How Did They Build Canal Tunnels in a Straight Line? Ep. 126.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- How did they build canal tunnels in a straight line using just basic hand tools like pick-axes, shovels, and wheelbarrows? Colin uncovers the 18th Century tricks-of-the-trade used to build Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Union Canal between Stoke Bruerne and Blisworth.
You'll be surprised by the methods used over two hundred years ago and just how easy it is to build a three-kilometer canal tunnel in a straight line.
Catch-up on every vlog, from the beginning, in order, as we explore Britain by Narrowboat:
• Every Foxes Afloat Vlo...
❓Got a question? Check out the FAQ's on our website:
www.foxesafloa...
🛒 Foxes Afloat Merchandise:
Grab yourself a Foxes Afloat mug or t-shirt from our online store:
foxesafloat.my...
Colin has a gallery where you can browse and buy his photographs in a digital image format or a framed print:
www.foxesafloa....
If you shop with Amazon, save this link and we'll get a small commission every time you buy using the link. You won't pay a penny extra:
Foxes Afloat Amazon store: www.amazon.co.....
★ Please support our channel in one of the following ways:
1. Subscribe and click the notifications bell.
UA-cam will let you know when we release new episodes
2. Become a member of our UA-cam channel: / @foxesafloat
3. Become a Patron through Patreon:
/ foxesafloat
Our supporters get access to exclusive footage, bonus features, and freebies!
4. You can also make a one-off donation through Paypal:
paypal.me/foxe...
⚑ Follow us on social media:
Twitter: / foxesafloat
Facebook: / foxesafloat
Instagram: / foxesafloat
📷 If you'd like to know what equipment we use to produce our canal boat diaries, below are links to them. If you buy from these links we will receive a small commission but you won't pay a penny extra.
Video Recording:
Sony FDR-AX-700 Camcorder: amzn.to/3aLxj68.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone: click.dji.com/...
DJI Osmo Pocket: click.dji.com/...
Insta 360 One X2: amzn.to/34LHV0G
GoPro Hero 7: amzn.to/3pnsjZp
Sound Recording:
Rode VideoMic Pro+: amzn.to/3aLxI8E
Rode Wireless Go: amzn.to/34LdyaV
Rode Procaster Microphone: amzn.to/2Mevm85
Rode Deadcat Windshield: amzn.to/34JuYVu
Accessories:
DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Gimbal: click.dji.com/...
Geekoto 79 inch Tripod/Monopod: amzn.to/3ryT3b5
Neewer 47.2 Inch Camera Track: amzn.to/34Jv2Ve
Drone Landing Pad: amzn.to/38BUz3D
Jaws Clamp Mount for GoPro7 Hero: amzn.to/3rw3hsU
SanDisk Extreme 128GB microSDXC Memory Card: amzn.to/2WPBqpi
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 128GB Memory Card: amzn.to/3ppc1PF
Music.
'Beyond' by Ian Post.
'Across the Delta' by SLPSTRM.
'Noir' by Jameson Nathan Jones.
'Never Be Lonely (Instrumental Version)' by Frankie Orella.
'Sharks Blood (Instrumental Version)' by Team Callahan.
'Naranja' by Las Pampas.
#narrowboat #grandunioncanal #blisworthtunnel
They wonder why conventional TV is dying - these videos are the explanation. Full of of information, interesting, funny and relaxing. Love it.
Aww, cheers, Mark!
I stopped paying TV licence years ago and use UA-cam and Netflix. UA-cam content like this is Grade A. The filmography is superb, well-researched and delivered by personable creators.
I absolutely love the humor and the chemistry between you two. I always finish these videos in a much better mood then when I start them. Thanks for that wellness boost!
Our pleasure!
...just another masterpiece in storytelling, filming, editing, choice of music...just amazing...very well done 🤩😄😁
Thank you so much 😀
I totally agree with you Fahrmann, well said.
There is nothing better than sitting down and relaxing with a few drinks on Friday after the working week and playing your blog ,you make me feel like I am there . Thanks keep up the good work
Love that!
