Lush photography, excllent commentary, highly professional. This is television material, brilliant. This film maker takes pride in his work unlike some of the appuling documentaries from the BBC, ITV and independent film companies. He is a credit to broadcasting. Support him.

DUCKSPOTTER was our boat my husband fitted it out from scratch. It was wonderfully nostalgic to see it. so happy that Karen is still living happily aboard.

Oh my gosh..you were around 5 years ago and I just found you??!!! How did I miss it?! And what a high quality production you have!!!!

I had lost track of Vobes since his wonderful daily show until now. I really appreciate the top quality documentary quality about such a specific and interesting historical subject! Being American, I had never even considered the impact of English canals and now I want to visit! The animation represent an amazing amount of work and were brilliant! Thank you for being the consummate entertainer, Richard!

This is my favorite episode of The Bald Explorer. I hope you get the chance sometime soon to revisit the restoration efforts and see where they've gone in the time since you first aired this episode. I'm sure your coracle would love to get back into the water there again. =)

This show is brill,I much prefer this format than your present, great history!

This programme has been very interesting to watch, and the editing and sound quality are really superb.

A wonderful well told history of the canals .congratulations Richard.

I honestly got to say that's one of the best videos I've seen on KZfaq for a long time, I really found this interesting n so well put together video, thumbs-up 👍 from me

What a fantastic program, first time I've seen you and won't be the last!! You're such a good presenter, and your whole crew are incredibly professional. I'm just going to see if you've made more programs about the canals. 10/10, I can't praise you enough.....

Richard, I have watched hundreds of documentaries in my life, many on Great Britain and the Industrial revolution , which I love , and I have to say your videos are up there with some of the best! Your friendly manner and clear and pleasant vocals, provide a refreshing change . You're a natural and I'm glad I found your channel. Being a rail enthusiast , the canals have always interested me so I hope to get over there soon to see them in person. P.S Julia is also a lovely addition to your walks. Regards, Gregg.

Incredibly, this is the first of your videos which I have watched - but it certainly won't be the last! This is not just extremely informative but also interesting and engaging. This is not always an easy balance. The photography is excellent being innovative and imaginative. I absolutely love some of the cameo shots and I say this as a professional landscape photographer.

I think this is bar far, the most informative and well-produced video I've yet to see on England's system of canals. The production quality, the research, the narration are unparalleled. My American hat is off to Richard, to say this was a joy to watch, is a gross understatement. Yes . . . I hit that Subscribe button faster than you'll know. I look forward to viewing so many more of your fine and informative videos. A huge Thank You Sir.

What a superb and totally professional piece of work. I am filled with hope that the potential for the future of our canal system will be fully realized, and this video will surely have played some part in that. Many congratulations.

Truly a masterpiece in pure English histories and traditions!

I just found this video and I am truly amazed at the production quality and informational content. Thank you so much, an amazing find. I love your style and look forward to watching all your content.

Stumbled across this - and so glad that I did! Thoroughly enjoyable and educational without being 'stuffy'. If I'd not read some of the other comments, I would have sworn that this was a professional production! Hats off to you Richard; a job very well done. I look forward to viewing more of the same now that I've subscribed. Thankyou.

Well done, worth my time and a cup of tea. Good work and thank you for all those who care for history and it's stories.

This is one of my favourite pastimes I used to love watching Timothy West and Priscilla Scales it was so relaxing to watch and therapeutic for the mind. Thank you Richard 👏👏🫡

richard vobes is perfect :) this doc not only fascinating but also so thoughtfully stunningly well made in every way ~ WOW, thank you! I have GLADLY subscribed :)

Excellent, professional presentation. Informative, well scripted, very well filmed. When did the English succumb to the present day mindset of passively accepting all the rules and regulations that we increasingly have to endure ? ... Needing permission to launch a coracle on a stretch of water ! Don't even ask.. these people need to learn their place.

the quality of the content and production is first class. a job very well done

These explorations are excellent. Very professional, informative and entertaining.

Well presented Richard. Due to the times of limited cash after WW 2 as a family in UK we didn't go far. Since living in N Z we have enjoyed such programs as you took the energy & research to produce Plus library books - have learned much . So, once again thank you !!!!. From a G Gran in NZ 🤗

Just came cross this one Richard ! Out of all of your vids I think that this is my favourite ! But after the event I know , but well made , informative and ver ' relaxing ' to watch ! Diction as always , clear and not ' fussy ' ! Great for youngsters to watch in connection with their school work etc ! Very informative for them to watch ! 10/10 ☑️ 🤓👍

Very well made and interesting. Love the narrow boats, locks, and other features. The scenery is is just awesome!

I have been following a number of people on the canals in England, but your video was very informative. Thank you. I live in New Zealand and canals would have been impossible in our landscape I would think.

What a fascinating documentary, I know parts of the canal in Shrewsbury very well, and I used to drink in the Canal Tavern before it closed. Once again thank you Richard for such an amazing story.

