159 - A Sunny Winter Narrowboat Cruise on the Wyrley and Essington Canal

This is a two day vlog, we leave the comfort of Wolverhampton for the second time and head to the Bentley Bridge Moorings for an over night stop and then it is further down the Wyrley and Essington Canal to Pelsall Junction. We also take our #Narrowboat to the end of the Cannock Extension #Canal and back before finding our mooring for the night.
Our Links
Blog: www.minimallist...
Twitter: / nbminimallist
Facebook: / nbminimallist
Patreon: / minimallist
Jo wrote a short book about her travels and how she met Michael.
tinyurl.com/ya...
FAQ's
Q. Where are Michael's T-shirts from?
A. Tee Republic; www.teepublic....
Q. Why do you speed up some of the footage in your videos?
A. We don't, we film it as time-lapse footage. We do not have the battery capacity or data storage to film in real time as our cruises can last up to 7 or 8 hours. We use to the time-lapse footage to help tell the story of movement rather than showcase the scenery. We limit the amount of time-lapse shots we use in each vlog.

[@vivianewing7154]

Mike you are a laugh, thanks for being you!

[@nate8551]

Great to see some boating on the bcn who wants to see the Shropie on every vlog

[@robinnicholson4009]

Enjoyable. I THOUGHT I saw you on the Middle Levels!!?

[@MrBblhed]

I found that water interesting because it was both full of garbage and exceptionally clear all at the same time.

[@MinimalList]

Yeah, in some places it was so clear you could see all the rubbish at the bottom!

[@rwbimbie5854]

Shopping carts in the canal, but they also threw in traffic cones to warn of the hazard

[@MinimalList]

How thoughtful! Haha

[@rogerclarke3291]

Great video, thanks for posting.

[@MinimalList]

Thanks for watching.

[@anthonybelcher8569]

Lovely video guys

[@MinimalList]

Thanks! M

[@marniusfrench6225]

Couldn't agree more with dredging comments - I live on the Cannock extension and it's such a shame we have to go through all that junk and filth to get anywhere ... happy cruising guys.

[@MinimalList]

It’s really a shame so many people dump all that filth to begin with! M

[@BlackCountryPiker]

9.3 minutes in is where I went fishing for pike last week. In some instances you wouldn’t know how close you are to urban areas and traffic. Lovely surroundings with buzzards flying over. Great video guys 👍

[@MinimalList]

It’s a shame you weren’t there when we cruised by! Thanks for watching!

[@BlackCountryPiker]

Minimal List no worries, loving the videos 👍

[@MinimalList]

Thank you 😊

[@progwolf12]

I lived in Wednesfield for a couple of years back in the 80s... that section of canal was so derelict and silted up ... glad to see things have improved somewhat since.

[@johninokla2635]

You're lucky to have a first mate that is willing to walk the dog and help get the boat in the correct channels. 😁 Great video thanks for posting it. 👍

[@MinimalList]

My captain is very lucky to have me, that’s for sure! M

[@stevemusgrave2000]

Oh Michael, ...."I'm high maintenance"......on vid, blooper or not, she's got ya!!!! Fair do's, it's taken a while. Birmingham nearly done, then the "Shroppie", my neck of the woods. Deffo, one of the top 5 canals on the system. It'll be like a breath of fresh air.

[@MinimalList]

I mean... he did say it so it must be true! Very much looking forward to getting onto the Shroppie!

[@malcolmelliott1876]

What surprises me is how clear the water is underneath the algae and litter. Shame the CRT doesnt dredge and surface skim this area as much as the ones used by less intrepid boatees. That Cannock extension branch has such potential at the old collliery for residential moorings and a great boat builder at the far end.

[@MinimalList]

The Cannock extension was lovely, as was Pelsall!

[@ASCIITerminal]

As you've got too much coal, if you have to leave it on the roof all summer, it might be worth covering it with a tarpaulin. The UV in sunlight degrades the bags and they split very easily. It'd be a shame to loose it in the cut!

