Michael, you should receive the, uh, err, umm, Silver Nuggets award! 😂 That navigation took some fortitude.

that dog is over the moon.. i could watch him running around like that all day

I like the umbrella. Blue skies are just an umbrella away. Have to watch out for too much wind.

Any way apart from the below comment. I emigrated to New Zealand in 1964, while I spent my childhood days fishing at Great Barford. Your video is fantastic, and really shows the extensive growth alongside over sixty years. Before the river was re-constituted as navigable the lock at Barford was derelict and you could wade the river there, as did a charming nine year old girl to keep me company while I fished below the old lock. So this is a big thank you for doing this.

Enjoy your time doing these jobs. No better way to learn new skills. I took a year to rebuild Dogs Allowed and enjoyed every moment. Looking forward to the next job.

Another well put together vlog.......loving your taste of music......stay safe........thanks for sharing

It has come home 🦁🥇🦁 great watch

Can anyone tell me why I duck and lean my head when Michael drives the boat under the bridges? I am on my couch! Goodness. Congrats on the silver propeller.

@jiminmaine4639

2 жыл бұрын

So it wasn't just me ducking.

@jenninstitches

2 жыл бұрын

@@jiminmaine4639 Nope... definitely not. Holding my breath too :)

@GenaF

2 жыл бұрын

Haha I do that as well, but I also duck when driving if a pigeon flies very low in front of me. I'm not quite sure what ducking will do 😂

I have always enjoyed your videos.

Congratulations on your achieving the Silver Propeller. Be well and stay safe.

Never say never...and Ill tell you something I have learned in my near 75 yrs on this planet...its very true!!! A great and awesome journey happy little family of 3!!! Thanks for all of the perseverance. thank you so very much!!! CONGRATULATIONS just doesn't seem grand enough!!😃😁😀😊😍

This vlog was such a find for me! I'm almost 70 now and left Bedford for the USA (Mid-Atlantic area) in 1977. Downtown Bedford and the whole stretch of river to Kempston were my haunts growing up and I have walked it many times and wondered who the boaters were, especially those who appeared to be living on their craft. I lived about 500 yards from Kempston Mill at one time. Bedford has deteriorated over the years but the riverside is still beautiful. Glad you came and thanks for the memories.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for commenting. It was so nice to hear that the video helped bring back some memories.

The saying "made it by the skin of your teeth " comes to mind. Well done to you both

♡ from California

Perhaps atBarford if you'd gone into the pub they would probably have shown where the water tap was - OOPs!!

Great video getting to the head of navigation on the Great Ouse. You may have had more clearance if you had filled up with water before heading under the low bridges.

Anyone for narrowboat limbo!? It got a bit close in places, I even found myself wanting to duck down. Congratulations on reaching another silver propeller location, though surely you've earned the platinum propeller? Stay safe and take care

Thank you so much for your videos. I had been watching your progress and looking for a narrowboat for some time and finally found what I wanted in June. I cruised from Wisbech up the Nene, through the Middle Levels and up the Ouse to Bedford where I had been living in Soverign's Quay and moved from the flat straight in to the boat whilst moored at the water point. I'm sure we must have crossed paths at some point! you have been a great inspiration and I'm looking forward to the renovations :)

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Oh how wonderful! So nice to hear you are enjoying life afloat!

Another Silver Propeller. That's wonderful! My thanks to you both (well, three, since George is obviously your motivator) for sharing your lives in making these videos. It has been a wonderful journey watching you cover the canal systems.

Pyramid looks ominous in the cloud!

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

It really does.

Great vlog, well done on yet another Silver Propeller, Perseverance in action :)

My Goodness ... will have to watch this one a few times, enjoyed the navigation immensely...Michel's boat handling skills merit his masters licence in my experience, lovely when your ship can take you to places such as these, back in time. Don't ever stop posting these. It's a matter of skill.and awareness of adventure. Wonderlous, wonderfully marvelous..

My oh my it's weird been thinking of you both as watching the weather maps show your in the Atlantic trough of a weather river that we get now as weather I'm sure you know has changed and not to the sixties, it's done a one eighty... and as you see in British Columbia. Being in the trough of these weather rivers is like standing under the falls... Good Luck... at least you have a good platform "Perseverance", for floods. Some here have lost everything. Including life.

Joyful, romping, splashing George. What could be better?

Probably have a lot more clearance now the water tank is full

Indeed; your adventures still keep me smiling, every so often A chuckle, Now that's entertainment , thanks. George is the best.

