Vloggers and Bloggers

As a “new” blogger (not sure someone who has been doing this for a year can be called new – Ian), I’m perhaps a bit late to the party, but I’ve been genuinely  surprised by how many people there are out there who are blogging or vlogging their daily lives on the British Waterways (yes the irony of saying that has not escaped me!). We subscribed to a few of them on YouTube, whilst we were working and unable to follow our dream of being liveaboards. It was entertaining; from our own past experiences, we could recognise certain places and challenges that these boaters faced as they cruised the network in all weathers. We were completely at our leisure, it was just a passive pastime,  sitting in the luxury of a warm dry house, viewing it all through a TV screen.

A few years ago, we met one of the couples, Fran and Rich, from “Floating our Boat” on the Llangollen Canal. Fran has a loom on her boat and sells weavings whilst Rich paints impressionistic landscapes and produces the videos. At the time we were navigating the flight of locks near to Hurleston Junction and they filmed us going down the locks (fame at last!). During lockdown, we helped another couple from “Foxes Afloat” who were stranded at Etruria in Stoke-on-Trent, providing an alternative delivery service for them. 

But now we are liveaboards ourselves, part of this floating community, so watching the vlogs has taken on a different perspective. It’s not that unusual for us to see a boat go past with a GoPro camera mounted on the bow and or a tripod sitting on the cabin roof with a fluffy microphone attached to a larger camera. The big question is, do you pretend not to notice that they’re filming you or do you act like a grinning idiot and wave madly to someone’s YouTube channel!

Some of the boating vloggers that we follow on You Tube are of a similar age to us and have taken to boating as an alternative retirement lifestyle. Many are younger and still work. Often this is land based, some holding down full-time jobs others doing temping or seasonal jobs. Some of them run a business from their boat as licensed traders such as the young family on “Holly the Café Boat” and “Ben and Emily” who make miniature vegetable pets.

There’s also a very talented Blacksmith Artist called Brian Greaves,  travelling on a pair of boats called Emily & Bronte, we bought a toasting fork from him at Abingdon. 

If you see a sign for a “Floating Market” it’s worth a wander along the towpath to appreciate the diversity and colour of the trading boats. You can find out where and when these are happening by checking the Events page on the Roving Canal Traders Association’s website.

The couple with the café boat were trapped in the midlands area during lockdown and by various stoppages but have now escaped through the Harecastle Tunnel and were moored just a few yards from us on the Macclesfield Canal. Their latest vlog on YouTube is all about Congleton and it’s been fascinating to see our hometown through their eyes.

Whilst we know there are over 2,000 miles of navigable waterways, this community, both on the water and on the screen, seems a lot smaller and friendlier than we could ever have imagined. If anyone is in trouble, or a boat is off its moorings, people just stop and offer to help. It puts your faith back into humanity and everyone (well nearly everyone) waves and says hello, whether they are fishing, walking on the tow path, paddling a canoe or cruising on a Dutch barge. It’s such a friendly place on the Cut.