other one
27:07yeah I need work on
27:09I'm going to leave you to get back to your hire boat
27:12erm
27:12it's just me doing the lot
27:14so if you want to help me
27:14yeah I'll give you a hand now
27:15yeah no problem at all
27:16that'd be brilliant
27:17let's see if we can get it through without sinking your boat
27:18yeah
27:19loving this shirt by the way
27:20thank you
27:26it's not just the pronunciation of the aqueduct at the start of my journey
27:30that confused me
27:31it's the name itself
27:37while Arwell and some locals call it Vron Cysyllte
27:41it's more generally known as Pont Cysyllte
27:45as the name you use sometimes depends on which side of the valley you're from
27:55all right Arwell cheers for that mate
27:58nice to have a bit of help
28:01help not just with a lock but with my pronunciation
28:06oh I'll get it one day
28:13from here at New Martin locks I've got about 11 miles to go
28:18at Frankton Junction I'll leave the Llangollen Canal
28:21and join the Montgomery
28:23and make my way to Crickheath
28:36right I'm just pulling in now because I'm well over halfway
28:40on the journey I've got to do today
28:42before my lock booking tomorrow morning
28:45and I thought I just might get my guitar out and just
28:48just basically have a break
28:58I love my music playing my guitar is one of the things that I do when I've got a little
29:03bit of spare time
29:05yeah if I'm on a journey on the boat and I'm just gonna stop for a little while
29:11especially if it's hot I want to get in the shade and just sit there for a bit
29:14and if I'm inspired I'll pick up my guitar and play on my little tunes
29:24since my engine has cooled after working hard
29:26I figured I'd give the naughty lass a quick drink
29:29top her up with oil before I carry on
29:44right I'm on my way again now
29:46that was just nice to have a little stop
29:48and relax and play a little guitar
29:50but I do have to make Frankton Junction for the Montgomery Canal by tomorrow morning
29:58so let's crank it
30:10next all beside the canal stands a closed country pub once called the Jack Mitten Inn
30:17it was named after a Shropshire squire known locally as Mad Jack
30:26he lived a pretty extravagant lifestyle he actually fritted away a fortune of what would
30:32be in today's money about eight million pounds apparently he loved gambling and he loved pets
30:40he had lots of dogs some of which he would feed steak and champagne and he had a horse called
30:45a baronet who's just wand around his manor apparently so yeah pretty rock and roll
30:59right I'm actually coming to the point at which I need to moor up now ready for the locks I've
31:05got to go through tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the morning sounds very strict doesn't it well they only
31:11let
31:11apparently 12 boats through these locks every day so I have had to book ahead and it is just around
31:20the corner so I'm gonna pour in the shade here just spend the night getting ready for tomorrow
31:43just looking in my fridge see what I'm gonna have for dinner tonight lamb steaks and broccoli I did
31:52go shopping over the border into Wales just yesterday I managed to get some local produce I got some
32:01Welsh cheeses I got some Welsh butter and I picked up some Welsh beer as well so sorted
32:29right here we go I'm on a brand new canal for me the Montgomery I'm about to go down for
32:36some locks
32:36some lock keepers waiting I'm thinking this is gonna be a slightly different vibe to the
32:43Klangoklen because they only allow 12 boats to go through these locks per day so it should be a lot
32:50quieter is what I'm thinking
33:00I've just got my boat here at the staircase locks it's right at the top hello good morning Rob good
33:06morning good morning what's your name I'm Chris the lock keeper here Chris thanks for getting me
33:10through here why is it only 12 boats well it's simply about capacity really we have to manage it
33:17because of water levels the canal can't really deal with more than 12 boats in a day it's about this
33:22balance between man and nature but more importantly go on I can see this can see a glint in my
33:27eye yeah
33:28I know this boat from about 40 years ago probably more than that this guy called John South who's a
33:33good pal of mine who's still a pal of mine he's in his early 90s and he came to me
33:37when I was down at
33:38Wixell marina and this is now by 1972 73 said Chris I want to get into building boats there's obviously
33:44a
33:44market to be held there so I said so we looked at them that went up and down the country
33:47all over
33:49looking at designs of boats and I came up with design for a bow and a spear and stuff and
33:53John
33:53started to build boats and I'm a hundred percent certain this is one of those very early boats so
33:58Chris essentially you designed yes naughty lass my boat I was known as northern star yes I designed the
34:04bow shape on the stern and so you know well done I'm glad you're keeping it going whatever you did
34:10to
34:10design it I'm really glad of the style and everything because every time I do look at the
34:15little lines that the way that the the weld sort of curves over and everything it's just quality and
34:20Chris I'm absolutely thrilled to meet you as the designer of my boat this is just so well let's let's
34:26just get you down the locks yeah let's do about going through the old locks and let's put it all
34:30back
34:30together again fantastic okay I wasn't expecting my chat with the lock keeper to go the way it did he
34:47had a part in the building of my boat he helped design it with John South who is the name
34:54I've got