Hi Richard, wow what an excellent video, well produced and wonderful music! I think you really captured the essence of these waterways and I loved hearing the stories people had to tell! I thought the computer graphics reconstruction really enhanced the story and brought another element of how things used to be! Thank you so much for pointing me towards this video, I'm looking forward to the update with you and Julia with bated breath! 👍🙂

so nice to find your channel and these terrific uploads with heart and soul!

Wow, such a professional film Richard, well done. Very interesting stuff, thankyou.

Brilliant. One of your best. A truly professional and very interesting documentary. Happy to see more of these.

That was a most entertaining video. Brilliantly filmed and presented. Many thanks for sharing.

Hi it's very picturesque around Shrewsbury canal,green trees and fields were amazing,it's soothing and pleasent to see all around.i hope to see more

I feel like posting those poor buggers a brush cutter and a chain saw! Bow saws here in Australia would be laughed at, even in volunteer organisations. Good luck to all the volunteers, very rewarding and valuable work.

Just started following you recently. Now going back to see what I have been missing. Many thanks!

Absolutely brilliant, interesting, informative, And inspiring to see the work that is going on to restore the canals.

These films are absolutely brilliant, I can't believe I have only just found them. Fantastic production quality. Best wishes Jimmy the mower

Hello Mr Vobes. I really enjoyed this video. I'm from Indiana USA and we have a canal or two in Indiana. One of them goes through our capital city of Indianapolis. I don't know its history but the Indianapolis canal is beautiful and is a pleasant walking/biking path through downtown. Not much is made of our canal past. History of your British canals is very romantic, and the use of your canals is pretty inspiring, too. Thanks for your nice video.

I came across your documentaries by accident. I usually watch World vlogging travellers but with LOCKDOWN now, there's less around. I have to say your vlogs are amongst the best I've seen. Informative, Interesting and 1st.class presentation; great visuals on my large TV screen. I will he watching them all now. Thank you so much.....

Nice Work Richard Vobes! Truly enjoyed exploring with you. On the other side of the pond in New York State there are canals in various states of repair or abandonment. Your programme reminded me of exploring them with my kids when on holiday. Thanks for the memories. I'll have to put exploring your canals on my bucket list. That will be fun as I love this sort of thing. Well Done!

spent sooooo much time on the Newport canal 40 plus years ago as a kid, fishing and walking for miles during the summer holidays .....first time i've seen it in years, great work, very professional production ,thanks

Jesus for the first 5 mins I figured I was watching a pirated upload of some BBC documentary. You deserve way more then 3.6k subs and I'm sure you'll get there. One more sub here. Cheers mate.

Just came across this video and its almost broadcast quality; informative and fun too. Impressed.

I'm from Fort Worth, Texas. My family emigrated from near Maidstone, Kent County in 1870 and settled in Michigan. This was fascinating. Best to you. Eaglegards...

A truly fantastic film- brilliantly edited and presented like a true pro. Well done.

Fantastic! Professionally presented and very interesting. Please more of this :)

Loved this one. I have so enjoyed this production. I do spend time watching the "Cruising The Cut" as well. He is all about cruising the canals in a long boat. I wish I could spend some more time in England. Maybe I will be able to make another trip.

What a beautiful presentation this has been it was as good as a produced TV show.

I came to this from a Time Team episode, and frankly can't find much difference in production quality. Well done you. Cheers from America.

Very professional. I'm extremely impressed. I learned a lot as well. I'm always up for that. Thanks...from the USA!

Bloody hell what a fantastic documentary, and a very well deserved sub.

Fantastic video, I realised after watching twenty minuets in how engaging this video was, I was completely captivated, so professional.

i have been following you on facebook with the Bald Explorer ,many thanks to Steve Pilfold for sharing you and i must say what a decently professional docu/presentation this is .Thank you very much indeed Richard.

Superb. Interesting, informative and beautifully produced. Looking forward to visiting these places now and thankyou for a fabulous documentary.

Beautiful video. Love the music you use too, it is so evocative. Always a pleasure to watch. :-)

There can never be too much history. So well done Richard!

I got interested in these canals and narrowboats by David's channel, CruisingTheCut. You sir, I found because of your more recent video's about what concerns us as humans, ... people so to speak. Richard, you are a gem. I enjoyed this explorer video very much. I am not completely bold but getting close. Warm regards from the Netherlands 👍👏🇳🇱❤

Brilliant! Such a Professional, Very informative and amazing production. Im amazed you have so many videos and such few subscriber's. Thats the problem with utube, there are 100's of thousands of videos all waiting to be found. Ive now subscribed and definitely will tell my friends about this channel. Great stuff. :)

Superb video from the editing, graphics and audio. This documentary looks like it was made by discovery or the bbc. I am such a huge fan of restoring anything old. i am in America and I try visiting lots of old places escpecially upstate NY. We have some old canals as wel that I got to travel with my departed daughter. Lovely documentary!! This channel should have way more subscribers..you just earned one. thank you.

Stellar effort Richard!! Got here from "cruising the cut" and am thoroughly inspired..... bit of a pity really since im in New Zealand!

Another great informative vid! You know I love these teaching, historical ones (I guess documentary style)🤗👍👏 Could tell it was one of your older ones, but glad to see you finally got to ride (& at 1 point even drive) a narrow boat!

