Do you trust me? Do you trust me?
And we're off. Woohoo!
'Imagine starting your life all over again...'
Where is Ben?
I'm needed? Ben, you're needed.
'..leaving behind everything you know...'
that's all I had.
'..for something completely different.'
Er, number nine, let me take this off.
Number nine. Number nine. Number nine.
'I'm Ben Fogle, and over the next few weeks,
'I'm going to live with the incredible people
'who have done just that...'
I'm a born fighter,
and that's what I do get a kick out of.
For a long time, I thought I was stupid.
And I'm a good salesperson,
on Earth...'
There is no restaurants, there is no bars,
there is no nothing.
You know, we didn't think that we were gonna come up here
and not see humans
'..and see what it takes to live a new life in the wild.'
Whoo!
That is a quick way to take down a tree.
'Today, my journey keeps me surprisingly close to home,
'as I head to Cheshire in the north-west of England.'
Nice big push.
Eighteen tonnes.
BEN STRAINS
'I'm staying with Dave, who, through personal tragedy...'
After waking up in the hospital, I knew my life had to change.
'..found himself with nowhere to go...'
or a house.
I wouldn't be able to afford the bills.
'..and how he found hope on England's canal network...'
BUGLE TRUMPETS
Oh. You've scratched my boat.
Sorry.
'..one of the last ways to live wild in the UK.'
Nature is my healer, and it saved my life, yeah.
I've driven 150 miles from my home in Oxfordshire
to Macclesfield in Cheshire.
Historically, this is a really industrial part of the country.
Silk and cotton were produced here in these big factories.
So you don't think of this as being a particularly wild part
of the United Kingdom.
But we're also just on the edge of the Peak District,
so wilderness is within reach.
As I leave town, the greener the scenery becomes,
and soon, I arrive at my destination.
Right. Off to find a canal boat.
My host Dave has told me
he's waiting somewhere along this stretch of canal.
But I haven't seen anyone at all.
I grew up near Little Venice in Central London
and always dreamed of calling a canal boat home.
Oh, look, there she is. Oh, she's beautiful.
You know, in a parallel life, I could have lived on one of these.
Morning! Hey!
You must be Dave. Hiya, Ben.
How are you? I'm good, thank you. How are you?
Sweeping off the autumn leaves? Yes.
Yes, this is the time of year for leaves. Hey.
It's nice to meet you. And you.
What a beautiful spot this is. It is grand, isn't it?
It's under these lovely oak trees.
I've been here a couple of weeks, though,
so I've gotta start moving soon.
You HAVE to move on? Yeah.
I'm a continuous cruiser, so, erm,
we have to move the boat every two weeks along the canal.
It's sort of, like, the rules, so, er...
Fancy going cruising?
64-year-old Dave grew up in Bridlington
on northern England's east coast.
He struggled at school, but the outdoors, nature
and creativity were his solace.
After marrying,
he spent the next three decades working a variety of jobs,
including being a house-husband, looking after his two children.
But in 2013, Dave's life threw him a tragic curveball.
Finding that he had to start all over again,
he took a gamble on an old narrow boat
that threw him a lifeline.
Tell me a bit about the boat. She's beautiful. What's her name?
This is Inspired By Nature.
Is that the name of it? Inspired By Nature?
That's the name of the boat. I like the green.
Yeah, it's lovely. Can I have a look inside?
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Come on.
Step onboard. Thank you.
Shoes on or off? Off, if you don't mind.
Yeah, of course. We can put the shoes down there.
Oh, look at this!
This is so cosy and homely.
It's also incredibly tidy.
Well, if you had been here a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't.
We had a bit of a drought,
and the water levels were really low,
and the boat was tilting.
Does that mean everything...?
Well, things were coming out the drawers.
Oh, really? Cos everything falls.
Yeah. Yeah. So it was a bit untidy then.
But, yeah, thanks. I do like to keep tidy anyway, you know.
The boat is just 17 metres long, but there's a lot squeezed in.
It has an open-plan kitchen-living room
with a woodburning stove.
A toilet with a bath and washing machine.
And a small bedroom that Dave is kindly lending to me.
He's on the couch.
All the electrics are run on solar.
Little fridge in the kitchen. Well, I have a fridge now.
Yeah.For the last seven years, I haven't had a fridge.
I just don't know how I managed, actually, but I... Yeah.
And lots of photography. Is this all of yours?It is.