34:54on the plaque but he was saying the way that they built it was based on traditional techniques and
35:01I've always believed that the boat was built on the River Severn somewhere but to hear it was actually
35:07built in Shrewsbury that is a completely new one on me so yeah invaluable talking to Chris there
35:14yeah cheers guys thanks I'm just taking a turning off the canal now so I can use the facilities here
35:35as few and far between on this canal this arm of the canal looks very short it's only about 150
35:42yards long
35:44used to go halfway to Shrewsbury but yeah this is all that's left of it and you know me I
35:49can't
35:50resist I could see an arm of the canal unexplored I've got to go down there
36:02the western branch of the Montgomery Canal was abandoned back in the 1920s after a breach which
36:10was deemed too costly to repair today little remains of this historic waterway I think that's
36:18pretty cool I know if I had time I would love to explore that on foot but I've got to
36:23get my rubbish
36:24away carry on the journey right so obviously this is a dead-end the only way out is to reverse
36:49at this point in my canal boat career I think I must have done about 80 percent of the connected
36:55canals in England and in Wales now and it's getting rarer and rarer and that feeling of exploring a
37:03different waterway that I haven't been on before so I'm definitely going to cherish this this little
37:08journey however far I might get along it originally constructed to transport limestone timber and slate
37:25narrowboats on the Montgomery also carried passengers and this building was once a bustling passenger terminal
37:37and it seems today it's still a busy spot
37:44I'm getting stuck here I'm just gonna have to wait for this boat to pass me you stuck yourselves
37:52we're right pair we're both stuck on this narrow shallow canal but there is a little problem here
38:00I might have to reverse all the way back they're not going to pass me there either this is a
38:06situation
38:07right I need to work this out well I can go backwards at least hey that's it they're away
38:18got to stick to the middle on this canal that's the advice I've been given
38:25pretty soon I'll be mooring up anyway for tonight it's close to a pub so that's the best news I've
38:32heard all day closed on Mondays and Tuesdays oh there is another one I've got another option
38:47but it's a shame because that one was just basically two minutes from where I'm moored I've got about a
38:55mile to walk now
39:23it's the last day of my little trip here I will reach the end of the Montgomery Canal today or
39:30at least
39:31the end of what is currently navigable and I'm gonna hopefully find out more later on see what state the
39:39restoration is in but also I'll have to turn around the end and then come all the way back again
39:44ready
39:45for the next part of my adventure right first look of the day for me and this time I get
39:54to do it myself
39:55which I'm very happy about
40:07the Montgomery Canal is a dead end it once ran for about 35 miles but today my journey ends at
40:19Crickheath Basin in Shropshire I'm exploring about eight navigable miles however restoration work
40:28continues on the sections that have been lost my final obstacle I think on this little journey is this
40:47lift bridge ahead of me but there's a guy wearing a high viz standing next to it so I don't
40:51know if
40:51that's a good or bad sign yet let's find out hello Robbie nice to meet you oh you expecting me
41:00well yeah I'm
41:01Tom the restoration project manager for the Shropshune and Canal Society word was out you were coming down
41:06the Monty oh blimey well do you know what I'm just glad that you're not here to tell me this
41:11bridge is
41:11closed or or are you no no no the bridge is still working fine no I'm out today we've got
41:17a work party
41:18next week so I'm doing some prep work for that Tom am I right in thinking that I've just got
41:23one mile to
41:23go now and that's the end of my journey that's right another mile that'll get you to Crickheath where
41:28you can turn the boat around beyond that that's where the volunteers are working to restore the
41:33channel got you so there is work to be done and a longer journey the next time I come hopefully
41:38oh
41:39definitely yeah right okay cool over the years Tom and local volunteers have restored about two miles
41:48of the Montgomery Canal in Shropshire and their work continues I've just spied that this lift bridge is
41:56going to give me a little bit of a problem because I can't operate it on that side and get
42:00my boat in
42:00would you be able to do the honours yeah yeah yeah no problem fantastic give me your winners there we
42:05are there's the winners I've seen a bit brilliant
42:17tell you what Tom turned up at the best time here so I don't know how I would get through
42:22this bridge
42:23without him it would be a bit tricky
42:35okay Robbie have a great trip thank you
42:49right this is it for me I have to turn around at the end of this canal the plans are
42:55to extend it but
42:56for me this is it it's been an incredible journey so much has happened in such a short space of
43:04time
43:0523 miles 10 locks and we've had amazing aqueducts tunnels I've even met the guy that helped design my
43:15boat that was really unexpected but here I am I've explored yet another canal that was new to me
43:23and I've got a mooring right here ready for the next journey
43:27bye
43:28bye
43:29bye
43:29bye
43:30bye
43:33bye
43:43bye
43:44bye
43:44bye
43:45bye
43:48bye
43:49bye
43:49bye
43:49bye
43:51bye
43:51bye
43:56Transcription by CastingWords
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