- 4 weeks ago
Canal Boat Diaries - Season 7 Episode 10 -
Summit to Sowerby Bridge
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Summit to Sowerby Bridge
tele: https://t.me/TopFilmUSA1
#film#shows#usa#usashows#hot#filmhot
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FunTranscript
00:09My name's Robbie Cumming. That's me dealing with some wild water in a very deep
00:15lock. If that got in the back of the boat easily flood it and then I'd have a sunken naughty
00:22lass
00:22at the bottom of the deepest lock in the country. And this is my old boat. For over a decade
00:28I've
00:29been exploring Britain's rivers and canals. Camera in hand, filming every bump, scrape and tricky
00:35situation. There's been a few over the years. Well that didn't work did it? This doesn't look good.
00:47It's a tree that's fallen into the canal. This is tough going. This time I'm exploring the Rochdale
00:57Canal. My journey starts at Summit. I'll cross the Yorkshire border and make my way to Todmorden.
01:09After that it's Hebden Bridge. My destination, Sorby Bridge. It's around 14 miles in all.
01:21There'll be plenty to see. So jump on board for my canal boat diaries.
01:47Right, I'm up early this morning on the last part of my journey from Wales to West Yorkshire. I'm almost
01:55there.
01:56I've just got a little bit to go to the finish line as it were. But yeah, it's winter at
02:02the moment.
02:03It's cold. I've let the fire go out so I'm going to start a new one.
02:11I've got plenty of coal which I'm very grateful for because this is the stuff that will keep running
02:16long term and allow me to go for all the locks and at the end of the day I've still
02:20got a fire that I
02:22can easily rekindle and get going again. So let's get it started.
02:32Right, that's roaring away now. And yeah, save from the knowledge that when it gets too cold out
02:37there I can come back in to a nice cosy boat. But yeah, let's get cranking.
02:53Today I'm going to realise my goal of crossing into Yorkshire from where I started in Wales in the summer.
03:03It seems like it has been a big mission. In fact, I was talking to the ex lock keeper at
03:10the mooring
03:10I was just in there, just by the lock. He said, well, you're on a big boys canal now.
03:17I mean, from the lack of facilities, from the heaviness of the lock gates and the sheer work I've had
03:25to do just
03:25battle my way through some of the shallow parts of the canal and the things get wrapped around the propeller.
03:30It's been a right mission to get here. It's bitterly cold today, but I've got my fire going
03:36and I've also got a few locks to get down as I head to a place called Wollsdon.
03:47I'm travelling along the summit pound of the Rochdale Canal.
03:53It's more than 600 feet above sea level in the Pennines.
04:00A remarkable spot that sits near the top of England's canal network.
04:10Right, first lock. This one is the first I've had in a long time that's going downhill.
04:17Obviously I'm on the top of this canal.
04:23I've got a fair amount of experience getting caught out in lockpounds that run empty.
04:30So I'm always on the lookout, trying to pre-empt water levels in the next part.
04:36Always looking ahead.
04:39Yeah, that's very low.
04:41So when you can see the sides like that, it's never a good sign.
04:48There might be enough depth in the middle, but I'm going to run some water through anyway.
04:55There's certainly plenty around at the moment.
05:08I got to the very first lock and what I could see was not enough water and I needed to
05:15let some
05:15through from not only the lock chamber itself but the pound above it where there was plenty of water.
05:23And I could just let it almost cascade through until I was happy enough that my boat would make it
05:29through.
05:33Right, this is looking healthy, full of water. I'm getting through it all right.
05:38Just ahead of me is the border between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
05:43This is it.
05:47It's been a bit of a mission since the start of this year to make it to Yorkshire.
05:55I lived here for a while, both on my boat and on dry land.
05:59And I think fondly of the place.
06:02So it's nice to be back.
06:07This area of the country has got a particularly rugged look to it.
06:11And especially here, as this was the site of a bombing raid back in December 1940.
06:17So this time of year, just before Christmas.