Thank you all for the time you spend educating and showcasing the buildings along the way!
Any time!
On holiday in Greece some years ago we met Owen & Iris Bryce. They had a narrowboat built to their requirements. It had to have room for a piano! Owen was a legend in the jazz world and loved to make music. The only problem they had was navigation the Leeds Liverpool canal. Their boat was too long for the locks after Wigan! The boat was named Bix after Bix Beiderbeck, the jazz musician. It took them 11 years to do all the waterways and when they arrived to lay up for the winter at Blisworth Iris went to buy bread. She came back without bread but told Owen she had found the house she wanted for retirement. So Bix spent some time tied up at Blisworth before being sold. 2/3 years ago Iris wrote us a letter to say Owen had died at 95. Jazz players from all over came to his funeral and gave him a New Orleans style send off. Look out for a book entitled Canals are my Life by Iris Bryce. She wrote others too.
What an amazing story! 👍🏻💜
Lovely story.
You guys are so great together. Colin you could easily be a tv presenter on any show.
Awww, cheers, Anthony!
Love ending the week on a high note with Otis, Colin and Shaun. Lots of wonderful scenery and history. And oodles of laughs. I think that speedy guy was trying to knock his wife off the boat. 😉😉💙💙💙💙💙💙
Haha! She would have gone flying in the breeze! 😂😂
@@FoxesAfloat 🛸🛸🛸🛸🛸
You boys do make me chuckle ... thank you!
Otis is growing & looking very handsome!
😊 thank you
Better than any BBC program on the box or itv.. Very professional. You two need discovering.
Aww, thank you!
"I took you up the Lancaster" I nearly choked on my tea :))
😂😂😂😂
Can't believe how well these are done, you guys deserve a tv show!
Awww thank you xxx
Their Amazon series is quite good!
Omg, that is amazing. Really enjoyed that, we don't appreciate enough, the talent, hard work and risks those men had to built structures like that.
Well said!
Great way to finish work on a Friday. Kids still at school, wife at work, me at home with a cuppa and time to myself watching you guys. Perfect! Your camera work and editing is so good and with all your history snippets it’s like I watching a documentary on the BBC. Great shots in the tunnel!
Thanks so much, Mark. Enjoy your cuppa!
That my friends was epic....noticeable difference in presentation and camera footage and the music was very apt....the only vloggers to make a tunnel interesting
Thanks, Tracey! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
It is amazing what was built in the past and is still in use today.
Incredible skills!
Hats off to the indomitable British once again. Wooden pegs and sight lines, chunks of wood and twine to build that tunnel in a straight line? Then repurposing old canal boats as fire pumpers in the war?? Amazing ingenuity. Wow. 💜💜
Amazing history!
Hi guys,thanks for another brilliant look at how the canals and tunnels were built! I wish my father could have lived to watch your blogs. He did many things in his life, mining and construction being two of his many endeavors in his life. He would have found your vlogs so fascinating. Thanks for bringing his memory alive this morning. 😃 Stay well, hugs to Otis.💓
Glad you enjoyed it
That tunnel creepped me out. I would have had to join Otis in the cabin. LOL
🤣
Colin, thank you so much for all of your research. Here in the US, I have been a huge fan of our canal history....alas, it is mostly history here....for many years. I am so enjoying all that I have learned from you on each and every vlog. Carry on!
Thanks for that, Jim!
Great history lesson as always.
Thanks again!
Love Stoke Bruerne and the museum!
It was a lovely place! A pity the museum was closed, but understandable.
It is brilliant how advanced technology was back then in certain areas, like building tunnels. Testing out the support walls for the tunnel from England to France to repair sections of the Blisworth tunnel was amazing. Thanks so much for telling us that groovy tunnel story and of course, how many bowel movements Otis had that same day.
Haha! It's getting fewer. Only four today (so far) 😂😂😂
Great vlog. How they built the tunnel was so ingenious. Funny isn't it that when we think of people in the past so often we don't think of them as really clever and yet they built all this and invented all the things that make our life seem modern. Gorgeous Autumn colours in this vlog too. What a lovely day!
