What boggles my mind is the dire condition these iconic industrial era swing bridges are in. These marvels of engineering sure could do with more than just a lick of paint.
The funniest part of watching this trip on the minimal list UA-cam channel was hearing Michael saying he had to especially keep you safe as you are a national treasure! Hahaha!!
Love watching all of you taking an exploratory journey that few narrow boaters do. This has been one of my favorite Vlogs from all three of the boats with the crews on only one boat. Thank you for the time and effort you put into our entertainment and learning. Your followers like myself very much appreciate all of your efforts.
What an interesting trip for us today! Man, that lock was HUGE! So deep and wide . Crazy swinging bridges, too. Fourteen hundred tons of steel. :/ . Lol-ing at your "George having to keep his legs crossed.".. *sorry George*
As a resident of NA I am always intrigued by the age of the waterways, the infrastructure, and the industrial and residential properties seen along the canals in your videos. I am also a fan of older railways and enjoy the occasional glimpse of the remains of old railway bridge structures that once crossed the canals. BTW, you put me in the habit of eating an aged cheddar cheese sandwich while watching your videos - just seems appropriate somehow.
The "turning point" at Walton near Stockton Heath was Walton dock. This was adjacent to another dock (on the mersey). In the mid nineteenth century Warrington dock was the last navigable point of the Mersey). Between these 2 former docks, there is an extant narrow boat cut & lock running just a few hundred yards linking the ship canal & the Mersey. This became derelict, but a few years ago it was due to be (and probably now has been) restored as a wildlife haven Navigation rights on this cut, as they say in Legalese, have not been "expunged" (fabulous word that). If you'd known about this non-expungification status you could have defiantly insisted upon asserting your unexpunged boaters' rights, you rebel. In the mid 20th century, my friend used to receive Barge deliveries of palm oil via the ship canal/ narrow cut/ Mersey to the big soap factory he managed just around the corner a few hundred yards along the Mersey - the mersey by then being long-since non-navigable. Btw, you were correct: Grappenhall is indeed pronounced "grap-un-hall". A few hundred yards past Latchford locks is the rather quaint "penny ferry" at Thelwall, on which the Ship Canal Company is obliged to transport pedestrians who wish to traverse the ship canal - even though on t'other side there are vast tracts of flat, scrubby nothingness except a private twitcher's bird sanctuary within a large ox-bow lake on a serene stretch of the (adjacent) Mersey. There is a friendly man in a tiny hut who rows you across. The ferry journey is a weird sensation because (a) the passengers in the tiny rowing boat are inches away from the surface of deep, mighty canal. There were no life jackets, that never crossed my mind. All very informal. and (b) the waters are as still as a mill pond (at least, it is when there are no pesky bigger boaty-types disturbing the bloody peace); and it genuinely feels for all the world as if you are not moving AT ALL. Then, in a jif, we are suddenly at the other side. Last time I went across it was 10p after a century of rampant nautical inflation. Thank you so much for your interesting, very humorous, and generally splendid videos.
Lived in Warrington and then Runcorn. There was a tour boat that ran from Liverpool up to Salford, but I never quite got round to it, so thanks for this!
Very enjoyable! Great information density. Excellent videography. I remember being aged 10 or 11when my father told me about Barton swing bridge. I was pretty skeptical of his description of this thing. I thought he must have been mistaken. Low & behold, it exists! It operates! Brilliant British engineering. I must see it in person some day. BTW, I also had trouble processing the idea of people building a seaport 30+ miles inland for large ships. The British don’t seem to like being defeated by an engineering challenge.
Another excellent VLOG and wonderful to see the view from the MSC when passing under the Barton Swing Aquaduct. It brought back memories I have of our first narrow boat hire, from Worsley, many moons ago. We arrived at the BSA very quickly and had to wait a little while for a ship to pass. That trip out towards Ellesmere port was probably one of the best holidays when our kids were young. My thanks to Minimal List for taking you along so you were able to present an entertaining view of the world, again.
Thanks for this, my grandfather was the Managing Director of The Manchester Ship Canal from 1935 until 1966.. I have never seen the canal from the river like this.. gives me an inkling of his job..
I've quite recently discovered your channel and I must say it is fascinating, nice to see the infrastructure making up the canals from the view of the boat.