06:21And we've breached the canal, sending the water all over a nearby field, all over the road.
06:27And local school children came along to find fragments in the aftermath.
06:37Travelling through a valley like this means missing out on the low winter sun on the off chance it appears.
06:53Today, it's offering no warmth at all.
06:56So while I'm in this lock, I'll keep a close eye on my stove.
07:00Right, let's just check to see if those coals are still burning.
07:08Oh, they are. Yeah, they're still going.
07:12But I will add some more, otherwise it might go out.
07:16I want to end the day with a nice cosy boat.
07:19I'm not too far off the mooring.
07:27At this point in my journey, it's about a week to go to Christmas,
07:31and I have done nothing for it.
07:34I have left all my Christmas shopping to the last minute.
07:37So much going on with the boat and trying to live on the Rochdale Canal has been a challenge,
07:43let's say that.
07:44And Christmas has been at the back of my mind.
07:48Also, it's a long way from where my family, my mum, my dad,
07:53my brothers Charlie and Harry all celebrate down south, over 180 miles away.
07:58So it does feel like, in distance terms, it's a long way away.
08:03But yeah, I've got days to get ready and get some gifts for them.
08:07So I'll have to definitely stop off on this journey to pick something up.
08:18This is such a beautiful area. Honestly, this, for me, this is it.
08:23This is why I've come through so many locks, especially the previous journey.
08:29Coming up from Manchester has been the most difficult time.
08:33But this is the reward.
08:38Unfortunately, there's a boat in front of me that's sunk.
08:43A lot of people leave their boats in winter, and I think that's the risk.
08:46You've got to keep checking on it.
08:48And when I see my family at Christmas, I am always going to be thinking,
08:51hopefully, the boat's going to be all right.
08:53So I'll have to cut Christmas a little bit short if I know there's any flood warnings coming, for example.
09:07Right, I'm going to make this my last lock of the day.
09:10It's getting cold, and that fire is just, it's calling me.
09:15And one of my maps says there are some moorings just below this lock.
09:18So yeah, I'm going to try them out for a night or two.
09:22Who knows?
09:25It's such a beautiful area.
09:26I just want to stay a little bit longer.
09:42I'm up early this morning.
09:44First to check the water levels outside.
09:47It's had a lot of rain.
09:49And also, between two locks, the water level fluctuates quite a lot.
09:55Another thing that fluctuates a bit is the oil levels on my boat sometimes.
09:59I usually check the engine oil, and that's been fine.
10:02Absolutely fine over the past year.
10:05But one thing I've not checked is my gear oil through the gearbox.
10:10That's a little bit trickier to get to.
10:12So I'm going to do that now before setting off.
10:16I've got two separate dipsticks for two different chambers,
10:21each with a different volume.
10:23Oh, that's a bit too low on that side.
10:30One is almost empty and needs topping up with gear oil.
10:37Right, I think that's enough oil put in there.
10:41My throttle lever is going backwards and forwards as well as I could hope it to.
10:45So, it's good enough for me.
10:47Let's get cranking.
11:04Oil checks like that are something I probably ought to do a bit more regularly,
11:09but it is quite hard to get to, so I often put it off.
11:13But I'm happy.
11:14I've checked that, and I'm all ready to get through some locks.
11:18I've got about a dozen today to make Todmorden, which is where I'm going to tie up tonight.
11:23So, yeah, cold day, but I'll be warming up on the locks.
11:27And when I get there, I'm going to meet someone who's going to tell me an extraordinary story linked to
11:33the town.
11:34Extraordinary and maybe a little bit extraterrestrial as well, so I'm looking forward to that.
11:40But, yeah, this is a good day to move the boat.
11:52On the previous journey, I've been working my way up the Rochdale Canal through all these wide locks,
11:59from Manchester up to the summit where I started this one.
12:03And it's all downhill from here, as they say, but is that easier or harder?
12:09Well, you're just letting the water out of the lock.
12:11In some ways, it can be a little bit easier.