Amazing engineering using string and wood to dig a straight line 😂
I think they where just a smart then.
Watch every week religiously - it’s my wind down from a week of work. Super relaxing, thanks for creating the content!
Glad you enjoy it!
That tunnel story line, video, sound and editing was brilliant, you both have done it again!!
Thanks so much!
The scenery, the old buildings and nature are magnificent. The information is both impeccable and amusing on how you tell it. We love you both
Thank you very much!
Absolutely love your Friday videos. Thanks for sharing a piece of your journey. I could not go into that tunnel. The building of that tunnel has kepts it secrets in the walls. What life must have been like for all those who worked on it. Wow to the tanacity of the human spirit. I felt like I couldn't breath just watching you go in there.... It's amazing how some people just go through life not being aware of their space or actions. So much history around those canals still preserved. Otis is getting so big already. Such a beautiful boy. Thanks again, hope you do a LIVE soon. May Grace keep you always.
It's really not so bad, but you're right, you can feel the history in the walls. Otis is indeed growing like a weed!
Great as always! Love the engineering history.
Glad you enjoyed it
That lifejacket take out so funny.
😂
What you are calling
"Water Windows" we call stateside
"Weeping Tiles" that drain into gutters on a house or into the basement sump pump to be pumped out the house sewer into the underground sewage system. Great vid....
Thanks!
This is the best damn narrow boat vlog. Two amazing hosts and a crap ton of information! Love it!!!
Aww, cheers!
Always love the history you add to the videos, and this was a really interesting one.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent history story of the tunnel.. love the music... and poor Otis is just plum tuckered out... and the calendar is fantastic 😊😊😊
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks, Lawrence!
So glad I got a little history lesson today. Thanks guys.
Our pleasure!
Thanks for the technical info on how they built the tunnel, truly interesting!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 😉
Love the bit of history. Thank you
Thanks, Jackie! 👍🏻💜
We always look forward to Colin & Shaun day since we caught up with all your vlogs. There are never enough of them in a week though!
I love Shaun’s cheeky laugh and facial expressions about some of the things you say Colin. You always give us loads of fascinating info and it really makes me want to try a bit of canal boat exploration. Keep up the good work :-)
Wow, thank you, Mark! 💜
superb research and editing as uasual....Great work....
Glad you liked it!
Thank you for sharing. Once again you leave us (hopefully smarter) and with a happier attitude for the day.
Always!
This method of digging tunnels was first developed by the Ancient Greeks and later perfected by the Romans. One of the first recorded tunnels to use this and other techniques was the Tunnel of Eupalinos 6th century BCE. It's amazing how 2000 years later this method was still employed. Thanks for this video always look forward to Fridays love you guys. Stay Safe , Michael
👍🏻
You guys always make my day. As a carer looking after my granddaughters, for my daughter, who suffers with a mental illness,spending months in hospital. I look forward to the laughs you share, thank you
Bless you!
Thanks, Jan. Sending love! 💜
fabulous! if Amazon don't pick you up for at least a 10 contract their mad. love the 3 of you. xx
Haha! Three more seasons on the way 😉
Thanks for including the history periodically. Great show.
Glad you enjoyed it
Another splendid video. Learnt so much today about the Grand Union canal. Really interesting. Are you going to do a book about your travels. I would be your first customer. Stay safe guys and love to Otis.😃😃👍👍🐕
I am 😏
I really enjoy your little history lessons. Very interesting.
Glad you like them!
Wow that was so interesting you guys are so entertaining
Aww, cheers, Dave!
Great content lads! Can't believe the speed of that idiot in the smaller craft. Have a great weekend and I'll see you again next Friday! Dave.
Till next week! 👋
Great video as always. I appreciate the "how it was done." Thank you.
Thanks Shawn! 💜
Thanks guys.
We’ve only recently come across your vlogs and we really enjoy them.
The way you narrate the video is fantastic. You should be a presenter on tv. 👍🏻👍🏻
Have a good week guys.
