Surreal real-time two hour journey from the point of view of being aboard a narrow boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal just starting now on BBC four. See how long you can stay awake
Jeremy Clarkson went on a canal holiday in France with his mate AA Gill. He said canal barges are so slow they are the only mode of transport on which you are routinely overtaken by your own cigarette smoke.
Far better than I thought it would be I love the clever use of using anything as a blackboard to add historical and journey notes
i enjoyed the first 20 minutes, that was where i did a nice walk yesterday, from Bath Deep Lock along to Sidney gardens. If you're ever in Bath, do the walk along the canal, its a bit higher than the town and got some good views. couple of years back i did a canal boat holiday from hilperton( trowbridge) into the centre of Bristol on the K and A, into the River Avon( approaching Pultney Weir from river level is 'different')- nice trip, few aquaducts to go over, through Bradford on Avon and the Caen Flight of locks, is quite spectacular. anyway, two hours of watching that, miles better than sodding footballbollocks or realivetvoperationshealthfreakcraptastic.
crikey - does that still run? That used to be the treat, as opposed to the Blackwall tunnel, when i was a kid living in s london, and my mum was dragging me across to Barking to see grannie. The smell of the breweries as you enter the Blackwall tunnel has always stayed with me.
A lovely canal the Kennet and Avon, but imagine the effort digging it all out by hand, hats off to all of them I say.
That smell has disappeared; they had to clean up their emissions when the Dome was built. And yes, the Woolwich ferry still runs and it is still free, for pedestrians and vehicles. Since the Docklands Light Railway runs through a tunnel under the Thames nearby now, in addition to the pedestrian tunnel, not so many pedestrians use the ferry.
My brother lived in a pair of narrowboats on the grand Union near Croxley Green - had some epic parties [emoji106]
On BBC4 now, from the same crew a 2 hour sleigh 'ride' across the wilderness in Karasjok Norway. I expected it to bore the same people silly as last time hence me posting 20 minutes after it started. Just like the boat ride, it is very relaxing though which is exactly what I need right now. Hasn't quite got the same appeal and the captions difficult to read again. Repeated on Boxing Day. I think they must have used a drone for the aerial shots, pretty impressive to get the electric motors and batteries to work at those temperatures.