Yeah. That's beautiful. I love the trees.
Oh, look at this.
What's this? That is a picture of my late wife.
Oh, I'm sorry. Late wife?
Oh, what's her name? Sue.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Sorry to have done that straightaway. Wow.
No, it's OK. It's fine. It's fine. Yeah. No. Erm...
CLEARS THROAT
Yeah.
Give me a hug. I can't... I can't... Oh.
I feel awful. I've made you cry already.
I've only just... I've only just come onboard.
It's OK. No. No.
It's when you get, you know, triggered by pictures
and somebody says something, it's just that.
But, you know, erm, I've come a long way,
and I've got a new life.
I live this alternative lifestyle on water.
And being out here in nature,
has given me that opportunity to reflect
and just to relax and find myself and a new way of life.
Nature's a great healer.
Nature is my healer, and it saved my life, yeah.
I'm immediately intrigued by Dave and his new way of life.
But before I can settle in, he's keen for us to get moving.
'there's a check list of things to be done,
So, if you just step down into the engine bay.
Be careful where you stand. OK.
I won't... I won't break any of your wires.
No. No. We're not going anywhere if you do that. No. No.
Just watch out for all that oil and grease.
Yeah. Thanks. Now you tell me. That's why you've sent me in here.
LAUGHS
OK.
If you pull that out...
Yes, we're OK. Is that good?Level's good.
So, do you do this every time before you set off?
It's... It's best to do it, yes.
How important is it that you are good at managing your own engine?
You have to because there's not
like, you know,
Yep. With a boat, it's different.
It could be days or even a week maybe
before somebody comes out to fix it for you.
I'm imagining when it comes to costs
and the most precious part of the boat,
it must be here, really?
To replace that engine would
Wow! Yeah.
Can I ask how much the whole boat cost you?
Wow.
I've always been told that it's very difficult,
if not impossible, to get a mortgage on a boat?
You can't. Yeah, you can't get a mortgage.
Can you get a loan? No.
It's very difficult to get a loan. Very difficult.
that has helped me out there.
And then do you have to pay to use the canal?
Is there sort of a fee that you have to pay?There is.
My licence is about £1,500 a year.
I mean, it sounds a lot of money, but it's cheap,
because the rest of my costs for my fuel, for moving the boat,
it is really, really low,
and the reason why I live on this narrow boat
is because of them costs.
It's a lot cheaper than living in a house or a flat.
In fact, I couldn't afford to live in a flat or a house.
I wouldn't be able to afford the bills.
And for me, this is, yeah,
financially, it's... it's a way for me to live on very little.
Dave's utility bills are less than £300 a year,
and that includes gas for cooking and fuel for the engine.
I can certainly see the appeal.
And for Dave, I get the impression
that this might have been his only option.
He's such a nice man.
I've got a really good vibe from him already.
Just getting the boat ready now.
He's obviously done this hundreds of times,
but it almost feels like the first.
He's making sure everything is done exactly correctly.
But obviously, also, someone who is quite vulnerable.
I spotted a photograph.
I didn't realise, erm, that that was his late wife,
and although he lost her more than a decade ago,
So I think there's probably quite a lot of hidden layers
that I'm going to unpeel as the week goes on.
But what a location.
EPIC MUSIC
Nice big push.
Eighteen tonnes.
Look at that!
Ready to cruise? Yeah.
'I'm on the Cheshire canals, about to set off with my host Dave
'on the narrow boat he calls home.
'Something I've always dreamed of.'
Do you want to have a little go? I'd love to.OK.
You're now the captain. I have the ship, sir.
'Although I've never driven a boat this long on a canal this narrow.'
You've still got plenty of room at this side.
Have I? OK.Come this way a bit towards me a bit more.
Keep it coming towards me a bit more. Yeah.
Come to me. Yeah.
No. No. Oh, to you.
To me. To me. Oh, you want it the other way.
BOTH CHUCKLE
Just... Come... Ooh.
Whoa.
Sorry.
We're safe now.
You did give me the hardest, skinniest little bit to start with.
'I wonder what would happen
'if we met another boat coming the other way?'
Right, we're about to go round the corner, at a blind bend,
so we don't know if there's any boats coming. OK.
So we need to give out some kind of warning.
So, I've got this for you.
Are you pulling my leg? No. No. No. Honestly.
BEN LAUGHS
All you gotta do is blow in there. Give two blasts.