[@MinimalList]

Yeah we’re thinking we’ll move some into the engine bay (there’s a lot of room on the skin tank where the batteries used to be) and store what we can in the dinette, and the remainder will get the tarp. Our biggest problem was rainwater running through the bags seems to get acidic and damaged our roof paint! M

[@jayeme1483]

Great haircut .

[@cherylburton3430]

Hey so excited you passed our boat ( the blue one) on the pelsall/ cannock extension. Lovely to see canals we know and have travelled.

[@MinimalList]

Pelsall is a lovely area isn’t it!

[@cherylburton3430]

Apart from the rubbish. It's a shame it doesn't get more traffic but in another way it is nice and quiet.

[@MinimalList]

I must admit I do appreciate the less busy navigations!

[@ianofsjkartwork]

Well put together video....being watching a couple months very enjoyable....thanks for sharing

[@MinimalList]

Thank you and thanks for following along!

[@lifeat2.3milesanhour57]

Glad you liked Pelsall.

[@MinimalList]

We really did!

[@peteon4wheels627]

Another great chill out evening watch you guy's on the cut, thanks guys.

[@MinimalList]

Thank you! Glad you you enjoyed the Vlog!

[@johncallaghan8854]

I'm catching up! Funny I haven't been to Walsall in 25 year, it obviously have changed any

[@MinimalList]

I’m sure it’s changed, but probably only superficially! M

[@thomaswitman8592]

Another entertaining video, guys ! It just amazes/saddens me how much rubbish is in the canal at some places 😞 . People can be such jerks. No pride in anything. Anyway ... thanks for the vlog ! Cheers !

[@MinimalList]

Thank for following along. I don’t know what the answer is... even if you remove it all more will soon follow!

[@lakelady57]

Love that music it so suits your canal travels :)

[@MinimalList]

Thank you, it is really hard to find good royalty free music and we don’t want to use the same music too much. It’s nice to hear when it works!

[@JISJ1964]

A thougt struck me, would it be a good idea if CRT called out for a "Clean the canals" day a weekend in the spring each year when everyone involved in the canal-life would get equipment and spend some hours to pick rubbish out of the canals and then CRT send lorries around along the canals to bring it on to the correct places? I think a little like those "working days" that we who live on land get shouted out from our councils or neighbourhood clubs to go out and clean the park around the corner or along the roads or so.

[@MinimalList]

The CRT does have various such initiatives and cleanup events, though they tend to be pretty local events organized with volunteers and maybe the local council... they’ve got a LOT of canal to cover, so organizing such events system-wide, or even canal-wide, could be pretty difficult in terms of logistics, available staff and volunteers, and so on... especially because getting the majority of the stuff cleaned up requires a working boat and barges to put it in to get it to the relatively few places where there’s access for a lorry. M

[@ronbearman6783]

Hi guys Still going through rubbish keep going will get better you hope

[@MinimalList]

So much rubbish! Just need to get out of the urban areas I think!

[@DaveHenry-mort8088]

Great vid as always guys. :-)

[@MinimalList]

Thank you 😊

[@hw476]

Love the out takes guys. Jo, just many miles do you walk. You must be so fit. Enjoy the next part of your trip in hopefully cleaner waters. 😁

[@MinimalList]

Thanks, George makes me walk.. he doesn’t actually like being on the boat! Thanks for toe good wishes!

[@graytaylor590]

Out takes are so funny...lol

[@MinimalList]

😁

[@christopherpeterson1400]

Great swan escort ... 😁

[@MinimalList]

He was leading the way... till he flew off.

[@llessibm]

Apart from the obvious detritus the canal and it's immediate environment actually looked quite nice - another resource that is clearly not appreciated but with perhaps greater potential than Walsall

[@MinimalList]

Totally agree, although we have to admit we also love having the navigation to ourselves!

[@JoshuaW]

Well, whatever construction the cone was telling you about, I'm glad you avoided it.

[@MinimalList]

I mean... it was quite helpful to have it there really... I guess!