Awesome, thank you!
That has to be the best, clearest and most interesting explanation of how they dug a tunnel, I’ve ever heard. I got it! Thank you.
Awesome, thank you!
I haven't watched anything on normal TV as interesting and well thought out as your vlogs in a long time 💖
Wow, thank you!
Fine history lesson as always1
Thank you! 👍🏻💜😛
THANK YOU FOR A LOVELY JOURNEY BOYS.
51 YEARS AGO WHEN I STARTED WORK AS APPRENTICE JOINER STRING AND PLUMB BOBS ( PLUMB, LATIN =LEAD BOB =BOBBIN) WERE REGULARLY USED AND ARE ALWAYS ACCURATE. THE LESS COMPLICATED A SYSTEM MEANS LESS CHANCE OF ERRORS.
CAPITALS DUE TO LOSING SIGHT AND REDUCED COGNITIVE ABILITIES.
THAT'S OKAY! DO I NEED TO DO CAPITALS TOO?
LOL! Sorry! Couldn't resist. You should see Shaun without his glasses! The old fashioned ways still work! x
Totally with you on that, Michael Nichol! I was driving some teenage Karate students to a Gashuku (training centre weekend). Had no idea where it was, but said teenagers had SatNav. SatNav got us totally lost and then the battery died. "Let's try my way" I said. "You'll never have heard of this but it's called a "MAP". We got there, no problem! 🙂
This was a fantastic historical account of this tunnel...thanks for the lesson 🙂 and as always sharing. Vic
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks so much for your vlogs. I've enjoyed getting to know you both, and Otis. You are all wonderful.
Thank you so much!
Wow! This was amazing I never knew about the tunnel so this was so interesting to watch thank you, Colin, great video one of those “don't want it to end” ones... Also if you ever do decide to go on the nene towards to wash right to the end by the lighthouse give us all plenty of notice then I can bring the wine chocolates and cake as that's my home. My garden looks right out to the wash beautiful part of the country. You boys stay safe have a lovely day and big hugs to Otis 🙏🏻❤️
oooooh... Nice one, thanks! 👍🏻
My favourite Foxes! Been waiting for you lovely gents to show up for some fun to watch.
Hope you enjoy it! 👍🏻
@@FoxesAfloat always! I love your research and that I feel like I'm traveling, learning and enjoying. I've been home dealing with being unwell for a while and you alway put a smile on my face and make my day brighter. Thank you for the work you put in for us watching you out here.
Just discovered you two fella's. Having a great time watching your videos. Keep them coming. I'm learning so much about England. I have to go there someday.
Awesome! Thank you!
As always, great video guys. Look forward to this every week 🙂
Thanks so much!
you keep me going lost my mum this week she was 87 lived with her most of my life its hard but you keep me sain thankyou
I'm so sorry to hear that, David 💜
It's currently 0630 and I am an hour away from finishing a night shift so this was very much needed. Thanks for the laughs and smiles as always. Look forward to the next installment!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great show, guys! Colin, you're topic this time was incredible and very, very well done! Shawn standing by and looking as stoic as ever and Otis getting in on the act, popping that head up over the side rail wondering what the heck you're getting up to. Great show, keep it up!
Thanks so much, Mike !
Another great vlog lads. That must be the fastest I've seen a boat go for a while.
Yes it was!
This was a pearler! never realised how they built them, so much hard work.....they were no mugs- and it was such hard work...thanks for the info. and as usual, great film work...lovely scenery, amazng!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Brought back memories lived in blisworth for 20yrs well done Colin love your vlogs
Glad you enjoyed it
those people back in the day, managed to construct some awesome stuff. Nowadays, we cant even get decent road surfaces...
Haha! True!
Loved the history about the tunnel. The music going through the tunnel was great! Don't know if I would make it through a tunnel! Thanks guys!