DAVE LAUGHS
BUGLE TRUMPETS FEEBLY
Ben. Ben.
You go back to the steering.
BUGLE TRUMPETS
Tight channels, blind bends
and bridges that could knock you into the canal.
These waterways keep you on your toes...
..but it's a soothing journey as well.
The speed limit is just 4mph.
Literally a calm, steady walking pace.
I'll tell you what's amazing is the road right there.
Rush hour, people probably heading back to work,
from work, on the school run.
Yeah. This is a slightly different pace of life here.
Exactly. So you've got the fast world there. Yeah.
And then you've got the slow lane. We're in the slow lane.
As we watch the autumnal trees gently pass by,
I'm beginning to feel very lucky that, for this week at least,
I'm in that slow lane.
But that doesn't mean that the canals don't throw
the occasional obstacle in the way.
In our case, a swivel bridge.
It's an electric bridge. Just follow the instructions.
Read the instructions. It's all on there.
Are you...? Are you being serious? No. No.
You put the key in, make sure there's no traffic coming first.
That's the main thing. Cars come over this bridge as well?
Yeah. And I'm gonna open it? With this key?Yeah.
'The calm I was feeling moments ago has evaporated.'
"Insert key and turn clockwise."
That way.
Press and hold the "open" button
when there is no pedestrians or traffic.
This feels like a massive responsibility.
LAUGHING: "How did the car go into the canal, Ben?"
Well, I was trying to open the bridge for Dave.
Insert key.
OK. We've turned the key.
Are there any cars?
Any people?
OK, Dave's coming.
Open.
Oh, God, there's an alarm going. I hope that's a good thing.
Stop... Stop the car.
Stop the car.
The arms are going down.
OK. Phew. Panic over.
I've actually stopped a car.
OK. It's turning.
That's kind of cool, isn't it?
Beautifully done.
You've... You've done this gap a few times.Yeah.
You've literally got inches on either side.
'It's taken nearly ten minutes to navigate the bridge.
'I feel like Dave and I have enforced our slow world
'onto these poor motorists.'
Thanks for waiting.
Thank you.
Thanks for waiting. Thanks.
Ben! Are we going?
Thanks for wait... Oh, God.
How do you do that on your own?
With difficulty. Yeah.
And with a lot of frustrated car owners.
That's what I was...
I was speculating that everyone must hate you
cos I imagine you have to leave it for extra amount of time.
Yeah. It takes twice as long.
So having me onboard is actually quite useful.
Oh, it's brilliant.
You can come anytime you want and join me on the boat.
As a continuous cruiser, when Dave moves every two weeks,
he can pick any free spot along the towpath
to moor up for the night.
And he spies the perfect place.
There's a bit of a gap up here between the boats.
So you're gonna try and park...?
We're gonna pull in. In between?
Yeah, we're gonna park it between the boats.
Like the equivalent to parallel parking?Yeah.
You're just showing off your skills now.
No, no, no, no. What do you want me to do?
If you can grab the middle line...
I'll pull in, and you jump off and pull the boat in.
When do I jump?
Whenever you feel like it. OK.
Yeah, I don't... I don't really feel like a bath just yet.
I think we can almost do it now.
Whoa!
And just pull it from the middle? Yep. Pull us in. That's it.
It's a good workout, this.
You don't need to go to the gym tonight.
DAVE CHUCKLES
'This is so different to living in a regular house.
'It's a little more physical for a start,
'and every check and process needs to be done very carefully.'
This brass one here?That's it. You've got to turn that clockwise.
Till it gets really tight.
So it stops water coming in through the prop shaft.
Worst case scenario, if we didn't do this, what would happen?
It'd most probably fill up and damage the engine
and sink the boat. Wow.
'And for good reason.
'Dave's whole life is on this 17-metre metal boat.
'If it sinks, he would lose everything.'
I've walked up and down so many canals
in my life and admired their way of life,
but I had never really thought about the practicalities.
And for the first time, I'm seeing first-hand
just how many things you have to think about.
And you can never really put your feet up, I don't think.
To thank me for a safe mooring, Dave has prepared a special meal.
I noticed that. Unexpected.
I was thinking it might be more of a sort of pasty or a pie.
Yeah. And there's a reason.
Did you? How long did you live in Tenerife for?
Only a few years.
My daughter and son had, erm...
had decided to send us aboard on our 25th anniversary.