[@normanboyes4983]

Hearing the gulls - and you are about as far from the sea as it is possible to be in the UK. These last few videos show that if rubbish dumped is not cleared quickly it will attract more rubbish. ( From WIKI The village that is further from the sea than any other human settlement in the UK is Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire. One kilometre south-east is Church Flatts Farm, which is 113km (70 miles) from the nearest point on the coast, or 72km (45 miles) from the nearest tidal water.)

[@MinimalList]

#funfact

[@Pallethands]

8:44 looks like you found the source of all of those floating pallets

[@MinimalList]

Ha! Possibly!

[@iflick7235]

Joe looks cute in her Ray Bans

[@AZC1949]

Sections of those canals look very much like a river near here (Tallahassee, Florida) looked when there was a failure of a small community sewage treatment plant, dumping raw sewage into it. I bet that potion of canal smelled a lot like the river did here. That makes me almost not envy you. Almost.

[@MinimalList]

Luckily it was only really bad in small sections. Not nice to travel through though!

[@cydery]

I Have a question ??? We often see Michael sitting on the top of the back of the stern of Perseverance, Just a thought? why don't install a folding seat?? it would have to be a dam site more comfortable, what do you think

[@MinimalList]

We should sort something out for him. His little metal perch is not ideal!

[@cydery]

@@MinimalList Yep I get a pain in the but just watching him. love you guys, keep it up

[@ludovicdeclerck]

oh a haircut!

[@IC1swUSNRet]

Don't look up, when gulls fly over.

[@MinimalList]

Haha! Good advise!

[@marshallbaldwin395]

Ok Michael is it you or George that's higher maintenance You guys have a good day THE GRUMPY BUS

[@MinimalList]

Without a doubt it is George. Poor love is scared of the wind so these last two weeks on the boat have been horrible for him!

[@marshallbaldwin395]

@@MinimalList poor George our cocker gets really confused at the ocean loves water hates the waves

[@MinimalList]

Bless!

[@oldtimers6460]

Thanks gang another interesting vlog , hope the weather stays fair and Michaels grows his hair :) ,Cheers from Oz.

[@MinimalList]

Thanks for watching! Weather has turned but hair still groaning!

[@suetaylor5186]

Nooo you want Barton Marina cinema xxx it's lovely there

[@MinimalList]

If only we were heading that way, sadly we are taking a left at Fradley Junction!

[@suetaylor5186]

Pelsall is much nicer than Walsall. The CRT are often up by the Pelsall arm. It's well known for silt up that way x

[@suetaylor5186]

Pronounced Pell Sall. ..

[@suetaylor5186]

Good English accent Mike...

[@thryduulf]

I started watching this channel only recently, so I'm still catching up on older videos. I noticed in this video that Michael sounds more American and less Canadian than he does in the earlier ones for some reason.

[@MinimalList]

Michael is half Canadian and half American, he has also lived in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. Now he is living in England and working on making his accent unidentifiable!

[@malcolmelliott1876]

Nice idea... unfortunately still a lot of work to do.... stick with the Canadian bias. Unrehearsed, misspronounced, honest impressions are what makes your videos a joy.. its like sitting outside a canalside pub chatting about "so where have you come from today".... unique and enlightening.

[@MinimalList]

Michael is currently in Nepal so who knows what he will sound like when he returns. Glad you enjoy the canal side chats... it wasn’t a conscious decision to have the vlogs like this... they just kind of fell into this format as we film around our movements rather than move around the filming!

[@malcolmelliott1876]

I am glad they evolved as such.. There is now a nice selection of styles and approaches for the lucky viewers. Judging by the Nepalese I know here he will likely sound more British upon his return. Did he go all that way just for the food or is he climbing Everest?

[@MinimalList]

Yes, I love that every Narrowboat channel is a little bit different! He actually went for a wedding. The food will be a bonus!

[@daviddean5392]

Having not followed you from the beginning,I am curious as to your Boats length and other properties?