Great video as usual. I spent my childhood in this area, Partington. I used to cross the canal via a ferry daily on my way to school in Eccles. Back then the canal was so toxic, the only birds you would see were dead ones. The canal was so poluted it actually caught on fire, believe it or not! People on the ferry were killed. I am happy to say, the canal looks much healthier now.
May be a bit Mad Max or Waterworld but a very interesting change of scenery I thought. And my mind wasn't half as boggled by the swing aqueduct as it was about extra lock gates for shorter boats. I shouldn't be admitting this but I had to draw myself a diagram (two actually) before my brain caught up. 🎄👍
Wow! Those big locks and boats look intimidating to me! I must have a soul - all aquaducts fascinate me...especially a rotating one. Thanks for the vicarious adventure!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Mersey/Manchester Journey. It is good to see that you have company with Minimalist & London Boat Girl, Michael, Jo and Lorna. And, naturally George. The Mad Max/Waterworld comment gave me a good laugh.
Thank you David for the second part of the Manchester Ship Canal vlog which was very watchable , also thanks must go to Michael and Jo for the vehicle for your vlog also to Lorna as well. PS not forgetting input from George. Cheers.
The Manchester Ship Canal many not be so scenic but it was indeed a riveting journey. The swing aquaduct was really mind boggling. Seeing the BBC studios at Salford was a bonus. I raise a toast to you and your hosts and fellow travelers on the good ship Perseverance and to the honourable justices at Guwahati High Court for enabling me to access the world via the internet again!
Thank you, yet again, David. Your commentary is so enjoyable and the views are icing on the cake. “Form an orderly queue ladies.” LOL, I’m still smiling.
My mind doeth boggled! Have you thought about producing short documentries on structures like the aqueduct swing bridge and the like? I did enjoy the one you did on how the make the lock gates.
Ah - I was a student at Salford - many years before Media City was a thing (a very different Salford!) The swing aqueduct canal bridge is definitely boggling - thank you for the information. There's some impressive engineering throughout the canal network!
Thank you for an excellent video, which certainly brought back some good memories for me. As a young lad who lived near the Salford docks, my dad was a catering officer for Manchester Liners (ML), and regularly sailed the Manchester ship canal on the transatlantic route to Canada. As a point of interest, it was an officer from ML who observed the use of the container in canada in the 1960's (which they used on trains), and acted on the potential of these containers for Liners, who at the time were struggling financially, and suggested using these containers on their ships. This would eliminate the need to load goods on trucks at their point of origin, offload to warehouses that needed light and heating etc, and also reduced the need to further 'rope and crane' this load onto ships. Alas, this great money saving innovation was to be the demise of ML, who's biggest ships, which had a maximum capacity of 500 containers, needed to be small enough to fit the biggest locks on the Manchester ship canal, and as the country evolved and adopted to this innovation, brought about ships which were able to carry 2000 containers which started to operate from Southampton, and therefore resulted in ML going out of business in 1985. How ironic that an innovation brought in to save a company, turned out to be its slayer, but that's life in the business world I suppose. As an extra note, I remember my mum racing with our neighbour in 1975 to Irlam lock (as mentioned in these video), to shout to my dad who was on his way to Montreal, to inform him my sister had just made him a granddad. Happy times 👍
Seriously, a swing aqueduct/canal bridge over another canal? Who knew such a thing even existed? Too kewl! Thanks! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all y'all!
In your photography, I like that you allow the action to occur within the frame rather than wagging the camera to and fro.
This is such a high quality comment wow
"Queue up, ladies..." Hilarious, David--I laughed out loud! Love your self-deprecating sense of humor--keep up the great work!
This maybe my favourite pun so far. Who else thinks this chap should have his own terrestrial tv show?
Pun courtesy of a viewer (first one ever suggested by a viewer that I've taken up, with his blessing)
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year David and thank you for all your great vlogs.
What boggles my mind is the dire condition these iconic industrial era swing bridges are in. These marvels of engineering sure could do with more than just a lick of paint.
That huge lock looks like some dystopian scene set in a massive super max prison!
A swing Canal...phenomenal...Cheers !
Bridge Boggling.. new support group. Love that lift bridge. Very decoish.
The funniest part of watching this trip on the minimal list UA-cam channel was hearing Michael saying he had to especially keep you safe as you are a national treasure! Hahaha!!
