My wife and I own a steel, 12 meter, water displacement cruiser with which we cruise the inland and coastal waters of the Netherlands, as well as the Baltic (we're Dutch). I am absolutely fascinated by these narrow boat videos however. The small waterways, bridges, locks, etc., and the utterly beautiful English countryside. These videos simply epitomize gentleness, innocence, and a relaxed lifestyle to me.
That's so interesting to hear about your boating life in the Netherlands! We will have to take a look to see if we can find them on RU-vid to see the difference. We are glad we can bring you a little of the beauty of the UK and this lovely lifestyle. Thanks for watching 😊
I'm from the US. My wife and I live in the Puget Sound region of Washington state in a lovely little town called Port Townsend- right on what is referred to as the Salish Sea. It's beautiful country. In June of 2022 my wife and I spent two weeks in the UK [London, Bath & Bournemouth]. My favorite day of those two weeks was the day we took the ten mile walk from Bath to Bradford on Avon along the Kennet & Avon canal path. It was so beautiful it made my heart hurt- like visiting a beloved place you'd never been to before. Your videos have given me that same feeling again. Thank you for that.
I’ve just searched and looked at beautiful photos of your lovely town! We never made it to WA when we lived in TX unfortunately! You picked a beautiful are of the UK to walk. The Kennet and Avon canal is on our list for this year. Glad we can bring you some of the beauty of the UK by the power of RU-vid! Thanks for watching and for your lovely comments 😊
Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve travelled by bike many times from Devizes to Bath on the canal path. Stop at Bradford on Avon for a bacon sandwich, on to Bath for lunch and a couple of beers. Sheer heaven. Cycle back aching legs, but a great day out. The flight of locks at Caen Hill is a structural masterpiece. Good tea and cake at the canal cafe. Cheers !,
@@grahamcarter8499 We hope to return some day so I'll keep your bike route in mind. We also had a grand lunch outdoors, on the canal, in Bradford on Avon at the Lock Inn.
Funny to see Silver Fox again. I follow the vlogs from Foxes afloat (as well as yours) with great joy, so it was nice to see the boat in good hands. I have never been on the canals, but Llangollen is my absolute favorit when it appears on the vlogs I follow. Looking forward for the next episode 🙂
Silver Fox is definitely in good hands, and it’s been a little surreal for us sitting aboard the boat that we watched so much as we were planning our new life from our sofa 3 years ago! Pauline and Derek have added a few little extras and really made her their own for lots more new adventures! We have to agree, the Llangollen is our most favourite too. And I hope we have been conveying the beauty in these winter vlogs, especially the next one, which I am excitedly editing now, which will be our journey across the two aqueducts! Thanks for watching 😊
Such a privilege to share that beautiful cruise! Excellent photography, good choice of music, stunning countryside, this is what narrowboating is all about! Like the Shroppie, the Llangollen seems to be a very well constructed canal - I noticed that the banks are nearly all stabilised with armco and free of overhang, and the canal is always a generous two boats wide. I think that the outro music is sung by Alex and it's so good. I hum it for days afterwards. Also so good to be able to cruise in convoy with special friends - you folks have a life!
Thank you so much! There are so many spots with Armco so lots of wonderful places to moor, being able to use chains instead of relying on pins in the bank. The outro music is actually Time On Our Side by Ten Towers. I found it and loved it on epidemicsound.com. I invested in a subscription to their very extensive music library, so I don’t have any copyright issues with the music I use for the videos. It’s one of my favourite parts of the editing process, choosing the music to go with the scene. I use a few pieces of Alex’s music, and you will hear him singing one of his original songs in the next video while he is on board with us, but even when he has given us permission to use his music it becomes a big headache to use it on our videos with a lengthy registering process, and I don’t want to risk copyright strikes with RU-vid! It’s been a steep learning curve for sure. Glad you are enjoying the videos 😊
What a wonderful video. It’s calming and I get to see parts of the world I will never see. I live in Savannah, Georgia in the USA, and after my husband retired, we bought a motorhome and traveled the United States for 14 years. And although I enjoyed every minute of it at times, it was very stressful. Having to navigate through cities, through horrible rush hours, and dealing with problems with the motorhome. In 2016, he passed away, and I sold the motorhome. But now I watch these videos on people living on narrow boats in the UK and I think if I ever had to do it again, I would not have bought a motorhome, but would have come over to the UK learned how to deal with a narrow boat and did that for many years. I don’t think some of it would be any different then living in a motorhome as far as dealing with the dumping of gray and black tanks and making sure we had propane etc. but the calmness and the beauty will far outweigh any of the years we spent traveling the United States in a motohome. So thank you for taking me on a journey that I will never be able to do on my own.