[@MinimalList]

It’s 57 foot! This video might help! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXmlkmuijN-qbdk

[@jamessd7677]

Still in the industrial urban west midlands area then, not my favourite part of the world, but hey, its got plenty of canal!!! Like the haircut man, quite quite American...

[@MinimalList]

Got to see it all!

[@henryharesdene4164]

Haven't been 'there' for many years - but the same atmosphere pervades... Isn't the Curley Wyrley classed ad a remainder waterway, and that's why it's generally in poor shape?Hire boat companies (not that there are any / many left) discourage hirers from using it.

[@MinimalList]

With a little love it would be lovely, such a shame!

[@shanehenderson8756]

Did you go and see a movie and what was it?

[@MinimalList]

That day I didn’t actually...the prices at that theater were a little high and I’d seen most of the things they were showing already. M

[@MinimalList]

That day I didn’t actually...the prices at that theater were a little high and I’d seen most of the things they were showing already. M

[@craigy_baby]

Any idea how many miles you've walked Jo ?

[@MinimalList]

No idea! 😬

[@Wishwader]

Im starting to feel sorry for the yobs. I doubt all that walking is for the dog's benefit. More likely its whenever yobs misbehave while the boat is going past Jo sneaks up behind and kicks them into the canal!

[@MinimalList]

Haha

[@mikegershon8528]

Why did you guys chase that poor swan? j/k lol!

[@MinimalList]

Haha, he couldn’t get away fast enough!

[@Chuck59ish]

Michael, it must have been just a bit colder the day you made this video with your new haircut, you're going to need a toque man.

[@MinimalList]

Sunny and a little fresh!

[@bcjnk]

maybe the canal river trust should start cleaning up a bit

[@MinimalList]

I think the problem in this area is overwhelming to be honest!

[@bcjnk]

i live just off Rough Wood which is just before Sneyd junction the area around there is sussposed to be a conservation area but it is badly let down by the syate of the canal

[@MinimalList]

The water at Sneyd Junction is as bad as it gets. I wonder why it is a bad there!

[@n.harper2652]

Never look up at the birds!

[@MinimalList]

Ah, good tip!

[@mickbroadbent6750]

great vlog guys ,,, shame humans cant respect the earth instead we use it as a dumping ground

[@MinimalList]

It’s pretty depressing isn’t it!

[@fk319fk]

If Mount Tambora erupts again, you should be able to use the rest of your coal.

[@MartyLJ57]

It's not global warming, its global tilt.

[@MinimalList]

Interesting... that tilt seems to involve a lot of rising temperatures. M

[@MartyLJ57]

After that earthquake that caused that huge tsunami in Indonesia. It caused the Earth to wobble but didn't return to the original position. Something like o.ooo2 degrees if I remember correctly

[@MinimalList]

Yeah, every substantial earthquake and volcanic eruption can cause minor punctuated shifts in the orbital period and axial tilt ... but neither has anything to do with the ongoing trends of climate change. M

[@Liofa73]

Short haircut to look meaner, scaring off the 'yoofs' of the West Midlands! ;)

[@MinimalList]

Do you think it will work?

[@Liofa73]

Minimal List --- Well... if it doesn't work maybe try to pay them off with cheap supermarket cider and cigarettes...

[@MinimalList]

Haha!

[@malcolmelliott1876]

Try methal alcohol and ciggies.. then offer them a light.

[@ipb1966]

OK everyone - who wants to see Jo do an impression of George poo-ing?

[@MinimalList]

No one want to see that!

[@shanehenderson8756]

Dont forget it was warmer in the medieval period mike.the climate is always changing.is it manmade anthropegenic. Or is it other factors.

[@bigunone]

Wear your glasses!

[@raymondparr1]

OMG never have I seen so much rubbish in the canal before, do the river trust or who ever they are not maintain that part. if so they should be disgusted in them selfs. all the money you pay to travel on the canal and they cannot keep it clean. shame

[@MinimalList]

The CRT do maintain these canal but have limited resources and the problem a in this area are overwhelming!