A very different pair of Narrow Boat vlogs; but also extremely interesting and well narrated as always.
what an adventure ,i'm glad i was there ! thank you ,
That is just such a great title that I had to hit the like button before even watching it!
Courtesy of a viewer - he gets a credit in the video description
Love watching all of you taking an exploratory journey that few narrow boaters do. This has been one of my favorite Vlogs from all three of the boats with the crews on only one boat. Thank you for the time and effort you put into our entertainment and learning. Your followers like myself very much appreciate all of your efforts.
Gotta say, yer vids are fast becoming my favorite ! Love seeing the UK, and her most informative narrative ! Thanks ! Chesapeake, VA, USA here .🇺🇸
Cheers Pete! Much appreciated.
Another excellent video. Thank you.
My mind was indeed boggled.
What an interesting trip for us today! Man, that lock was HUGE! So deep and wide . Crazy swinging bridges, too. Fourteen hundred tons of steel. :/ . Lol-ing at your "George having to keep his legs crossed.".. *sorry George*
As a resident of NA I am always intrigued by the age of the waterways, the infrastructure, and the industrial and residential properties seen along the canals in your videos. I am also a fan of older railways and enjoy the occasional glimpse of the remains of old railway bridge structures that once crossed the canals. BTW, you put me in the habit of eating an aged cheddar cheese sandwich while watching your videos - just seems appropriate somehow.
An excellent habit to have :-)
Another wonderfully inspiring trilo-collaboration.. Im feeling the pull of the mother country growing stronger..
Very entertaining, thanks.
That swinging canal bridge is a feat of engineering. 🎉
Thank you for another great journey. Have a great holiday season!
Hi David
We came to know about "The loving wife" from London Boat girl.👍
Lorna likes to muck about and play tricks on her viewers (as do I)
I am amazed by all aqueducts but a massive swing bridge one built in the 1899 is truely a feat of genius at the time
3:38 Reminds me more of helmets on some Star Wars character :-)
And yes, a swing aqueduct is impressive!
Beautiful. And the canal is alright too
Thanks David that looked a lot calmer than some rivers and hardly any other boats to get in the way. Glad it all went well.
Lovely vlog David, thankyou. Bet it will feel strange when you get back on the tiny narrow canals feeling all claustrophobic.
The "turning point" at Walton near Stockton Heath was Walton dock. This was adjacent to another dock (on the mersey). In the mid nineteenth century Warrington dock was the last navigable point of the Mersey).
Between these 2 former docks, there is an extant narrow boat cut & lock running just a few hundred yards linking the ship canal & the Mersey. This became derelict, but a few years ago it was due to be (and probably now has been) restored as a wildlife haven Navigation rights on this cut, as they say in Legalese, have not been "expunged" (fabulous word that).
If you'd known about this non-expungification status you could have defiantly insisted upon asserting your unexpunged boaters' rights, you rebel.
In the mid 20th century, my friend used to receive Barge deliveries of palm oil via the ship canal/ narrow cut/ Mersey to the big soap factory he managed just around the corner a few hundred yards along the Mersey - the mersey by then being long-since non-navigable.
Btw, you were correct: Grappenhall is indeed pronounced "grap-un-hall".
A few hundred yards past Latchford locks is the rather quaint "penny ferry" at Thelwall, on which the Ship Canal Company is obliged to transport pedestrians who wish to traverse the ship canal - even though on t'other side there are vast tracts of flat, scrubby nothingness except a private twitcher's bird sanctuary within a large ox-bow lake on a serene stretch of the (adjacent) Mersey.
There is a friendly man in a tiny hut who rows you across. The ferry journey is a weird sensation because (a) the passengers in the tiny rowing boat are inches away from the surface of deep, mighty canal. There were no life jackets, that never crossed my mind. All very informal.
and (b) the waters are as still as a mill pond (at least, it is when there are no pesky bigger boaty-types disturbing the bloody peace); and it genuinely feels for all the world as if you are not moving AT ALL. Then, in a jif, we are suddenly at the other side. Last time I went across it was 10p after a century of rampant nautical inflation.
Thank you so much for your interesting, very humorous, and generally splendid videos.
Lived in Warrington and then Runcorn. There was a tour boat that ran from Liverpool up to Salford, but I never quite got round to it, so thanks for this!
Very enjoyable! Great information density. Excellent videography.