And just to go back a little bit, so this is your son and daughter
with your late wife, Sue?
Sue. Yeah.Yeah.
And when we got out there,
we climbed up Mount Teide, the volcano.
When we got to the top, we just looked at each other
and said, "It would be great to live here, wouldn't it?"
So, we got back on the plane,
we were planning on how we were gonna go over
to Tenerife and live there.
And I think it was within six months,
we ended up living in Tenerife.
And what did you do there? I became a singer.
A singer? A singer. Pier.
You keep surprising me.
Entertaining the audience outside, you know, that were dining.
And Sue was a... She was a great chef.
So she got work straightaway.
And of course, I was working...
We were both working evenings,
so it left us all day to just live on the island
and enjoy the swimming, you know, all that you do on an island.
Everything was going fine until about 11 months in
when Sue become...
Eleven months in, Sue became very ill.
And died of cancer within a month.
She'd gone just like that.
Just like that. Gone.
I just... My world had dropped apart.
Just dropped apart. I didn't know what I was gonna do.
I managed to stay for another year and, erm...
And I had to come back to England.
I come back with just a bicycle, suitcase, no money.
And that was it. That's all I had.
And I came back, and I ended up couch surfing,
staying in people's houses, in a room.
Yeah, I mean, it was just like everything had disappeared.
And then one morning, I woke up in hospital.
I'd attempted to take my own life.
Oh, I'm so sorry, Dave.
But things turn around.
After waking up in the hospital, I knew my life had to change.
I don't normally ask for help,
but I went to my brother and said,
"Look, I want to really start my life, kick-start it again,
"but I need somewhere to live, somewhere I can call home."
And he's says, "Right, we'll buy you a flat or a house."
the bills anyway.
"I wouldn't be able to.
"But the cheapest way is on a narrow boat, you know."
So he give me the money.
I went out looking for a boat,
and this is where I ended up on this boat.
You never get over grief like that.
It almost becomes a constant companion,
and some people are good at masking it.
And Dave is and isn't.
Cos I've seen him reduced to tears quite a few times already.
Er, the first time within about two minutes of meeting him.
So it's still really, really raw, and I think he really misses her,
and I kind of really want to ask more about her,
but I don't want to kind of keep reminding him
of that deep pain within.
Cos I think this lifestyle has been embraced
to try and shield him a little bit from that.
And I think he's in a very good place now,
but I think it's still a work in progress.
And he's mentioned many times that this, the wilderness,
the canals, the boats, the lifestyle,
is his sort of therapy and his therapist.
EPIC MUSIC TRAIN HORN
I'm on a narrow boat in Cheshire.
Oh.
Good morning.
Oh. I slept very well.
So quiet.
Literally no sounds.
'I'm staying with Dave, who, after losing his wife,
'found refuge on Northern England's network of canals.'
Ah, good morning. Morning.
Do you enjoy the peace?
Yeah. Just tuning into nature. Observing.
Listening to the birds.
But I can't do it all the time. There are jobs to be done.
And today, we've gotta go up to the services.
I need the toilet emptying, the tank filling with water.
We need to get rid of the rubbish,
and there is one more job I've got for you.
'The engine was sounding a little rough yesterday,
'so Dave thinks that there might be weeds clogging up the propeller.'
I know it's dirty water, but what I've got here is...
I suggest maybe put them on. You're treating me. Thank you.
OK. Like this? Yeah.
Just watch out for the pike. Watch out for the pike.
Are there pike in here? There is some big pike in here.
They could take your finger off. They... They would. Yeah.
But you've got gloves on, so you're all right.
OK, I think that is looking quite clear.
Do you find other stuff in here?
I find all sorts wrapped around there.
Jackets. Socks.
A lady's bra. What?
You found a lady's bra in your...? Yeah. Double D. Double D.
DAVE CHUCKLES
'To manage a successful life on the water,
'there's a lot to learn.
'I know Dave had an assortment of jobs in his old life,
'and I wonder whether that variety
'has made him adept to picking up new skills.'
What other things have you done? Oh, lots of jobs.
Silver service waiter when I was younger,
and working in a jewellers.
Security guard. Wow.
Any kind of favourite thing that you did over those years?
Yeah. One of my favourites was being a Butlin's Redcoat.
You were a Butlin's Redcoat? Yeah.
I used to be the youngest... youngest Redcoat at the age of 17.
Entertaining up to 10,000 people in a holiday camp.