12:14You don't have to worry about letting it in and sending the boat all over the place,
12:19because the naughty lass did take a little bit of a bashing coming up through the locks.
12:28Although it can be slightly easier and gentler, still can't be complacent.
12:35From here in Wollsdon, I've got about 11 miles to go.
12:40I'll head to Hebden Bridge, and after that, Chul Lane Lock.
12:47The deepest in the country.
12:55I've stayed in numerous canal side towns throughout my journeys on my boat.
13:01But in Todmorden, where I'm headed today, I actually ended up living there during the pandemic.
13:08And, you know, that relationship ended.
13:12It's a bit of a bittersweet feeling coming back to Tod for me.
13:16Amazing place, brilliant people.
13:19But yeah, strange experience to come back to a town that I know so well.
13:27Now, building this canal over the Pennines in the late 18th century was an extraordinary engineering achievement,
13:36carried out by navvies from across England and Ireland.
13:41Many lived with their families in rough, overcrowded shanty huts around here, moving as the canal advanced.
13:52Nothing of those camps remains today.
13:56But the labourer's legacy lives on in this former canal warehouse.
14:12Crossing the Pennines in my boat is pretty much the most difficult challenge that I could ever
14:20set myself, especially in winter.
14:22But the people that actually built the canal by hand, the navvies, they were some hard people.
14:31But without them, I wouldn't have this challenge at all.
14:37But yeah, I'm certainly seeing some sights along the way.
14:44Quite a few locks ahead of me here as I approach Todmorden.
14:48It's funny, all summer, I've struggled with water levels, drought conditions.
14:53We're not having enough in the canal itself.
14:56At the moment, I've got so much, it appears I'm flooding Todmorden.
15:00Almost right by where I used to live.
15:03Oh no.
15:04Oh my goodness, that guy nearly went in.
15:08Daddy's all right.
15:14Emptying a broad lock on the Rochdale Canal.
15:17Releases thousands of gallons of water down to the next pound.
15:23If that's already full, after wet weather, some of that water can spill onto the towpath.
15:31Now don't worry, it'll soon drain away and things will get back to normal.
15:42Well, you know you're in Tod when you're passing this superstructure, this gigantic wall of bricks.
15:48It's affectionately known as the Great Wall of Tod, and serves as a retaining wall, supporting the railway above.
16:09Right, here I am at the main moorings in Todmorden, facilities over there.
16:14This looks like a good spot, in fact, I know it is.
16:17So, I'm just going to pull in here.
16:20And that's me for a bit.
16:27Right, that's the boat in its mooring.
16:30Now I'm going to do some exploring around Todmorden.
16:33I'm going to find out about a UFO incident that happened here.
16:38Now, Tod is a quirky place, but I've never heard about this until now.
16:42And I need to go and find out more through a local chap who's going to take me through what
16:48occurred almost half a century ago.
16:51And apparently it's all still unexplained, a mystery that hasn't been solved.
16:56I've got to check it out.
17:02Back in November 1980, about a mile from the canal, in the early hours of the morning,
17:09a local police officer claims he spotted a strange spinning craft hovering above Burnley Road in the town.
17:20I'm seeing a chap who still keeps in touch with that retired policeman.
17:27Well, I think this must be Colin. I'm supposed to be meeting.
17:31Colin.
17:32Hi, Robbie.
17:34Thanks for meeting me out here.
17:35No problem, no problem.
17:36I take it, this area, this is the site of the UFO?
17:40This is exactly the location where PC Alan Godfrey encountered a strange craft over and above the road.
17:47Was he in a car at a time?
17:49Yeah, he was on duty.
17:50He just finished a night shift towards the end of a night shift.
17:54He was heading in this direction and he encountered this diamond-shaped craft with a metallic base
18:01that was rotating, switching round.
18:04As he got nearer to it, this car engine cut out.
18:07He tried to contact the police station with his radio.
18:10That wouldn't work.
