-[Our Most EXCITING Day of Narrowboating!]-[DQWzN9rVptc

We've been slowly making our way along the Klingothlin Canal here in Great Britain. It's a tiny stretch of the vast network of canals that were originally built in the 18th century to be the nation's industrial arteries, where narrow working boats transported Britain's goods. And despite the leisurely pace at which we're traveling, it's been a rather exciting journey so far. We've seen all sorts of wildlife, navigated some shockingly low-hanging bridges, Let me know if it's gonna hit my head. You're gonna be close. and mastered the locks. Oh. Okay, well sort of. But today, today is where the real adventure begins. I'm gonna tell people what that is. Oh, big day today. All systems must be a go. This is gonna be the danger day. Anyway, I'm checking the prop to see if anything's stuck on it. We've got our little morning maintenance. Check the bilge. Put some grease on the... I don't know what the grease goes to. I'm assuming the prop. I can see right now that this prop is clear, which is good because that water is cold. There's only one way to clear it. Yep, by hand. He said basically you stick your hand down there and you just feel around. Unfortunately, the sun's coming in really hot right behind us so I can see it clearly. Make sure it's not leaking. This is a big day. So many things are happening today. We are entering a World Heritage Site right this moment. We are crossing over from England into Wales and then we are going on two different bridges today. Yes, bridges on a boat. One of them being the highest bridge in all of the canals in Great Britain. It's 126 feet high. It is going to be insane. It's an exciting day. I can barely talk. We're also going through a really long tunnel. Not right now. This is just a bridge, but later. Yes, he's walking faster than we're motoring. I can see the bridge. It's our first bridge. Got to check to make sure nobody's coming and I also have to prep the cameras. Ah, so much to do. I didn't expect it to be here so soon. Okay. Nikki just launched a drone. We're waiting on one boat to come through. Now I've got somebody on her backside. This is going to get interesting because immediately after the Aqueduct Bridge, we'll go straight into the tunnel. This is definitely a one-way canal. It is very tight. Good morning. Good morning. Day four. Okay. It's so nuts. My heart's racing a little bit. I don't know why. It's just exciting. Yeah, because it's not like it's dangerous or anything. I mean, not that I know of. Well, this one's not dangerous. The next one is a little more exciting, but the thing is, is like they've never had a person on a boat ever die. I don't think or even really get injured. I asked David that question. He said no. They said the story was different for paddle boarders. Yeah. Morning. Morning. You're going to hit the side. You're standing on my side. I got to blame somebody. Pump it up a little. It's so weird. We're on a boat yet on a bridge. Cars and trains cross bridges, but I didn't know that boats cross bridges. You're just trying to block me? Yep. Clearly. Why are you steering on the wrong side? No, this is the tiller side that I normally steer on. This is awesome. My steering is terrible. We made it. Success. First big excitement of the day and we might even get paid. Oh, I see an ice cream cone too. Is it too early for ice cream? Is it ever too early for ice cream? That's a dumb question. Going to come out like a missile. Here we go. They're gonna touch. It's pretty crazy. Yeah. I feel like the couple that was waiting with us, they went in like five minutes ago and they're still in the tunnel. It must be really long. This is the longest darkest tunnel in Wales. All my settings are wrong now. Let's crank this down. Let's see what we can see in here. Hey, there we go. It's 1,381 feet long, which just for perspective is a little more than four and a half football fields. And I get that it's called a narrowboat and all, but wow, there really is no wiggle room in here. It is a tight sleeve. Crazy to think that they used to come through here with the horses and the horse would be towing it along even through here. It feels so warm. Yeah, I can see it. It's starting to form like slide like or slide tight. Baby. Back to back. That was awesome. Oh, wow. You can actually tell how much the water is working. There's another camera there. We've got like five cameras all just like sitting right here. You probably see them in the shots every now and then. Oh, it's in Welsh. Oh, I guess we have arrived. On your accent or? Yeah, there's no hope. I'm pretty sure whatever you said was not Welsh. Shouldn't sound Welsh. We officially left England right when we entered the bridge. As soon as you drive onto the bridge, you're sort of in between is the way I read it. And then as soon as you cross over, now you're officially in Wales. And as I've been told many times when I've written it, it's W-A-L-E-S. Not W-H-A-L-E-S. It's not a whale. Not a marine animal. It's it's it's a place. Well, it's confusing. I think it's a country. Yes, it's definitely a country. We should do two takes. It's definitely a country. It's not a country. It's part of Great Britain, but a separate country from the United Kingdom. Yes. History. Is it history or is it just geography? Yes. We're so smart. So well educated. What would we do without a rectangle of knowledge and the wonders of editing? We can make ourselves look smart. We'll just pretend we knew all the right answers. See, that would be the easy thing to do. We just gotta let people know we're real people. We're relatable. We're not something you see on YouTube or TV or whatever. We're just normal people. We mess up whales and whales. And we don't know anything about everything. Everybody on YouTube is normal people. I know. Everybody