It's less scary than it looks 😛
THANK you guys. Absolutely brilliant- again!!! Terrific recording , and music , and Otis is g r o w i n g 😁 have a great week guys, we all so look forward to our Fridays with the Foxes 😆👍🌟🍰🍰
Thank you so much, Graham 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
So many shafts and a muscly length, you're really spoiling us!
Another excellent vlog. Fascinating about the lining up stuff. And the shafts.
Glad you enjoyed it 😉
Really enjoyable episode. Exciting, interesting, and lovely views.
Glad you enjoyed it
Since returning back to work after 10 month's at home I'm now catching up on your Vlogs & absolutely loved this one, it's was brilliant. and when Shaun said "I had a sneaky look in your book when you weren't looking" well I nearly spat me coffee out all over my computer. Well done boy's enjoyed every minute.
😂😂😂
I really liked the choice of music during the tunnel segment :)
Thank you!
And the ending music reminds me of Spanish flamenco music.
Brings back frightening memories from the early 70's when having booked our passage through Blisworth in our wide cruiser we met a wooden barge which didn't slow down. The resulting collision sounded horrific but fortunately the only damage was a lot of tar down the side of our boat.
Eek! 😬 Sounds horrific!
Thank you for the building history of Blisworth Tunnel. What a fete for that time and that size of tunnel! Have a great week!💜💜
Thanks, you too!
Great episode guys! Loved the history. I'm thinking "take you up the Lancaster" may go viral and become a common expression.
Haha! Imagine if everyone got taken up the Lancaster 😂
It is pretty amazing to see your progressions from the earlier videos to the finely tuned segments you show today. (and yes, from Dillon to Otis).
Congratulations, not only on the drone work, and the mini historical bits, but the interaction between you two!
Love these videos!
Thanks so much, Daryl.
@@FoxesAfloat Agreed, your progress and dedication has really shone through! Keep up the enjoyable content :)
Colin and Shaun, thank you so much for yet another very interesting, educational 'journey', wonderfully narrated, along the Grand Union Canal.
(Ontario, Canada)
Our pleasure!
On holiday in yarmouth he who thinks he's the boss is supposedly watching the tv in reality is snoring I have got the headphones on, a big glass of wine and watching yet another great flog from you guys. Big hello to Otis 😁😁
Haha! I hate snoring! Give him a nudge 😂👍🏻
Thank you for this history, really interesting, we take so much for granted in life! Wonderful video, great music, scenery...just loved every second of it! Best way to end the week! Please give Otis cuddles for me. 💖Take really good care, stay well & safe! Much love x
Glad you enjoyed it
A really interesting vlog. We needed this before we went through the Blisworth tunnel a few weeks ago! Lovely mineral colours deposited on the wall. Truly hats off to engineers and men that dug it. Hope your therapy is helping Colin. Live to all three of you. Xx
Thanks, Debbie 👍🏻
For some reason, the Blisworth Tunnel though wider than other tunnels would give me the Willie's, it just looked more foreboding than others. I always fact check you on all the info you give us, and you've never been wrong. I don't do it to be mean I just like the canal history and like yourself, I have a BOOK. Great Vlog fellas. My best wishes to all three of you. Stephen.
Cheers, Stephen. Keep me in check 😉
I’m trying to remember which 80’s ( 70’s?) band had a song called Ne ne, na na, nu nu. Loved the tunnel construction info. Thanks for another epic vlog!
Bad manners !
Those lyrics don't give me a lot to go on 😂😂
Foxes Afloat Tony is right. It was Bad Manners. Also purveyors of the classic 'Lip Up Fatty' 😳.
Another great blog and the sun was shining.It must have been hard work building that tunnel.
Very!
Strange to see bridge 51 from a different perspective as I regularly drive over it. Also I always have a little chuckle when I drive down the A508 and the sign for the museum has the c scrubbed off the word canal lol.
Haha! Love it 😂
I loved hearing about how they built the tunnel!
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
" It's Friday , it's 4 o'clock , it's time for FOXES AFLOAT " . Thankyou for another interesting vlog , I love the little history lessons on each place you pass through .