18:11And then the next thing you know, he found himself several hundred yards down the road.
18:19The Todmorden UFO sighting of the 1980s remains one of the UK's most controversial close encounters,
18:28with its authenticity debated for decades.
18:35Colin, I think what's unexplained to me is that I've lived in Tod quite a while and I've not even
18:39heard of that story,
18:40so thanks for telling me more about it.
18:43And, yeah, let's hope we can solve it.
18:45Or do we?
18:46Do we solve it?
18:47Sometimes these things...
18:48Yeah, I don't think we'll ever be solved.
18:49No.
18:49There's so many questions left unanswered.
18:52Really interesting story.
18:53It's out of this world.
18:54Thanks, Colin.
18:55No worries.
18:56I'll leave you to it.
18:56Cheers.
18:57Take care.
18:58Bye.
19:01What a story from Colin there.
19:03That is going to have me thinking as I continue my journey along the canal.
19:08I love unexplained mysteries, anything like that.
19:11And also, anything to do with spaceships landing in a town like Todmorden.
19:17You know that's going to be a story.
19:29You don't get much light in this valley, but it is the morning and I'm going to set off soon.
19:36I just need to sort out a little job in my engine bay.
19:39It's to do with my electrics and it's also to do with a boat safety scheme exam, sort of like
19:46an MOT.
19:47And I had a chap called Reece come by last week to go around the boat and check everything off.
19:54There's an old boat and all these quirky things, such as my wiring.
20:00And in this case, what I've got to do is provide a barrier around these wires to protect it from
20:06rubbing against the bare metal of the bulkhead here.
20:09And I think to do that, I'm going to use some bits and bobs that I've got lying around, including
20:15this plastic cup.
20:17And that should sort it out.
20:19Right, yeah, let's get that in there.
20:25I asked Reece if bubble wrap would work, but he said it needs to be a sturdy plastic barrier to
20:32protect the wires.
20:33So that's what I've made and I'm also sealing it in place.
20:40Right, I've secured the wires. It's a bit of a messy job, but when I show Reece, he'll hopefully say,
20:46well, you've stopped them from rubbing against the metal. Job done.
20:50And your boat has passed.
20:53Anyway, done all I can. Time to get going.
20:56I'm sure that'll do the trick.
21:10Oh, it's cold today. I'm all wrapped up.
21:14Got my two hats on.
21:17Bye bye, Tomenden, because today I'm headed through quite a few locks,
21:21will hopefully warm me up. But also, I've got last minute Christmas shopping to do,
21:26so I'll moor up tonight as close as I can to Hebden Bridge, where I can get that done.
21:43Right, the boat is in the first lock of the day.
21:46At this point, it's taken me about a week to get here from Manchester,
21:50which is funny if you consider the old working boats.
21:55It used to take them about a day, unbelievably.
21:59They'd leave Tomenden, sort of in the evening,
22:03and then arrive in Manchester the following evening, working through the night.
22:08Obviously, they did have a bit of help. They had some crews involved.
22:12There's lots of people just opening gates and winding the paddles.
22:22And I guess they wouldn't be mucking around with cameras either, like I do.
22:27So, it's fine. I enjoy taking my time.
22:34Today, though, I do need to pick up my pace,
22:38as I'm trying to get to Hebden Bridge before the shops shut.
22:48People ask me if I spend Christmas on my boat.
22:52I think, yeah, that would seem quite an idyllic thing to do,
22:57but I travelled to see my family and be with them,
23:00my brothers, my mum and dad, and anyone else who might visit.
23:07With a few travel days left before Christmas and some miles yet to cover,
23:13I pass Woodhouse Mill, a former cotton-spinning factory built for the canal trade.
23:30Back in the 1860s, a high-pressure boiler exploded here,
23:36scattering debris, killing a girl nearby, as well as injuring others.
23:42The accident made newspaper headlines and is a sad reminder
23:47of the dangers of 19th-century industrial life.
23:57I don't believe my eyes.