It was amazing.
Presumably, you have to be on the whole time?
Yeah. Yeah.
Have you ever tried smiling for 24 hours, you know?
You had to be because you couldn't have the holiday-makers actually,
you know, looking and seeing you gloomy and sad.
You had to be, you know...
..full of that, you know.
All clear at the front. OK. Give us a push off.
As we set off on today's errands,
I get a glimpse of Dave's past life as an artist and entertainer.
# All the nice girls love a sailor
# All the nice girls love a tar
# Well, there's something About a sailor
As well as being a Redcoat, Dave was a painter and musician.
for comedian Les Dawson.
So showbiz is clearly in his blood.
I think I can relate to that.
Look, this boat's called Alfie.
That's the very first film
my mother ever did, who's an actress.
Yeah. There's some nice paintwork on that, isn't there? Yeah.
Gosh, so there's quite a community of people along here.
Most of them waiting for the locks to open
so they can go onto the other canals.
The UK was the first country to develop
a nationwide canal network,
playing a vital role in the Industrial Revolution.
At their peak, the waterways expanded to almost 4,000 miles.
I'm imagining canals today are a very different proposition
to what they would have been 200 years ago
when they were very much built for industry.
It was a very dusty, dirty place to be,
and the horses would be going up and down,
pulling the barges along.
It wasn't a place to really be.
But now all these years later,
here we are, cruising along in tranquillity.
People running, cycling,
using it for leisure facilities and health, mental health.
Is there a vulnerability to the canal system, though, today?
There is. Lack of funding, really.
It is... It is a very expensive infrastructure to look after.
for another 200 years.
It is such a beautiful place.
It's like having a corridor,
a national sort of park right through Britain.
'There are still over 2,000 miles of navigable canals...
'..so services are essential for boat users.
'They provide water...
'..rubbish bins...
Ben. Hurry up.
Bit quicker.
There we go.It's a bit heavy. There's a lot in there.
Yeah. How many poos and wees are in there, Dave?
Nice (!)
It's a bit runny.
How are you doing, Ben? It's a bit runny.
LAUGHS
It's taken half a day to do the things that I can do at home
with a click of a button or a turn of a tap.
And every season brings bigger challenges
when you live on a boat...
CRASHES OF THUNDER
..something Dave has been documenting
over the last seven years.
with ice so thick the boat is unable to move.
And snow makes trips for supplies extremely hard.
In summer, temperatures can soar in the steel boat.
Last year, when it hit 36 degrees,
Dave had no choice but to sleep in a tent on top.
And then there's the occasional boat user
who doesn't follow the rules.
One day, I was inside, and I could hear a boat coming.
I could hear its engine going really fast.
And I went towards the hatch to look out,
to ask them to slow down and my boat literally tilted over,
and all my drawers started coming out
and everything flying all over the place.
And I actually cut open my leg.
But can you imagine if that was on an evening
and you've got candles onboard... Mm.
..you know, it's a very dangerous situation.
When you're new to canal life, who kind of teaches you the ropes?
You pick it up from other boaters and being told off as well.
CHUCKLES
So you have to learn the hard way? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm intrigued to find out what else Dave has filmed
and photographed during his time on the canals.
That's beaut... Is that a kingfisher?It is.
And I filmed that right opposite the boat.
sharing wonderful experiences like this,
seeing all the wonderful nature.
I'm here all the time
And have you got many subscribers?
That's a huge number of people. Yeah. Yeah.
Are you able to monetise it?
It is monetised, and it does make me some money.
Not a huge amount, but it just keeps me afloat.
Do you want to see something really, really strange?
Mm-hm.Very rare that we see along the canal towpath.
Mm-hm.
I don't know what... what... Is he naked? Wow.
A very rare type of Homo sapien.
Just hiking naked except for boots, socks and a rucksack.
And a hat. That's it.
Wow. I've heard about naked ramblers.
I think that's the first I've ever seen.
Dave had a job with the Canal & River Trust
when he first moved onto his boat,
which allowed him to pay off his brother's loan.
Now he gets by with just his vlogging.
Of all the jobs he's had, I sense that this is his favourite.
And today, Dave wants to take me a little closer
to the wilderness surrounding the canal,
the only way possible.
His inflatable kayak is one of the few things he's bought
from his old life.
Lovely bridges. They're so beautiful, aren't they?
They're all numbered, I noticed. So you can't really get lost.
