271 - Narrowboating in Storm Ciara

[@JISJ1964]

The Göta Kanal here in Sweden has lots of sliding bridges, but only for roads. It´s also got one removable bridge that´s taken away over the summer and they replace it with one of the smallest ferries in the world: the Lina.

[@MinimalList]

Always wanted to visit the Göta! Some day! M

[@A_p_T53040]

Storm ciara. What a blast from the past

[@MinimalList]

I see what you did there! Haha!

[@sallyu1]

We look forward to your videos of the Trent. We hope you are safe and well. Best wishes.

[@MinimalList]

Thanks!

[@ilox11]

Wow, guys, I think moving at that time was a good decision. You need to have your support around you, especially good proximity to the Station in case you needed it. That Vazon Road Rail Swing Bridge just blew me away. Now I am heading off to find out all about it. That is some pretty nifty engineering there. Hope things are finding you all well and safe. Cheers for now.

[@MinimalList]

It’s a pretty unique bridge!

[@BarneyLeith]

The sliding railway bridge is an amazing piece of engineering. Happy further cruising!

[@MinimalList]

It really is.

[@mattcherry276]

Pedant alert! If you're used to trains around London then the passenger train you had to wait for might look like a "little commuter train". However up here in the north that is all we get for our long distance (Trans Pennine) Express services. It was most likely travelling between Cleethorpes and Manchester Airport via Doncaster, Sheffield and Manchester. Another great vlog though. Hope you're both doing ok in the lockdown and managing to stay healthy.

[@joohnny59]

This is very entertaining. Far more exciting than the Archers. Hope you film the tree removal.

[@MinimalList]

We did. Next vlog to follow soon! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@JCDiamond]

That's a really cool slide bridge!

[@MinimalList]

Isn’t it! 👍🏻

[@johncassels3475]

Thanks. Always enjoyable. I am look forward to your trip up the big River Trent which, I guess, is a bit more of a challenge than the more sheltered waters of the canals. Stay safe!

[@MinimalList]

It’s got a few more challenges, but mainly when it’s in low water as it can be quite shallow. We went up when it was just out of flood, so the usual risk of grounding out on corners wasn’t really there. M

[@ianbishop247]

Great to see you travelling through the wind farm. I live the other side of it to the left of the canal. An access road planned for the new power station was constructed early so that it could be used for the wind farm construction traffic and hence keep the lorries of narrow village lanes. This is the road that crosses the canal after you left the mooring at Ealand. I was part of the community team that pushed for this to happen. Though we also suggested they use the canal as this would have been much better for the environment and would have opened it up for commercial traffic. The main issue was that the access road was owned by the power station company (SSE)and the wind farm was owned by another company. SSE bought the windfarm company and so any legal issues were solved. The windfarm blades turn most of the time as there is often a prevailing wind and there are plans afoot to install a lot more of them. I guess that it's a balance between wind energy that is available most of the time and gas powered generation for when it needs topping up/replacing. Great to see all of this route from the canal though - You've inspired me to go for a walk down the towpath at some point!

[@MinimalList]

I’m sure it’ll be worth the walk! M

[@anderswegge6828]

Almost all wind turbines rotate at a constant speed. As they are synchronized to the power grid, more wind doesn't mean faster rotation, but instead more produced.

[@jasonbrant6394]

This was a pretty grim month as I recall and a bit of a featureless landscape on this section of canal but at least we were able to go cruising at this time. Hope you are both well and managing the lock down . Cheers for 10 minutes of escapism.

[@MinimalList]

Thanks for watching

[@markattardo]

Very cool sliding bridge! All that wind made me wonder if anyone tried adding a sail and lee boards to a narrow boat....what could go wrong? 😶

[@TransportLondonPhoto]

Are those George's tennis balls you've got stored behind the throttle? That's one of the best storage hacks I've seen!

[@MinimalList]

Those are his towpath finds and emergency backup balls, yes! M

[@greghilton7797]

I didn't mind the lack of an intro, we were straight into it and on with the task. Cheers

[@MinimalList]

Phew! Wait are you saying we usually talk too much? 😉

[@davidsmith1620]

Thanks for the quick trip. We found Storm Callum in 2018 on a hired boat out of Wrenbury. Stay safe and keep up the good work on the videos.

[@canalboatpics16]

Looking forward to next vlog/blog for Trent as it’s crazy I’ve been told

[@MinimalList]

Well we did it when it was in flood! But no it wasn’t crazy at all, for the most part it was fairly dull!

[@canalboatpics16]

Minimal List is it on next vlog following this journey

[@TheEulerID]

"and finally a 22 wagon train". I though it was just me that counted passing wagons on good trains...

[@willsgetoff1157]

What a fantastic bridge, hope you're keeping safe and looking forward to seeing where you get to once we're allowed out again.

[@MinimalList]

It was pretty amazing. i just wish it hadn't been so windy.

[@mjallenuk]

Who knew you'd need a train time table to navigate...

[@frankchampion2181]

We've loved these 2 vlogs, playing "spot our dog walks", That Vazon Bridge is something else, but the wind usually makes hovering tricky. Hope you're keeping safe, although you're not in the best spot for "social distancing" and no Lidl either, was good to see the George playing in the park video.

[@ianofsjkartwork]

Very interesting vlog.....great work Jo....stay safe....thanks for sharing

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! 😊

[@geoffreykail9129]

The canal looks really full.

[@buss8009]

Thank you for yet another great video. A couple of days with 20 degrees celsius here in Norway, just short of a couple of hours south of Oslo. It seems like it was quite a bit colder for you guys, but hope it has gotten warmer for you as well since this short trip on the canals! Stay safe!

[@chazzyb8660]

Wot - no bloopers! Well done in getting another out so soon. As a couple of others said - seems like a different world, far far away… Off to ring the church bells shortly - for the NHS et al. Keep well, be kind.

[@MinimalList]

Yes. Its weird watching the footage of us when we didn't know what was to come. Haha, yes no bloooers. Maybe we are finally getting more professional after three years.

[@johnshepherd9025]

Hi, you was moored at Ealand Warfe not Crowle use that stretch a lot when I worked on the barges. Good video. Keep safe you two and keep the videos coming. Regards Shep.

[@MinimalList]

Good to know!

[@altacat9702]

Beautiful: )

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! 😊

[@ScholarGypsyOx]

Last time I was there (many years ago) the bridge keeper let me into the control box and allowed me to press the button to open the bridge. Very exciting. At the time it was battery powered but I think this is no longer the case since it was rebuilt about 15 years ago.

[@MinimalList]

Wow, that is pretty exciting. Yes. I think you are right, the Canal & River Trust have some info on it here canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/blogs/nigel-crowe/vazon-sliding-bridge

[@davewhiteley2483]

Me too looking forward to the trent trip we need to do one day came out of yelvertoft on the 18th of March now stuck on lock down 😭

[@MinimalList]

It really sucks doesn’t it. Trying not to complain too much though as literally everyone is stuck. We are itching to get going again.

[@HandymanRomileyIsBetterThanBnQ]

When are you coming to the peak forest canal?

[@MinimalList]

His year! We should be on our way now ☹️

[@paisleyjane9606]

Too bad it was too windy to use the drone for shots of that bridge from above!

[@mobiusfugue2582]

When I first heard that storm Ciara was coming I assumed it was "Chiara" (the name of my Italian ex) and instantly wanted to leave the country.

[@MinimalList]

😬