Otis is growing so quickly and he is a handsome boy. Best wishes to both of you and of course Otis too👍😊🐾☯️☯️
Glad you enjoyed it
Skilled men from the past!
Absolutely!
How many hours a week does Colin spend researching the history of the points of interest along the way? Always informative and interesting. Especially when Shawn is snickering behind your back Colin. Cheers!
About three or four hours a day 👍🏻
I very much appreciate the work you do. Thank you for all that you do.
jeah, friday. it's foxes afloat-time. such a pleasure to watch your vlogs. Thank you soo much. take care. greetings from greece.
Awesome! Thank you!
Hi Guys. Only recently started watching the channel and have to say your films are quality. Informative, inspiring and entertaining. The style is so relaxed but there must be a lot of work in preparation and production. Keep up the great work.
Awesome, thank you!
loved the tunnel, Otis sleeping, and the music...and of course, you two/too :D :D :D
Thank you, for all of them 😂👍🏻
Lovely place where they do a 1940s festival around September. Lots of people dress in 1940 clothes with music and military hard wear with Americans, British and German soldiers. Great day out.
Nice one!
Fantastic viewing, thanks guys. The tunnel facts alongside Shaun’s look of absolute concentration was a magical combination. Take care, keep navigating 🌈
Cheers, Chad!
Thanks for shining some fresh light on Blisworth Tunnel. We live just down the road from Stoke Bruerne and both our girls go to school there. We are not boaters but have been through the tunnel many times. The pub by the lock, The Boat Inn, runs trips through the tunnel at Christmas called The Santa Cruise. It has become a bit of a tradition in our family to go on this every year. You go though the tunnel towards Blisworth, turn around and pick up Santa and then back through the tunnel while he meets all the kids and hands out presents. Throughout the trip there are party games and food and drinks and basically just a good time had by all (especially the kids!). We have also been on Halloween trips through there which as you can imagine are really scarey with some dark tales and the tunnel decorated with a few monsters ha ha. But it was really interesting to get a more facts about the tunnel and how it was built. We must add the Canal Museum is an excellent place to visit. Many thanks, we have only recently subscribed and are still backtracking to pick up little gems like this!
Thanks and welcome! x
Thank you, another great video! I love the informative ones. You make Friday afternoons something to really look forward to.
Yay! Thank you!
Shawn, you are looking quite fit lately. Chasin after Otis would probably shave off a pound or two! I'm not sayin you needed to. I think you both are very handsome! Colin, you are too! Haha! See what I did there? I'm so clever! I've been commenting all over the place this mornin. I've had the day off and you are my entertainment. I can't think of anything better on a cold morning! Thanks for all the interesting info and the smiles!
Thank you so much for inflating Shaun's ego. 😂
I very much like the idea of financially supporting a vlog or programme I enjoy watching (and only that) ,rather than paying TV charges for something I do not watch, like repetetive news, influential media,ads,news ,quizzes and series etc . Watching your vlogs is real,exciting ,relaxing , entertaining and informative.
Awesome, thank you!
Cant belive some people... I would have told that boater to f off hah!! Love the blog chaps
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Another fabulous job on giving us the stories of the canal, Colin! I'm always amazed by the amount of data you get in here for us, and how well you put everything together. It's greatly appreciated. And we love seeing the pair of you having such a good time along the way. We know it's not always sunshine and rainbows and such, but in general it's so nice to see that whether the weather is good or bad, if there're too many 'no mooring' signs along some river, or if the paddles on some canal or another have been greased, you both are side by side and finding the best way you can to enjoy it (or support each other when it's not so fun). And of course, thanks for including the gratuitous Otis bits - never going to complain about that, since my wife and I are lifelong Dog people. My only goofy comment this week is - Colin, did you get to give Shaun some sass about the trouble getting the life vest on? I'd assume there might have been some sort of Navy commentary going on there somewhere behind the scenes *grin* Thanks to you both for doing so much to make these so incredibly enjoyable and informative at the same time, and for sharing your lives with us.
Thanks, Sean. Hehe, no I didn't;t give him any sass about his life-vest 😂