I remember being aged 10 or 11when my father told me about Barton swing bridge. I was pretty skeptical of his description of this thing. I thought he must have been mistaken. Low & behold, it exists! It operates! Brilliant British engineering. I must see it in person some day. BTW, I also had trouble processing the idea of people building a seaport 30+ miles inland for large ships. The British don’t seem to like being defeated by an engineering challenge.
Animals pooing is always an appreciated highlight
I thought so!
except when the dog does it on the boat
Thanks for taking us along on this great adventure. It must have been a long day on the Manchester Ship Canal!
It was!
"form an orderly que ladies, no fighting now"😂😂😂😂😂😂
I fail to see why that's funny! 🤣
Another excellent VLOG and wonderful to see the view from the MSC when passing under the Barton Swing Aquaduct. It brought back memories I have of our first narrow boat hire, from Worsley, many moons ago. We arrived at the BSA very quickly and had to wait a little while for a ship to pass. That trip out towards Ellesmere port was probably one of the best holidays when our kids were young. My thanks to Minimal List for taking you along so you were able to present an entertaining view of the world, again.
Thanks for this, my grandfather was the Managing Director of The Manchester Ship Canal from 1935 until 1966.. I have never seen the canal from the river like this.. gives me an inkling of his job..
I've quite recently discovered your channel and I must say it is fascinating, nice to see the infrastructure making up the canals from the view of the boat.
I'm not interested in other channels. I watch your channel, the very best narrowboat channel!
Thank you
I agree, David is the best 'Boatuber' the world has ever seen
Excellent video. Brought back many memories.
Outstanding video and commentary. Thank you!
That was quite enjoyable David,and since Survivors Manchester is a place I owe much to the ending point of Salford was just perfect. Thank you.
Narration.......brilliant😋
Great video as usual. I spent my childhood in this area, Partington. I used to cross the canal via a ferry daily on my way to school in Eccles. Back then the canal was so toxic, the only birds you would see were dead ones. The canal was so poluted it actually caught on fire, believe it or not! People on the ferry were killed. I am happy to say, the canal looks much healthier now.
Fascinating. As a humble hire boater that is a trip I could never do.....thanks for allowing me to travel with you from the comfort of my chair!
6:40 very nice imagery your narration is always like, literary quality
Great film - always wondered what a trip up ship canal would be like! Thank you - Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year
May be a bit Mad Max or Waterworld but a very interesting change of scenery I thought. And my mind wasn't half as boggled by the swing aqueduct as it was about extra lock gates for shorter boats. I shouldn't be admitting this but I had to draw myself a diagram (two actually) before my brain caught up. 🎄👍
Wow! Those big locks and boats look intimidating to me! I must have a soul - all aquaducts fascinate me...especially a rotating one.
Thanks for the vicarious adventure!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Mersey/Manchester Journey. It is good to see that you have company with Minimalist & London Boat Girl, Michael, Jo and Lorna. And, naturally George. The Mad Max/Waterworld comment gave me a good laugh.
Great video onde again . Welcome to my adoptive City . Love your channel. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
Wonderful !! Thank You : )
GREAT JOB David. Love learning about the canals.
Have a great day,
Chris from Missouri
And just in time for Hanukkah and Christmas! A happy and blessed holiday season to you!
Nice vlog. Traveling on the larger waterways gives a different perspective.
My mind was duly boggled therefore my soul is safe :)
Fantastic as always. Thank you for another video and Happy Holidays.
7:23 pose for the Sexy Narrowboaters Calendar or the Boat Clothing Catalog
"If this doesn't boggle your mind you have no soul." The perfect comment to your own video.
Very nice filming and commentary.
Thank you David for the second part of the Manchester Ship Canal vlog which was very watchable , also thanks must go to Michael and Jo for the vehicle for your vlog also to Lorna as well. PS not forgetting input from George. Cheers.
Always loved your witty titles dave,but did have a big chuckle when i seen this one ;-)
Suggested by a viewer, this one!
Very different from a canal, really enjoyed this trip, thanks for taking us along :)
Cheers mate - Great video as always.
The Manchester Ship Canal many not be so scenic but it was indeed a riveting journey. The swing aquaduct was really mind boggling. Seeing the BBC studios at Salford was a bonus. I raise a toast to you and your hosts and fellow travelers on the good ship Perseverance and to the honourable justices at Guwahati High Court for enabling me to access the world via the internet again!