We are glad we can take you on our journeys with us by the power of RU-vid! That’s so interesting to read about your own adventures across the USA in your motor home, but sad to hear about your husband. We explained our plans for our new life aboard a narrowboat to our American friends as RVing but in a boat with no traffic jams! It’s a much slower place for sure getting from place to place, and is such a difference from the crazy Houston traffic that we had got used to in our 10 years there. We certainly made a very positive change and have no regrets so far! Thanks for watching and we hope you enjoy our future videos just as much 😊
Read about these canals and narrow boats in a Scottish magazine. Didn’t realize people actually live in them full time. As a chic in a chair glad to hear about the company who adapts its boats to make them accessible to all. Your westies Hamish and Poppy are adorable! My doxie actually woke up from his nap when he heard the barking. Beautiful travels 😊❤
I love that your doxie woke up to watch Poppy and Hamish. Poppy is obsessed with the TV, Hamish not so much, and she will wake from a deep sleeep if there’s the slight hint of an animal, especially another dog, on the screen! It’s wonderful how some boat builders really have gone the extra step to make their boats so accessible for everyone to enjoy. Thanks for watching 😊
That was a lovely trip, must say I love your dogs, and what a surprise to see Silver Fox, that's the first time I have seen her since she was sold. it did bring a tear to my eyes Australia
Lovely to have you aboard from Australia! Silver Fox is in good hands with Derek and Pauline, off on new adventures. Hamish and Poppy love their boat dog life Glad you enjoyed the cruise 😊
Always good to see the Silver Fox again even though the boys are currently crofting in merry ole scotland😆 I'll be sure to add them "Derik an Pauline Watts on board" I really enjoy the music on your vlog always nice an calming. that spot on the lake seems to be a Favorite among boaters.It's all so pretty I could see it over an over! Please be safe and enjoy yourselfs. Steve from Texas
Thanks so much Steve! Silver Fox is definitely in good hands with Pauline & Derek, and they’ve added their own little touches to her to make her their own. It’s a little surreal for us to be on board their boat, which we watched so much when we were planning this new life on the water ourselves 😊
It’s definitely a much more slow pace of life that our bricks and mortar life! Quite a few others have suggested a drill bit for those bridges! Perhaps that’s a solution that no one has quite figured out how to make work so far as we’ve never seen anyone using that method on our travels yet 😊
@fredbrandon1645 What an asshole comment to make to a stranger. I have been an electrical contractor for over 20 years and have owned four construction companies. Yes. Four. Go back to sleep.
Glad you enjoyed it again! This is exactly why we are heading back there this winter to enjoy it all over again, and hopefully meeting up with Paul & Anthony if it all goes to plan 😊
Thanks so much for your wonderful support of our channel. So appreciated! Hamish and Poppy love their boat dog life, Poppy especially, sitting up on the back when we are cruising, or moored up and acting like our greeter! I hope watching their antics brings back lovely memories of your boys. We often talk about adding a Scottie to the mix. Such wonderful characters 😊
OMG this is so Cool.....I am in the states...we don't have anything like this to experience.....the wife and I lived in a Tiny home for 2 years...but this would be so much better to travel up and down the canal and see the beautiful country side.....Love the Video....