23:59There's another boat on the move.
24:02I've not seen any boats moving around since I left Manchester on the previous journey.
24:10And I've only got another 13 locks left of this canal out of 91.
24:15One, and wow, yeah, it's two, not just one, two boats on the move.
24:21Amazing. Good to see.
24:23It's not easy travelling along this canal and living on it in winter.
24:28So hats off to them.
24:44Right, I'm going to make this my last lock of the day.
24:47I'm more up just this side of Hebden Bridge.
24:51So I can walk in and get some Christmas presents for my family
24:55holiday because I have not got anything so far.
24:59I've been too busy with these locks. Come on.
25:15I've not really been feeling the Christmas spirit as I've been working my way through all the locks.
25:19I've been focused on my goal of getting over the border into Yorkshire and just making sure I can live
25:27on this canal.
25:28It's just been such a challenge.
25:31But I did manage to get to Hebden Bridge and there I thought that would be a good place
25:37to try and find some quite nice gifts for people.
25:46There are quite a lot of boats moored here. It's a popular place to be.
25:50Just see if I can squeeze in somewhere, hopefully.
25:54Just need somewhere.
25:57It's enough space for the naughty lass.
26:00Close enough to the side so I can just hop off and get some shopping done.
26:06Right, this will do.
26:08Mooring right on the end of the boats.
26:11Right outside the pub.
26:19After going through the canal on my own all day long, where it doesn't look Christmasy at all,
26:24it was nice to go to Hebden and see some lights and lots of people milling around.
26:31And as soon as I started wandering around, I got to a charity shop.
26:36I thought it's always a good place to have a little look around, see if you can get anything quirky.
26:40And then I chanced upon a toy shop, game shop.
26:44Come away with some fantastically fun looking games for people.
26:48And then I thought, well, I'll pop into a wine shop and see if I can get something nice there.
26:55So I've got even some beer as well.
26:59Well, that's my Christmas shopping.
27:02Not completed, but I've got a few items I can give to a few people.
27:08I could always pick up some more.
27:19This is where Christmas starts for me.
27:21Buying presents for other people and I've just done that.
27:24So, yeah, I'm feeling in the mood.
27:27I've just got to wrap these up.
27:29And then I'm done.
27:55I was looking and feeling like an icy winter morning.
28:00Definitely.
28:03And it was a nice mooring there last night.
28:06Quite quiet, considering everyone in town, they're all out having a good time.
28:13Got my presents done and now I'm going through locks.
28:17I've got a few to do today before I get to where I'm going to be tying up for Christmas.
28:27A stoppage further down the canal means I can't complete this trip just yet.
28:34One of the final locks on my journey, the deepest in the country, is closed until the new year.
28:41Therefore, I plan to moor the naughty lass in the Yorkshire village of Mythamroyd and then head off to see
28:47my family.
28:49But first, I need to get through this next lock.
28:52And I think I might have some help.
29:04There's another boater here.
29:05I'm not expecting this.
29:06All right, mate.
29:07You're on the move as well, are you?
29:08Yeah, yeah.
29:09Oh, fair play to you.
29:10I guess you must have opened the gates.
29:12Yeah, yeah.
29:12I saw you coming down.
29:13You know, I've got my glasses on.
29:16How have you found living on this canal?
29:18Like, honestly.
29:18This, so far, so there's my third winter and this one has been the worst one so far because we're
29:26such down in the valley here between the two hills.
29:29I get no solar at all, so I'm not even getting enough electric to get hot water, so cold showers
29:34every morning.
29:36Yeah, the facilities down there doesn't have something that I need, so I need to go to the next place
29:43just to get through.
29:44And it's going to take me, like, six hours today to get through, so it's going to be a bit
29:47of a faff, but it'll be nice when I get there.
29:50Yeah, well, I won't keep you too long, but, yeah, I really appreciate your help on the lock and...
29:56No, no, no problem at all.
29:57It's just nice to see another mad boater out there trying to get through your winter.