'I wonder if he's always been this close to nature.'
I think it started in childhood, really.
When I was a very young child, just started school,
my parents didn't realise, but I was actually deaf.
Wow.
I was in school, being put to the back of the class
because David wasn't listening, he was misbehaving.
And they had me tested, and I was deaf.
I had a couple of operations, got my hearing back,
but I missed out on about quite a few years
of schooling, really,
and I was always behind with my education.
and then I used to run away.
But I always used to run away into nature.
And I used to go off and climb trees,
and it was like the start
of a healing process
So I've always had the connection with nature.
There's almost a pre-period when you hadn't been diagnosed as deaf,
before the operations.
Did your childhood change dramatically after that?
People used to call me stupid.
I used to hear that name all the time - stupid.
Still impacts you?
I thought I was stupid.
I thought I was.
For a... For a long time, I thought I was stupid.
And... that I was a problem, you know.
But...
living like this,
I realise I'm not stupid.
But, yeah, it still impacts you, you know.
When you've been through some traumatic experiences in the past.
and I was only in my 20s when my father died.
And I used to...
..have to drive my father...
and forwards for cancer treatment.
And then of course, I lost Sue.
And Sue was only 50 when she died.
The trauma of what you went through with your father,
and then your late wife, do you think it's almost left you
with a little bit of post-traumatic stress disorder?
I think so. I think so. Yeah.
But nature, coming out here, you know, it helps.
In what way, though?
It connects me more to my heart. I'm having fun.
I'm having... starting to having a lot more fun now.
There's been a period since Sue passed away
where I haven't...
I've lost that fun.
But now I'm starting to come out the shell again. Yeah.
That child within me,
that playful child is starting to come back.
And, er...
And I put it down to being out in nature.
And Sue...
..she... she wanted to be on a narrow boat.
Nature is clearly helping Dave
deal with the trauma that lies just beneath the surface.
this particular life.
I think he's trying to live the dream,
not just for himself but for Sue as well.
EPIC MUSIC
I'm nearing the end of my stay with Dave on the Cheshire canals.
'We've travelled to a busier stretch of water...'
I'll take this to the refuse.
'..and I'm beginning to see that living a nomadic life
'doesn't always mean a solitary one.'
Oh. Here you are, Ben. Oh, amazing. Thank you so much.
It's a pleasure. Enjoy. Thank you.
'And this morning, we have a visitor,
'who's moored nearby.'
Yeah, no. Oh, hello.
Oh, it's Jaz. Hello. Hey.
Hi. Where have you come from, Jaz?
Er, just down here.
Down that way.
Come in. Thank you.
So, how long have you guys known each other?
Ooh, it must be about ten years or so, isn't it? It is.
We made the first connection.
How did that first connection happen?
Presumably through canal boats? Online, wasn't it?
Oh, really? Social media.
Yeah, we didn't have boats then.
Oh, you didn't? No.
Oh, wow. So you've both since found the canal?Yeah.
If Jaz wasn't around actually, if I hadn't met Jaz,
made that connection with her,
I wouldn't be here where I am right now on this narrow boat.
I needed a job. I had come out of hospital. Yeah.
I wasn't in a good way,
and Jaz spotted something in the newspaper
with the Canal River Trust.
It just felt like the most natural environment to suit Dave. Yeah.
You must be quite grateful that she kind of joined you up.
Jaz has been a guardian angel.
You know, she's come to sort of, like, yeah,
save me in a way, I suppose.
Sorry. There's the tears again.
Did you realise how fragile he was? Yeah. Yeah.
No, he would, erm, very easily
Yeah, I just looked after him, basically.
I think we've looked after each other over the years.
We have. That's beautiful.
And you're obviously part of the wider community,
which seems to be quite tight?
Yeah. Oh, very. Yeah.
Everybody was quite friendly, you know.
You knew your neighbours and everybody would talk,
come out in their garden.
But things have changed, you know.
I don't think there is that sort of community any more
where people talk and, you know,
people don't know everybody on the street.
they just knew everybody.
It was a great community.
And it sounds like everyone really does help one another out.
Oh, totally. Yeah.
They're probably people that I wouldn't be friends with
if I met them in normal life,
but somehow there's, like, a family feel.
And, like, the same with Dave.
I've had the same experience if you're on a housing estate.
You don't necessarily ever speak to any of your neighbours,
and yet everyone helps everyone out down here.