Glad you enjoyed it! It’s the best thing about tiny living in a narrowboat, being able to move our home at a slow relaxed 3mph, and change our view and our neighbours whenever we like! We downsized from a 2500 sq ft home during our 10 years in Texas to 250 sq ft when we returned to the UK and do not miss the space at all! I’m sure you can appreciate like we can how freeing it is to get rid of so much ‘stuff’! Thanks for watching 😊
We can highly recommend it! It’s a beauty do way of life for sure, but also a very different and enjoyable way to spend a holiday, hiring a boat and exploring the UK by water! 😊
Yes they do! She is in good hands with Pauline and Derek now, and they’ve made a few little changes to suit them. She’s had lots more adventures! Thanks for coming 😊
It really is! Slowly taking in the beautiful scenery. We’ve seen so much of the UK that we’ve never been to before, of from a totally different viewpoint from the canal. The dogs live their boat dog life! Thanks for watching 😊
Quite a few others have mentioned the same, but with such an old historic mechanism boaters stick to using the old traditional windlass as they have done since the start of the canals. It's a beautiful slow life on the historic network, and just part of the adventure. Thanks for watching
That was beautiful! So peaceful. You could easily think it was 75 yrs ago watching it, except for the cars. Only problem is staying awake. It’s almost too relaxing. Next doctor’s visit. I’m think I’m going to watch one of your videos in the waiting room. To lower my blood pressure. 😁 Thank you. ✌️
So glad, that’s the emotion I try to create when I’m editing, especially when choosing the music. That’s a good idea for my next doctor or dentist visit too! Thanks for watching 😊
@@onedaymoreaboard Well you’ve definitely accomplished your goal. Please give yourself a pat on the back from me. 🙂 BTW I showed it to my 77 yr old Mom, and she absolutely loved it too. I’ve never left the states myself, but she’s been all over Europe, and the UK. And it reminded her of a river boat cruise she did over there. Said that’s exactly how it was too. Very relaxing, beautiful, and peaceful. Thank you for the reply, and for sharing with us all. ✌️
I’ve never been to the UK, never seen a narrow boat, but someday I’d like to experience both. In fact I think living onboard would be a fine way to enjoy retirement years… Living in New Mexico USA we don’t have a lot of water, lots of sunshine and blue skies though… Thank you for sharing your beautiful landscape. Subscribed as well.
Welcome aboard! We can highly recommend this way of life. Two years on and no regrets at all! You are right, this is very different from your NM landscape. Our daughter went to the U of Utah and we did the mega road trip from Houston to SLC through NM a few times! We are glad we can bring you a little of the beauty of our country by the power of RU-vid 😊
It was only 3 years ago that we were sat on our sofa in TX watching these same narrowboat videos and thinking let’s move back to the UK and do this! Best decision ever. Glad you found us 😊
Love the water and dad had a houseboat that I loved. A beautiful girl lured me to dry land and I had a scuba licence and swimmers ear so it made sense. Now , at 64 I watch this videos and cry a little so she doesn't hear me. I still have my 16.8 Old Town sailing canoe with a 2.5 motor to keep me alive and set my spirit free. OH ......!! a boat
Now I can add traveling on the canals to my vicarious adventures such as solo sailing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, living in a motorhome , winter camping etc. All at night in the comfort of my bed! Very pleasing video…thanks.