30:01Yeah.
30:02All right, cheers, Willie.
30:03Right, I'm going to keep this going.
30:04See you later.
30:14It's great to get a bit of help there and also to meet someone else who's also struggling on the
30:18Rochdale, so it's not just me, it's Adam as well.
30:20Cheers, mate.
30:39I'm slowly making my way along the Rochdale Canal in West Yorkshire in the depths of winter, and it's already
30:47been quite a journey.
30:50All right, this is the main part of Hebden Bridge. Plenty of boats here.
30:55And just over to the left, that is where the town is where I was doing some shopping last night,
31:00and it is beautiful.
31:07Hebden Bridge grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, fuelled by water-powered textile mills, nicknamed Trousertown.
31:18It's specialised in ready-made clothing, exporting garments across Britain, with the Rochdale Canal playing a key role in transporting
31:29goods and raw materials.
31:38Right, this is unusual for the Rochdale Canal. We've got a tunnel.
31:44It's a very dark tunnel.
31:46I can't see the other side of it because it's a bit of a dog-leg left-hand turn.
31:55After decades of decline, this canal was fully restored and reopened in 2002.
32:02The project included Falling Royd Tunnel, built to carry the canal under a main road in the Pennine Valley.
32:12It replaced an old canal bridge, removed when the road above was altered.
32:29All right, I've got one more lock to do, and then I'll look for a mooring.
32:32But I'm now entering Mythemroyd, which is still the home to a clog factory.
32:40I've got a lot of footwear. I've not got any wooden items.
32:43But the original idea was in the cotton mills, they would provide insulation grip, apparently, and also, most importantly, protection.
32:54A bit like the modern-day steel toe caps.
32:58But, yeah, I'm not sure I'll be picking up a pair soon.
33:03I'm more keen on finding somewhere to move and leave my boat for Christmas.
33:08Right, last lock of the day and last lock of the year. Here we go.
33:25I always have such wonderful memories of Christmas.
33:28So the whole morning would be taken up with opening the presents and building various things.
33:36One of the favourite memories I have usually revolves around us going through the TV guide
33:44and highlighting all the programmes that we wanted to watch in the lead-up.
33:53I'd never have thought, years later, my narrowboat and I might end up in that TV guide ourselves.
34:01It's funny how life turns out.
34:11Right, this looks like a good spot. I thought Hebden was a bit busy, but it's a lot quieter here,
34:15but I'm still near the train station and some shops.
34:19So, yeah, this will be all right. And also, I'm next to a couple of other boats as well.
34:33Right, I'm pretty much all packed up. I'm ready to go and spend I don't know how many days with
34:39my family.
34:39We'll see. I'll also be keeping an eye on weather reports just to make sure the boat's okay.
34:45I'm always worrying about it and I can never leave it for too long, but regardless of how long I'm
34:51leaving it,
34:51I need to do various things such as switch my gas off, water, and I'll do that and then I'll
35:00get on the road.
35:25Right, after two weeks away, I'm back on the canal, just going to see if the boat's all right.
35:31Got some new glasses for Christmas and it's been a lovely time spent with family.
35:37And always nice to have a little bit of a break from being on the boat, but she's going to
35:41be cold.
35:42I need to warm her up, get the fire going and also get myself a nice hot drink.
35:47Because, yeah, this is a very cold January morning.
36:15Oh, it's good to be on the move again, despite how cold it is.
36:20But, she was one degree Celsius inboard. I mean, that is the coldest I've ever come back to.
36:27But, anyway, I'm glad that I can move along the canal and it's not iced in.
36:33I don't want any more dramas until I get to the end where I've got the deepest lock on the
36:38system to take on.
36:40And the volunteer lockkeepers that are going to be there, I've had to let them know in advance because they're
36:44not there 24-7.
36:46But, yeah, not much more of the canal left, just a few more locks to go.
36:57I'm coming towards the end of my journey.
37:01And you might think, oh, what's waiting for you there, Robbie?