I stayed in the Bedford Hotel 30 years ago it was lovely then and still looks good. I did notice many new buildings but hasn't distracted from the overall appearance of the area. Your videos are enticing me to buy a narrow boat. Keep the blogs going.

Fantastic that you are or were in my neck of the woods, been up and down that stretch of water so many times in my small tender boat. Our river cruiser was moored at Priory Marina, back in the early 1980’s

Thank you both, looks like the area has a good mix of green spaces and urban. Take care.

That was nicer than I expected, I assumed it was going to be quite built up around Bedford but was really scenic. I hope George is doing OK and feeling as chipper as normal. All the best guys. Stephen 🦼

Thank you for putting the date that this took place. So many leave us to guess when. Never been to England ( Ireland once) so I am pretty clueless.

Well done! Wow, some of those bridges. Michael must have some nerve - though he did explain the sacrificial Go Pro concept.

good vid of you on the cut crank it thanks lee

Love watching your videos esp the ones on the same river that my boats on

@shanehumberstone5262

2 жыл бұрын

Is the book the great Ouse and it’s tributaries book? And is that a Tilley hat?

It's so good to see you in my neck of the woods. Looking forward to the opening of the link to the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes, which will make it easier for navigators to visit.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

That would be amazing would’t it

@robertlalor8090

2 жыл бұрын

@@MinimalList It will be, but something will have to be done about those railway bridges. Hope to see you when the link opens.

Sorry to say but that's not the end of navigation . It's about another mile up. Your only got to Queens Park Bridge .

I’ve been resisting making comments as I know how dedicated you are to answering and I’m trying not to add to the load. Just want you to know Michael and Jo that I watch and love every vlog you make. Absolutely beautiful where you are. Congrats on another silver propeller. P.S. Even liked the Poop Vlog 💩😝Cheers from Florida. 🌴🌴🌴🌴😁

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much. We really appreciate the support and can't help replying.

Well done for getting so far up Great Ouse. I believe the only way you would have been able to get to Kempston Mill (about 1 1/2 miles upstream) would have been by canoe due to shallows and a low bridge due for replacement early next year.

@h.martinsmith7839

2 жыл бұрын

NO SO A Few things which may be of interest.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 yes that swimming pool looks terrible i thought it was closed down...

If you had filled up with water before the low bridges would that not have given you an extra few cm of clearance. Interesting to watch, like the concept of a sacrificial GoPro.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Yup! That would have been sensible!

Taking a chance with low bridges and rainy weather. :)

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Good point!

Those electric guillotine locks would terrify me - what safety measures are in place if the electricity fails etc?

low riders of California luv the title!

Perhaps filling up with water before heading towards low bridges would help. Given your love of heading into the hard to reach places I would also consider a waterproof 'bag' to fill the well deck plus a small pump - fill up with canal water to add a tonne or two in the bow and dip the nose a few inches (Your bow always seems to be higher than the stern).

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, we absolutely should have filled up with water before we attempted the bridges.

The bridges are reminiscent of the Wey at the start of your journey.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed!

I hope you got to the movies. Go see DUNE!!! Just went to the local theater for the first time in a couple years. Very enjoyable. And to the symphony last week. Such a pleasure to be enjoying some public events.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Michael did go and see Dune as soon as it was out and really loved it.

How much water does your tank hold? Would you have gained an inch or two of clearance on the low bridges with a full tank of water?

That railway bridge is certainly a wild fowler's delight - Duck or Grouse Sir?

These videos are so therapeutic to watch. I'll be gutted once the backlog of vids have all been uploaded and so I hope you'll have the next chapter for us. How is Michael's quest for a suitable university getting on?

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. No news yet about the uni choice but he has made an application to one.

Maybe you could have topped up your water tank before the bridges. Or would that have put more weight at the back and lifted the front?

@AndyCutright

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting physics question, but as there's no point of leverage between the front and the rear of the boat, the additional weight would simply displace more water in the rear, and not raise the front at all. But physics isn't my area really.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Water tank is at the front, so it acts as ballast foreword, lowering the front which is now less buoyant. Doesn’t shift the rear. M

So what will you be doing while the boat is being refitted? Have you considered editing existing footage for a series of UK waterway highlights? Or perhaps a series comparing and contrasting the various rivers, canals bridges and locks? For the future how about a second time around but making sure you are six months different (or at least an entire season different) for each place you visit from the first time around so then you can get yet another extra series comparing the seasons for each location.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

I'm afraid I have no free time to edit any more than I already am. While the boat is being refitted I will mainly he helping with the re-fitting.