We are so glad you enjoyed it! Isn't it wonderful, the places RU-vid can take you, and the things you can learn from the comfort of your sofa or bed! 😊
Another great video. Glad to see you enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving. ( I went to Austin, as usual.) I am glad to see who bought Silver Fox after Shawn and Collin moved to Scotland. Small world that you 4 are friends. Sweet little Hamish just can't decide. I think he mainly wants to be near to his people. Can't wait to see and hear more from Alex. Have a great week. Leigh 😊
I had wondered if you’d made your Austin trip for Thanksgiving like usual! Hope it was a happy one! Silver Fox is on good hands with Pauline and Derek, who’ve added their own little touches to make her perfect for them! I’m excitedly editing the next video, with all the footage of us crossing the aqueducts, and having Alex aboard for his birthday! It was definitely one to remember for him 😊
@@onedaymoreaboard Yes, being with friends of 40 years in their serene home is balm for the soul... and yummy. Plan to be back Christmas. I remember the first time I saw the Pontcycsllte on a Foxes Afloat vlog. I was thrilled as I didn't know there were any of those in use. And it was beautiful. So can't wait to see your adventure with Alex. Hug those pups and be well.
We sailed on the canal back in the fifties, glad to see it is still well used. My uncle lived on a longboat full time in his retirement, near Ellesmere Port.
thank you so much for making this video : im from Glasgow Scotland I visit Llangollen on every occasion I can think of: its a magical part of the world I've walked countless miles along the canal but your video captures the beauty Please do more in the area I've now subscribed
Welcome aboard, we are glad you enjoyed it! It really is a beautiful part of the UK, and we enjoyed our Winter on the Llangollen canal so much. This video is one in a series of our time in the area. The next one will be the time we were frozen in on the canal that we were told rarely freezes because of the flow from the River Dee! That was an interesting time, but the boating community, as always, came together and we all helped each other out in record cold temperatures! 😊
I am glad we are able to bring you the beauty of the British countryside to West Texas by the power of RU-vid! We know West Texas well, long road trips from Houston, where we used to live, to our daughter who was at college in Utah! Very, very different scenes to the UK for sure! 😊
That’s so lovely to hear Linda, and a huge confidence boost! It’s been a very steep but enjoyable learning curve, filming and editing to produce the vlogs, and comments like your make our day 😊
Let the dog in. Let the dog out. "Hamish. Do you want to come back up? You need to make your mind up". H😂. Wishful thinking. We are our dog's servants 😅
We truly are their servants! Poppy is happy just to sit up on the back for hours, watching the world go by, while Hamish, as you’ve seen, can never decide where he wants to be, and being that bit older than Poppy, needs help going up and down the steps! Thanks for watching 😊
They are so graceful and beautiful, but also can be very protective of their young and will hiss and grab at the dogs (and humans sometimes!). Where are you with black swans? 😊
Thanks so much, we are glad you enjoyed it! The Llangollen Canal is apparently so much busier in the summer months, with lots of hire boaters on holiday, so much more boat traffic. We were lucky it was so quiet in winter but would like to go back and experience a different season there too 😊
Do more videos. Can also go by barge Bordeaux to Marseilles with cook and barman/Capt guy. The canals show a whole different view of the country - the quiet, old type. All the best!@@onedaymoreaboard
I think one of the things so appealing about narrow boat life is the pace and accessibility. Here in the US the closest comparison would be RV living but that's all highway speed travel and camp grounds. The UK isn't perfect but boy it's got a big leg up on the US when it comes to living options.
This is exactly how we described boat life to our American friends when we were leaving Texas to return to the UK to start our new life! RVing in a boat but without the traffic jams and at a much, much slower pace! And so far, almost 3 years on, it's been the best decision we made! Thanks for watching 😊
Several years before my mother passed she'd considered purchasing a longboat ( a bit like these only much larger) on the Seine in Paris because it was the least expensive way to live there, instead she purchased a very broken 1600's château in the Dordogne for less than the boat, sitting on 90 hectares,,now she's gone and I'm here alone and I often wonder what my life would be like if I were on that longboat,, I love these peoples videos🇫🇷❤️
I have wonderful memories of a camping holiday in the Dordogne back in the 1970s. Such stunning scenery. There is a large boating community in London, as like Paris, it’s one of the more affordable ways to live in the capital. We are glad we can bring you a little of our lives exploring the UK by the power of RU-vid 😊
@@onedaymoreaboard I'm so glad you've been here, it's still beautiful but Periguex is getting built up, I'm sure in the 70's it was a better experience, just like that era's music was,, 🤗🇫🇷
I'm trying to convince my fiance that when we retire this would be the way to go. Seems like such a charming life on the canals. She loves wales so maybe eventually she'll give in.