is just a normal person. Some people don't think we're normal. They think we're, ooh, what if we're deep fake people? We're not real people. We're just AI. We're AI. That's a picturesque little marina. Tell me when to hit the horn. Okay. If you stand on this side, it pushes us away. Okay. It's like something about leaning too much weight on that side causes the boat to heel. Any excuse to use the horn. Just one behind. I don't know how far though. Okay. We're coming up on our first exclamation point on the map. We told you this was the dangerous day. One, two, three, four, five exclamation points on this section, which is two and a half hours of the canal. And we've seen none up until this point? No. This is probably the most dangerous canal in all of Great Britain. Could be the world. No big deal. We've got the scratches to prove it. A couple of boats right in front of us just met at the blind curve. I'm sure that was exciting. It just got colder again too. It happened so quickly. It's crazy because when the sun is out, it's beautiful and lovely. But the moment it goes behind a cloud, it feels cold. He's going hard back. There must be somebody else coming on that blind curve. Okay. I'm at idle forward. Perfect. Thank you. One thing about narrowboating is that it is very community oriented and everybody, you know, you're also traveling slow. So you do give a warning. You tell how many of it's behind you, what's ahead. I guess like any boating community, but you're really going to run into each other often here because there's only so many places to go and you're all on one highway essentially. I'm going to reverse. No, that's okay. He's got this all on his own. He doesn't need me. There is something about the speed. Like the fact that you're just going so slow. It is sort of like high action yet in slow motion, but in real time. I, that probably doesn't make any sense, but it is an odd sensation. You're like, Oh, it's so stressful. We're going so slow. Not as stressful though, in a bad way. It's just literally exciting. Yeah. Okay. Hit the horn again. That is a blind curve. Holy cow. Yeah, it is. One more time with the horn. Okay. That one was for the ducks. Yeah. Coming around. Wide load. The wrath. I like your style, the wrath. That was a gypsy boat right there. I kind of like it. I'd hang out with whoever lives on that boat. Something's not right. Definitely got something on there. I just don't know what it is. Could just be a stick. Turn, turn this way. Slow it down. Might have to take your sweater off. Don't reach your hand down in there. Maybe it'll just be right there and I'll be able to see it. Maybe. It's a bunch of sticks. Keys out. We're in neutral. Bang. That's what's wrapped all around it. Wow. Crazy. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that was wrapped around. See if there's anything else in there. Yep. Looks like it. Yeah. Yep. Clear. Clear. Nice. Well done. Not too bad. Just a little algae. Yummy. All good. On our way. Much better. Here we go. I see a lot of flashing lights ahead that can't be good. I see our bridge over there. I see our aqueduct. I think we might need this. So good news. The lights are just construction. It just happened to be like a bridge at the same time. Yeah. Surprisingly quiet. I don't know. I expected like a chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug. Right? That's it. I think so. Yep. They said it just stops at an angle. How many? I like how he's like, okay, have fun. See you on the other side. Think the camera's going to make it? What? You might need to grab the camera. The camera. I said, do you think it's going to make it? The camera? Yeah. I don't know. I'll grab it if it won't. It's going to be close. It's going to make it. It's close. Yeah. I'll go past these guys and then I can pick you up on the other side. All right. We are almost to the big aqueduct. This is what we came here for. This is the reason we are on this route of the canals because it goes over this bridge that seems impossible. The photos, it's just like kind of mind blowing. You think that's not real. Wow. And when it was built, like what a feat of like engineering and ingenuity at the time. Like I just, it's so cool. Okay. Nikki's going to fly the drone. I'm going to drive the boat. It looks nuts. I gotta steer right into the wall. Sorry. I will not distract you. Oh my gosh. I'm like, oh, it looks a little sketchy. Wow. It's right there. This is just, we're not tethered in. There's no railing on the left. It's just straight down. The mountains. It's just gorgeous. I mean, but like it's here, let's do this. Like here's our boat and be careful. So UNESCO describes this as a masterpiece of creative genius because this aqueduct, the one before it, the tunnel and 31 other surrounding structures are all a world heritage site because of the incredible industrial engineering. Wow. The view behind us. The view everywhere. People taking photos of us. Us taking photos of those people. Are you afraid of heights? Yes. Oh no. And now I can officially say I have crossed the stream in the sky. Right here. We're going to go left. Not straight. Woo. That is a turn. Is that really where we're going? We can't go any further that way. No, that's it. Okay. Are we sure? Well. Is that where other people are going? Yeah. Okay. Are we going the right way? Ask the other higher boats. They definitely know, right? This seems crazy. It's like super duper narrow. I don't think the camera's going to make it. Yeah. I can't believe they let you do this on your own. How was that? Was that terrifying for you? Did you feel like you almost lost your head because you almost lost your head? Oh my gosh. Jason saw his cameras live flash before his eyes. Lovely flowers on all the trees. We are just treated to the beauty of nature on this trip. Man, I'm not going