Just came across this video and thought by its excellent production as a BBC. I loved it and now watching more of your videos.thankyou

I carried out major repairs to the bridge at Woppenshall junction .We put a steel pins into each block that forms the arch ,then tied these off to girdle above the arch and then cast a concrete arch holding all the blocks in place across the bridge. This was done as the bridge had a large crack across it ,probably caused by the ground settling around the abutments once the water was cut off from beneath it .The works were done in the 1990 by Shropshire county council Highways Department .

Many thanks for making this video, top quality and very useful information. Really enjoyed watching this and as soon as covid restrictions allow I plan on exploring as much as I can. Many years I carried my kayak to a section of the canal not far from Haughmond and had a paddle around.

A very interesting and well made vlog with lots of historical information,absolutely fascinating ....thank you

Good stuff! Excellent and utterly professional content, delivery, and production. One small point of pronunciation. Worsley = Wurz-ley. I grew up there. Having subscribed, I look forward to seeing many more.

Hello Richard. I have only just found you. I have been researching the current situation, know what I mean, and seen some of your most recent videos. I like your common sense interpretations of the mess the world is in. This video is wonderful, I will be searching out some more of your adventuring videos. I am a keen walker and love the countryside. Thank you. ilona. Toodle pip.

Just got here, coming not sure where from. Absolutely AMAZING production, with top notch quality! Got subscribed right away!

Quality and presentation technique is just phenomenal. Congratulations on a new subscriber!

I am following a few "famous" canal boater vlogs... BUT this should be the Introduction video! Awesome video... awesome presentation!

Wow! Richard has reinvented himself.. this is fantastic! A new and improved uptempo intro, Richard even appears to have more energy and has gained a few lbs, has more spring in his step. I double checked the date to see if this was indeed the new RV.. 6 yrs ago? No way. 😥

For me as an American passerby: This is a truly interesting bit of living ones life in a different way! Thank you for this insight!

Absolutey superb video. Thank you Richard

Just subscribed. Lovely piece of film and narration, and a wealth of input from all involved.

Stumbled across this vlog and really found it interesting. Thank you.

Love the music with this. You sound so professional, really glad I found your channel. Subbed of course.xx

Fantastic filming and commentary Richard you have a new subscriber this was very interesting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the videos

Absolutely brilliant. We've lived close to the Hadley guillotine Locks for a few years now and knew that they had been part of the canal system towards GKN but had no clue that it was as vast of a network as we are learning now. Recently my husband and I decided to discuss potentially getting a Narrowboat in the future, but at the same time with his fascination of the Shire Horse and being used as work horses for the Canals, I've been investigating more about the history. Now that we reside closer to Trench Lock, we had no idea that on our doorstep was this amount of history having walked up the incline plane many times and never knowing that under our feet the entire time was once the canal. I can't thank you enough for making this documentary and now plan on photographing the hard to see parts that still hold water within GKN as I've been in the facility a number of times (allowed, of course) yet never knew it was there until watching this sparked my curiosity and explored more on Google Maps. Fascinating. Very well done on making this!

Wonderful! Well done, beautiful, informative, elegant. Thank you.

Excellent vlog Richard, brilliant content.Thanks.

We are LOVING your videos. Come September we will be home educating our daughter, shell be 11. She’s disabled and although she’s had a wonderful primary school, secondary will be much harder on her. So anyway, we have been watching your videos, looking for local places to visit that can also be educational. We’ve been to Grinshill and Morten Corbet Castle so far. Grace loves seeing places local to us in such informative, but friendly, easy to watch, videos. So thank you :)

Very good, and well presented, well done and Thank you Richard.

This is the first time I have seen this. This is one of my favourite pastime besides archaeology. And I used to watch Timothy West and prunella scales I wish they would bring back the episodes. It's so sad about prunella scales with her dementia bless her. Thank you more please. 🙏

Found this by chance,watched it all and found it very interesting! Big thumbs up !

Excellent video Richard. Really enjoyed that and spot on as I know that area well. The quality of the video and your narration is first class. My history teacher from school Me Neil Clarke did a video on the Ketley canals inclined plane,the first in Britain.

Fantastic quality in the presentation and production! I subbed straight away!

Classic Vobes, Wonderful film making. Cheers.

A real gem of a production. Very best of luck with the project which can only be helped by a documentary of this calibre.

Actually his videos are classics .... Very soothing and peaceful and therapeutic.

Great documentary, thank you so much!

Excellent Documentary, Thank you for making it and sharing it

The charm of old England is remarkable. Buildings made so sturdy it seems they could last forever.

Very good quality. Enjoyed your programme very much.

Love your vids and this one especially as I grew up in a village near Newport and used to walk along that canal into town.I have lived in your home town of Worthing for 30 yrs now and actually saw you filming in Beach house park this very morning !!

Brilliant thanks for the edumacation. Extremely enjoyable great narrative and visually pleasing.

Okay Richard, thanks. Great video and informative.

Love it - many thanks foe exposing a little more history that might inspire a few of us

This is tremendous, thanks for making it Cheers from Canada

Great documentary and great camera work, thanks from Sweden.