'Tonight, Jaz has invited us up to her boat
'for a small gathering of friends.'
# Sometimes
# I find myself
# In strange places... #
'Unlike Dave, she has a permanent mooring
'and even has a little jetty.'
# Mmm-hmm, hm-hm. #
'I'm intrigued to find out how the other boaters find life
'on the canal.'
I'm wondering where are you based, Andy?
I'm at... It's Lyme View Marina. Right. And that's that way?
That's that way. Adlington. How far?
be about an eight-hour cruise.
In a car, about half-an-hour drive away from here.
And what size boat have you got? It's a 50-foot boat.
I feel like I've got the lingo right now - I'm asking the size.
So you're a bit short. You're quite long.
I'm a bit shorter, yeah. You're a little bit shorter.
You're even shorter. Dee, what have you got?35-foot.
You're teeny. Yeah.
Teeny-weeny. A baby.
And where are you?
Same marina, actually. Oh, you're down there.
Yeah. Yeah. Do you know this part?
I do. I had a mooring here for two years. Yeah.
I left at the end of Feb
cos I was having major surgery in March.
Mm-hm.
And I had the full intention of coming back,
but I'm not really well enough
to cope with being out in the sticks as much,
so I'm gonna stay at the marina.
How important is that wider community for you, Dee?
Erm, community is everything.
When I bought the boat, I hadn't got a clue about boats.
And all the right people came in at the right time.
It was almost magical.
Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you all.
Aw. Honestly.
And what about you, Andy? How long have you been on a canal boat?
I've been on about 25, 26 years.
Wow. So you're the... You're the grandaddy here.
I'm the old man of the canal.
So, I'm wondering as the grandaddy, apologies for saying this,
but the grandaddy of canal boating,
here in this little party, what's your advice to Dave?
What kind of advice have you given to Dave?
He'll have a problem that I've never encountered.
So I'll learn off him, and he'll learn off me.
And that's how you, up and down the network,
you spread that knowledge.
That's exactly how it works.
And, Dave, you obviously like living in the now.Yes.
Any sort of forward planning? Any ambitions?
I can see my...
I'd like to go on a bit of an adventure maybe.
Do a bit more exploring and, yeah,
see what there is out there on the network.
My week with Dave has come to an end.
# Flowing streams Sunset beams and dreams
# I'm bathing In the Garden of Eden. #
I've learnt that this canal has given him everything.
Work, meaning, purpose, therapy, and even a community.
But it's the nomadic way of life that seems to give him
the momentum to live life to its fullest.
If I found myself in the same situation as Dave,
maybe I'd do the same.
It's quite rare that I meet people
who have started a new life in the wild but a nomadic one.
But the fact that he is moving around
on this extraordinary ancient canal system is quite beautiful,
because for Dave,
Coping and grieving and understanding himself.
He's mentioned a few times that he's sort of found his heart here.
And I think there's something really beautiful about the fact
that you can still find this hidden part of life here in the UK.
And maybe if you're walking along a canal path,
you might see the wood smoke rising from their boats,
but have you ever stopped to think about who it is that's in there?
Why they're there? What life is like for them?
And I certainly have and that is why I've really enjoyed this week.
I started this journey by saying, in a parallel life,
I could have been living this,
and I end this journey even more convinced
that I could easily have fallen into this lifestyle myself.
Another... Another throw of the dice.
Dave?
Ah. Ben.
Time to leave. Oh, no. Oh.
Well, I'll be going anyway today.
You're moving on? I'm cruising up the coast, yeah.
find a new mooring.
Any idea where?
No idea. I'll just cruise, and wherever I moor up, I moor up.
That's it. Great.
Listen, take care of yourself. Yeah. Thank you.
And I will miss you.
Maybe our paths will cross again.
I'm sure. Yeah. OK.
Thanks, Ben. Take care.
All right. You take care, too.
Safe journey. Yes. And you.
Bye. Look after yourself.
Bye, Dave. Bye.
Next time, I’m on the island of
different’wild sanctuary.
different wild sanctuary.
The way we dress is from the bin, the way we eat is from the bin... different wild sanctuary.
The way we dress is from the bin, the way we eat is from the bin...
Everything we do is to try and save money.
We are the human who courageous, we clean around...
Where a young couples dream has evolved in to a haven
for more than just animals.
human, and its beautiful.
Second life for animals and human, and its beautiful.