to lie. That was a lot going on. I mean, there's like the bridge and shooting it and everything. It's all so exciting. People watching and everything. Oh my goodness. Sensory overloading. What do you think I should do? Slow down here and land it or? Yeah. If you can just come to a stop, essentially, I will bring it down. That's a train except for you're walking and I don't know. It's not much of a jump. Wow. The current really is strong. Yeah, it's ripping. Man. Oh, very exciting. On the way down, we're going to be flying. All right. Well, honey, I love you. It's been real. Yeah, exactly. Look at that view behind me. Look at that. It's just gorgeous. Oh, they think we're going to feed them. They're coming full. Okay. I'm walking and I'm catching up. They're riding bikes and they're flying by her. Good luck, honey. Here comes a boat. Let's go get this action. No problem. That's it. Just us. Perfect. Perfect. But the timing's just wrong. No, the fourth part. Look what's ahead. Babies. Yeah. Oh, I love it. Get them, get them, get them, get them, get them, get them. Oh my God. That was a lot of action. That's a lot of action. Oh my gosh. There's so many boats and it's so narrow and bridges and passes and cows and sheep. It's too, too much. Too much to see. Hand steer versus autopilot when you need it. Traffic jam. Lovely boat. Thank you. We are in another super narrow spot. It said 500 meters, no passing spots. So we've just waited in that traffic jam for the two boats to come out. And now the three of us are going in and I feel eyes on my back because there is a massive group of tourists in the boat behind me. So that would be the fourth boat. Great. Yeah. Not tourists in a bad way. Just they're all staring at me. Plus the guys that are, plus the guys that are professionals back there going out. Come on, come on. It's tight everywhere. Boats everywhere. Bushes everywhere. Walls everywhere. We're here. And the fun part is we have to back in and there's no steering when you back up on this boat. So I guess you just do your best. You got this. We'll figure it out. You want me to do it? No, I got it. He used to back the boat up on the trailer like a boss. I think you can do this. There we go. You were on the ready. I love it though. All right. I think we're good. I did it. I did it. It only took me three, four times. I mean, it was only one try, but it was just four back and forth. I lost some power style. This is officially the end of the canal and it ends in this beautiful little marina. And I think that's worth celebrating with a pint of Cascale. I agree. Yes. Off the beer engine. I told the guy the other day, I said, yeah, what's on the engine? He goes, the engine. I don't know. We call it a beer engine in America. That little, that like hand tap thingy. I don't know what they call it here. I'll have to find out. That's what I'm going to learn today. So before we head into town, we stopped off to pay our marina fee and it was a whopping six pounds. That's so cheap. And he was apologizing. I know. And he's like, we've had to raise rates, you know, and everything with inflation. And I'm like, I got it. Six pounds is not a problem. That's like, I mean, can you imagine in the sailing world paying six pounds a night, basically what seven 50 or something? I mean, very, very affordable considering everything else up to this point has been free. Fortunately, it's a Tuesday. So a lot of the pubs are closed and this was kind of one of the only ones. I don't know if you're going to get your beer engine. Unfortunately, she was like, I don't know what pump and pump. Yeah. So I don't know that they necessarily have a fancy name for it. Like we do in the United States of America, because everywhere kind of has those beer engines, but cask ales. Yeah. So it just, but it pours so lovely and creamy. Yes. Everybody wants to know, is it warm? It's not, it's not warm, but it's not cold. Maybe room temperature. Yeah. And I mean like proper room temperature, probably like whatever room temperature is 68 degrees or something like that. Yeah. Anyway. So yeah, it's not like you're drinking hot beer, but it's not cold. Made our way to Horseshoe Falls this morning right here behind me. And I know that yesterday we said we made it to the end of the canal, but I guess technically this would be the beginning of the canal because this is the source of the water that we have been navigating. And well, I guess this would be a dam more so than a true waterfall, but that's what this is. They call it, I think a weir. And all of this water flows out from here and into a pump house. And then it gets measured and regulated flow and sent down the canal. It's really, it's incredibly ingenious when you think about it all. So it was built in like 1808 is when this was completed. So the project started, you know, in the late 1700s and they thought of all of this, all these engineering feats of those bridges, the whole nine yards, you know, or I guess 11 miles or something like that. Cause that's what this whole historical heritage site is. But I don't know, kind of just blows my mind. So while it's the beginning of the canal, it's also the end for us because there's only one way in and one way out. So we get to go back to that Marina, turn our boat around and do it all over again. And our next stop, the HH factory. Now, before you go clicking off, if you want to see our grand return, then head over to cruising the cut, because while we documented the adventure, our friend David captured all the other bits like our arrival, provisioning, training, and of course our triumphant return. What have you forgotten? I forgot the line. His love of the canals and witty humor are what inspired us to make this trip and not to get too mushy about it. But David, it wouldn't have been as much fun without you. So thank you.