We can highly recommend it! It’s a beautiful life. Yes, they are some challenges, but the positives far, far, far outweigh the negatives! We are so glad we did it when we did instead of just wondering ‘what if’. Thanks for watching 😊
Hello Im new to your channel i love the peaceful music, and scenery, how your in it, but not constant chatter, just enough for us to want to come along on your journey with you 2 an2 pups. Donna from Redding Ca❤
We are so glad we can show you a little of our boat life and the beautiful British countryside by the power of RU-vid in CA! This is such a change in lifestyle from the 10 years we spent in TX! Thank you for your lovely comments about the format of our videos. It reassures us that we are doing the right thing (for most people!) 😊
632k views and counting - wow! Well done both - just shows you are nailing it when it comes to Narrowboat Vlogs! 😊 Keep going, be happy and stay safe 😊
Thank you! That’s so good to hear, and a real boost to my filming and editing confidence! It’s been a steep old learning curve but so enjoyable, and lovely to get comments like yours 😊
We do feel like we are living the dream most days, and count ourselves very lucky that we could make it happen, with Pete having a job that he can do from the boat 😊
Excellent Transport! Nice to see it. I like it. This we have in Germany only at the Spree Forest, but not with moter power. Its still with long sticks. Thanks for sharing.
Love that we have viewers from all over the world watching our videos! We have boats like that in Oxford and Cambridge, long boats with poles to punt. We have heard from viewers that there are similar boats to ours in the Netherlands. Thanks for watching 😊
Thank you for the video. Lovely countryside you have over there. Over here - farmers are about done harvesting their soy beans / corn. Leaves are down and it's been cold. Highs the other day was in the mid to upper 20's and lows around 10F. Did get about 2 to 3 inches of snow. Some of it is still around, but slowly melting as the temps today hit upper 30's or maybe low 40s. Hope the turkey was good - spent our Thanksgiving with SIL / BIL. Had dinner at a restaurant. again thank you for the video. Always nice to see you have posted a video. God Bless - hope the family / friends and you are doing well.
We saw the snow in your part of the world via FaceTime the other day. Sophie was excited to show us! Glad to hear you had a lovely Thanksgiving! We had dinner at Cracker Barrel one thanksgiving when we went to visit our son in college. It was a wonderful atmosphere and lovely food, and even the 90 mins wait for a table was entertaining as everyone was chatting in a holiday mood. Stay safe and warm 😊❄️
@@onedaymoreaboard When traveling or on vacation. Cracker Barrel is our place to stop for food. Great service, great food and the boss gets to shop a bit. lol.