Thank you, yet again, David. Your commentary is so enjoyable and the views are icing on the cake. “Form an orderly queue ladies.” LOL, I’m still smiling.
I enjoyed it very much - wonderful change of pace.
Thank you.
you really made me chuckle with the "form an orderly queue ladies"
9:50 the mind is duly boggled
Mind was indeed boggled by the canal bridge. Confirmation of possessing soul.
Thank you Dave. I always enjoy your videos very much.
Merry Christmas to you and yours
I really love your colorful commentary. Makes for quite a few chuckles. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for these videos. I don't really care for boating. But your passion and love for it puts a smile on me. So thank you =)
Love your vlogs and your narration is spot on! Well done as usual 👍
Fascinating, what a journey. Thanks Dave.
As always, impressed by the density and stolidity of British infrastructure. Those Navvies had their act together!
My mind doeth boggled!
Have you thought about producing short documentries on structures like the aqueduct swing bridge and the like?
I did enjoy the one you did on how the make the lock gates.
I've done some, like the lock gates as you saw, and a handful of others
Thank you for this vlog, I wish you a merry Christmas, and a very happy new year 2020
Ah - I was a student at Salford - many years before Media City was a thing (a very different Salford!) The swing aqueduct canal bridge is definitely boggling - thank you for the information. There's some impressive engineering throughout the canal network!
Merry Christmas I love your videos
Very nice Vlog David, re the clip of you steering , I would say any Primark catalogue would be proud to have you as one of their models!
My mind is Boggled!
Lovely vlog. I am following both of your channels. Many happy returns this Christmas and New Year.
A swinging aqueduct.
That is something I need to go have a look at.
Built in a time when they just got things done.
Very much enjoying your adventures in lockdown ...thankyou.👍
Thank you David, a great vlog. Vertical lift bridge and a swing aqueduct...my mind has never been so boggled😁😁
saw this at Minimal List as well. Very nice voyage! Merry x-mas, and a hap hap happy new year! Now, back to my wife, who is also happy...... I hope!
What an adventure
That swing aqueduct is definitely mind boggling considering the year it was built
Fortunately, I already knew that I had a soul; but, the confirmation was lovely! Another enjoyable cruise, with sights I've never seen before!
I do like these deeper water videos
Brilliant video, well done, very interesting and informative.
Excellent video as usual David and all your facts were quite correct. I have seen Barton swing bridge open and it is an impressive sight.
That swing aqueduct is almost impressive as the drawbridge aqueduct!! 😋
Thank you for an excellent video, which certainly brought back some good memories for me.
As a young lad who lived near the Salford docks, my dad was a catering officer for Manchester Liners (ML), and regularly sailed the Manchester ship canal on the transatlantic route to Canada.
As a point of interest, it was an officer from ML who observed the use of the container in canada in the 1960's (which they used on trains), and acted on the potential of these containers for Liners, who at the time were struggling financially, and suggested using these containers on their ships. This would eliminate the need to load goods on trucks at their point of origin, offload to warehouses that needed light and heating etc, and also reduced the need to further 'rope and crane' this load onto ships.
Alas, this great money saving innovation was to be the demise of ML, who's biggest ships, which had a maximum capacity of 500 containers, needed to be small enough to fit the biggest locks on the Manchester ship canal, and as the country evolved and adopted to this innovation, brought about ships which were able to carry 2000 containers which started to operate from Southampton, and therefore resulted in ML going out of business in 1985.
How ironic that an innovation brought in to save a company, turned out to be its slayer, but that's life in the business world I suppose.
As an extra note, I remember my mum racing with our neighbour in 1975 to Irlam lock (as mentioned in these video), to shout to my dad who was on his way to Montreal, to inform him my sister had just made him a granddad. Happy times 👍
And there's the BBC , the home of the highly esteemed Goon Show...!!!
Thanks a great video. I liked the fact that all you bloggers are working together. Brought back memories of my youth growing up near the ship canal
Hi David, you certainly have the gift of the gab as they say, I just love listening to you. Regards from Australia.
Happy Christmas. Thank you for making me chortle all year.
interesting video! I really enjoy these.
A most entertaining two part series, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Seriously, a swing aqueduct/canal bridge over another canal?
Who knew such a thing even existed?
Too kewl!
Thanks!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all y'all!
That was fun, thanks and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!🎅