37:04You know, this is such a solitary journey for you.
37:07You know, the destination, is it just a place?
37:10Well, for me, it's also a person as well, who grew up in West Yorkshire.
37:15And she is my girlfriend.
37:20Her name's Lindsay.
37:22She's from Leeds.
37:23And, yeah, I think after this adventure, perhaps I'll tackle a different one of a different kind.
37:30And, yeah, make some memories with a new shipmate.
37:36Now, we've not been together that long, so I've been keeping it a bit quiet.
37:41But we did see each other over Christmas.
37:47Right, let's get back to the journey.
37:55I'm just coming up to Edward Kilner Lock.
37:58And I'm just looking over the wall there at a cow having a drink at the River Calder,
38:03which runs alongside this canal.
38:05And when the canal's frozen over, generally, the river keeps flowing,
38:09so the animals can always get a drink there.
38:25Edward Kilner Lock takes its name from a solicitor who worked for the Rochdale Canal Company
38:32and played a key role in the canal during its early years.
38:43Well, it is a cold day, and I was wondering when I'd see ice on the canals on this journey.
38:49And here it is.
38:51Hopefully it's not going to be that thick.
38:53And hopefully I get that lovely sound of the ice cracking as I go through it.
39:02I am having to give it a few revs to get through this.
39:06It's definitely thick enough.
39:07It looks about half-inch, yeah, almost in places.
39:13But considering the rest of the canal is fine, he should be all right.
39:17Lickers crossed.
39:24Thankfully, I was soon through that ice
39:28and back on a clear stretch of the canal.
39:42I'm going to have to go through it.
39:42Right, here I am in Sorby Bridge.
39:44Dead ahead of me is the deepest lock in the country I'm about to go through.
39:50The gates are open.
39:51I've arrived just on time, I think, because the lock keepers are waiting for me there.
39:56Yeah, this is going to be quite something to go through.
40:07Chur Lane lock is an incredible structure to tackle in an arabo.
40:16And it all becomes even more apparent how deep it is the more you drop down.
40:23You're coming from quite a level canal, normal setting.
40:26You can't see how deep it is from entering through the top gates.
40:32But yeah, once you get down to the bottom, you can look up and it's just,
40:35wow, yeah, it's quite something.
40:42Getting too close to the water at the back.
40:46That could easily, if that got in the back of the boat, easily flood it.
40:52And then I'd have a sunken naughty lass at the bottom of the deepest lock in the country.
41:00But for me there was an added danger in the fact that behind me I could see that the top
41:05gates had something stuck in between them causing a huge amount of water just to keep
41:10pouring in as they're emptying it. So my challenge was to keep away from the front gates but also
41:16to keep away from all that water that could potentially just go straight into the naughty lass and sink it.
41:26I'm actually quite glad to be leaving the lock because there's so much water coming down here.
41:34I definitely need to be away from that, otherwise I'd sink my boat.
41:43Well, after that I'm almost there and it's been quite an adventure this year.
41:51From a summer start in Wales and breathtaking aqueducts to obstacles at every turn,
41:59keeping moving and boring boats, an unexpected dip in the Trent and Mersey
42:05and even fallen trees on the Peak Forest Canal. But in the end it's been another unforgettable trip
42:14on board my boat, the naughty lass.
42:24Right, this is it. I'm at the end of my journey. At the end of the Rochdale Canal,
42:29which since the summit has just been lock after lock after lock. And during winter it's just
42:34been one of the most difficult journeys. But at least I got to investigate a UFO sighting along the way.
42:43And now, at the next lock, I'm going to meet my girlfriend, Lindsay. And from here,
42:49where are my adventures going to take me? I don't know. It'll be interesting.
42:56Ready to go for this next lock with me?
42:58Yes. And where are we going after that?
43:00Err, yeah, I've no idea. Let's find out. Yay!
43:05Yay!
43:05Yay!
43:16Yay!
43:20Yay!
43:39Transcription by CastingWords
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