@yta6765

2 жыл бұрын

@@MinimalList Well, I was thinking it would be a series lasting around a year or so - a way of getting second/third/fourth use out of existing footage.

👍😎👍

With the added locations you've gotten, will your silver propeller get bronzed? I have to presume that's been said a few dozen times. Anyway, nice cruise, and those squats going under the bridges qualify as your days exercise.

The lower bridges looked very uncomfortable, like you I was concerned with those rivets 😳 not easy steering while ducking down like you were either I wouldn’t think. If you had filled with water prior to going to the end of navigation would it have made any difference? Thanks for this and all previous vlogs,you guys are great xx

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, we absolutely should have filled the water tank. I don't know. why didn't think of it at the time.

You cannot do this with high water😄

With those low bridges in the picture, passing them as you did now with an empty water tank or if you´d filled it up before the attempt? How much does the full tank do for the height of the boat?

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

We definitely should have filled the tank as it would have give us a little more room

Do you have a home base, or do you just go on Narrow boating full time ..? do you ever stop ..?...Just wondering...? where do you park for the night at certain places, ? or anywhere you like ..? and do you feel safe ?...from robbers ..?..now a days you always have to have your guard up all the time and what would you do if the boat won't go under the Bridge ,..? turn around and go back .. and how does the river just end there . or does it go on its just not maintained for boats to use ? yes i did watch the video I just dont understand some times Sorry for all the questions ...I find this very interesting..

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

So many questions. We live full time on the boat, we can stop for two weeks anywhere on the system. We were on a mission to go everywhere which we have now achieved. In the last four years we have never felt unsafe or met any robbers. If we hadn't made it under the bridge we would have turned before. The river goes on but it is not navigable unless you are in a canoe or kayak.

@jlions72

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your reply and sorry for all the questions ....lol .I tend to do that I just try to learn as I go .

I was wondering if any #$%@wads untie the boats at public moorings and how does the boating community keep the areas safe? Thanks for the nice videos.

Is there a pyramid behind Jo in the intro?

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Well spotted, yes! M

Clearly not in Bedford I can see the pyramid in the background.

@grahamreeve5209

2 жыл бұрын

@@robsterbob580 no Giza, you can't fool me.

How low can you go? LOL!

You really don’tvwant to moor at the last footbridge. At night, it ain’t nice.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

We moored at the public moorings by that bridge, it was perfectly fine. M

Manscuses. Is that a word?

So, how many silver propellers you have now 30?

@MinimalList

Жыл бұрын

39 I think.

Five months between the day this was filmed and release? Is this a record for you guys? HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh well, Before I moved to Texas from the UK, I used to work with some people who lived in Bedford. Was 25 years ago now.

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Four months. This was filmed on 1st August! 👍🏻

@brianjrichman

2 жыл бұрын

@@MinimalList Four elapsed months... I still claim five as you are one day short of December. "You say Potato and I say Potatoe...." Cute video anyway.

@Leonard_Smith

2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if pedantry is hereditary...

@shardlake

2 жыл бұрын

@@brianjrichman Still 4 months if this released on December 1st... August 8th month - December 12th month. Math or maths - depends where you're from, results are the same :)

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

With that logic I claim three months!

It ought to be the River Bed.

"water finding duties"... Er, you're sat in it. I assume a divining rod won't help to find a tap, too much background noise....

@MinimalList

2 жыл бұрын

Pretty sure a divining rod doesn’t help no matter how low the background noise gets! M

This vlog was such a find for me! I'm almost 70 now and left Bedford for the USA (Mid-Atlantic area) in 1977. Downtown Bedford and the whole stretch of river to Kempston were my haunts growing up and I have walked it many times and wondered who the boaters were, especially those who appeared to be living on their craft. I lived about 500 yards from Kempston Mill at one time. Bedford has deteriorated over the years but the riverside is still beautiful. Glad you came and thanks for the memories.

This vlog was such a find for me! I'm almost 70 now and left Bedford for the USA (Mid-Atlantic area) in 1977. Downtown Bedford and the whole stretch of river to Kempston were my haunts growing up and I have walked it many times and wondered who the boaters were, especially those who appeared to be living on their craft. I lived about 500 yards from Kempston Mill at one time. Bedford has deteriorated over the years but the riverside is still beautiful. Glad you came and thanks for the memories.