It's been a real joy and a trip down memory lane also. My late parents had 2, the first one was small just right for 2 people but then decided that they wanted to take family on board for short holidays as well has cheap labour lol Kidding I for one enjoyed every minute of all the work and all the fun of it. I would love to live on one even now when just walking from one room to another in a ground floor flat is painful lol. Your dogs are gorgous and so is your home on water. I wish you a long and happy time on board :)
Thank you so much! Glad to hear you enjoyed the video and it brought back some lovely memories for you. That’s funny you said about child labour because when we’ve had our adult kids on board we’ve made them do the locks and especially the lift bridges to ‘earn their keep’ 😂
I saw your blog where you described how the boat was built, can I ask you a couple of questions about it? 1. You organised the building from the US, weren’t you worried about the quality of the building being so far away? 2. Was the build expensive? I’m interested in following your lead in buying and living on a boat but being in Australia I need a lot more information. 3. Did you consider a full electric or a hybrid system? 4. Is the boat meeting your needs and expectations? Kind regards to you both, Peter.😅
Hi Peter, thanks for you questions, we'll do our best to answer them.... 1. Due to Covid, and living in Texas at the time, we really couldn't do anything but trust our gut instinct with our choice of builder. We had watched as many tour videos of Russell Narrowboats that we could find, and there was also a review of one of their boats in Waterways World magazine. From our very first conversation with Paul Russell on FaceTime, we had a great feeling, and over the course of the build that faith in his product just grew. Their communication was excellent, with regular video and photo updates, and we spoke at least weekly. They really did bring all of our design ideas to life, and were extremely flexible and eager to make our vision a reality. The other reassuring thing was that they were adamant that they would not take a large proportion of the payment until we had actually seen the boat in real life. When we saw it and could touch and feel everything, we had no worries at all that we had made the right choice. 2. Since we bought our boat prices have gone up significantly. A 60ft boat to our spec would now be around £170-180k. You can get cheaper around £150k. 3. We did not consider electric or hybrid at the time as that technology was still in its infancy in the narrowboat world 3 years ago 4. We absolutely love our boat, and especially how the reverse layout works for us. We are glad we went out on a limb a little with our colour choice and regular get lovely comments from the towpath! We upgraded our batteries for more amp hours, and if we were to choose again, we would go for a semi-cruiser stern, instead of the cruiser stern that we have. We would like to have seating for passengers forward of the tiller arc when we are cruising. That's really about the only thing that we didn't plan for. Let us know if you have any more questions! 😊
Over here in the usa we have a program called adopt a mile and a group will go along the highway and pick up trash or weed eat around trees. Some of the spots have flower beds to take care of. It would be nice if u could stop and weed eat or trim some branches back.
Oh I remember those signs along the highways when we lived in the USA, adopted by all sorts of groups! Such a good idea. Every now and again you will see an area that is maintained by a local person or group. There are flower beds near the locks at Braunston that are maintained by on of the local boaters, and he has put a watering can on the wall for passers by to water the beds if they think they need it. Thanks for watching 😊
Hi to you all just found your channel......I absolutely love westies and now narrowboats too a truly fabulous combination cheers from Bunbury western Australia x x love
Welcome aboard! We are glad you found us, and love that we can bring a little of the beauty of the British canals to you in Australia by the power of RU-vid! And I know we are totally biased, but westies really are the best😊
My rabbit liked your music has he was chilling to it. I enjoyed the watch and the music. The short you filmed about how to keep the westies white made me laugh out loud😅 Who needs the gym ay👍
Love to hear that your rabbit enjoys the music! It’s one of my favourite parts of the editing process, choosing the music to convey the right feeling! The westies definitely keep us fit and entertained 😂❤️
I lived on a cruiser for a little while on the Norfolk broads was lovely I’m the spring and summer but was to much hassle in the winter off grid living access getting things down to the boat and the cost of mooring fee’s put me off in the end but iv got a mate who’s still on his boat to this day loves it e does.awesome video guy’s
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. We have to agree that it’s definitely harder in the winter, especially the muddy towpaths! We always love those frosty frozen mornings as they freeze the mud! We are looking forward to those longer lighter days though! Wishing you a happy and healthy 2024 😊
That is an absolutely beautiful house isn’t it, and perfectly located, with a mooring for a narrowboat too. I don’t think we could stop boating but owning that and having a boat too would be the perfect combination! Just need to win the lottery 😂🤞
I think the Canal and River Trust could better maintain canal footpaths. It would be mostly a matter of energising local communities and businesses to raise funds and find volunteers. Canal side pathways are a valuable local amenities.
I think you're right, an idea like adopting a stretch of canal towpath to maintain would really help with the cost of maintenance! Thanks for watching 😊
@@onedaymoreaboardOur local canal is a great favourite for walkers. However, one section is unmade earth, which becomes an impassable quagmire after heavy rain. A few tons if hardcore and a half dozen volunteers would fix it. Sadly, there appears to be no will to do anything about it.
