Fibre & Tan

Fibre & Tan We’re Lee and Gwen, with Harvey the dog and we are narrowboat continuous cruisers. We would love to share our adventure with you !

We retired in 2025 and are now exploring our way slowly around the UK canal network on Narrowboat Spooky.

Genius. Pure Genius 😁We are still on holiday and currently in Spain. As many of you know while we are away Narrowboat Sp...
24/09/2026

Genius. Pure Genius 😁

We are still on holiday and currently in Spain.

As many of you know while we are away Narrowboat Spooky is being worked on at Kings Bromley Wharf Narrowboats Ltd

Although we were trying to keep this secret Fiona & Jim a Narrowboat adventure traveled by and have discovered our cunning plan.

We are having an upgrade. To avoid getting stranded behind damaged locks, or lengths of the canal with low water we now have wheels fitted along with an integral canal bed boat jack.

Up out of the canal, drive around obstacle then back into the other side. Simple🤷‍♀️

No more getting stuck for Narrowboat Spooky!

19/09/2026

Not sure we can get Narrowboat Spooky over the channel to Málaga so we may need to upgrade the boat....boat shopping in Málaga on honeymoon

Introducing the new Mr & Mrs....😍
16/09/2026

Introducing the new Mr & Mrs....😍

15/09/2026

A short video of our friends on "The Stoker" doing a 3 point turn at Great Haywood in the rain.

A beautifully kept and well looked after boat with a great sounding engine

13/09/2026

"Fantasy Boat Shopping
Wait for the name on boat #2 - It’s the “###x ######xx”! 😳🤣"

We came to Gibraltar with zero millions and 100% confidence to find our new luxury vessel 🤣

Naturally, we picked out a multi-million dollar masterpiece right away. Then we realized Boat Two was a bit more our speed... until we spotted the true candidate that actually matches our bank balance.

Hey, if it floats, it counts, right?

12/09/2026

Flying Narrowboat

Narrowboat Spooky is now out of the water and waiting for the work to be done on her....

Kings Bromley Wharf Narrowboats Ltd kindly sent us this video when they lifted it out.

Looking forward to seeing it finished but in the meantime time we are off to Gibraltar to get married 😍

11/09/2026

The Tunnel Without a Roof: Engineering, Subsidence, and Survival 🛶✨

The Armitage Tunnel was surveyed and built by pioneering canal engineer James Brindley, in 1770.

It is considered the UK's first navigable canal tunnel designed with an integrated internal towpath. Unlike older tunnels where boatmen had to "leg" vessels through while horses walked overland, Armitage allowed continuous, horse-drawn haulage directly through the dark.

It was originally a 120-metre brick-lined barrel tunnel, but the structure was eventually damaged by deep coal mining across the Staffordshire coalfields. Severe ground movement and subsidence gradually threatened to crush the historic brickwork.

Fearing a catastrophic collapse that would sever a vital arterial waterway, engineers undertook a dramatic salvage operation in 1971 and removed the tunnel's roof.

Today, the cutting retains a tunnel-like atmosphere—particularly at its western portal, where the modern A513 Rugeley Road bridge (Bridge 61A) spans high above the water. Travelling under the road you can hear - and feel - the rumbling of the traffic above . Quite atmospheric !

10/09/2026

A boaters late night obstacle course: Amphibian Edition 🐸🔦

We’re really noticing now that the evenings are growing noticeably longer and darker each day as the autumn equinox approaches. 🍂

Recently we took Harvey for his usual last towpath walk and, as there wasn't much moonlight, it was pitch black. That was when we realized we were facing a full-on obstacle course 🤣 (maybe because of the wetland area next to the canal 🤷‍♀️).

There were slugs as long as small snakes gliding across the gravel (I thought slugs weren't supposed to like gravel?!), a rout of snails (yes, that’s the actual, lesser-known official term 😳), and lots of toads and frogs crawling and hopping around!

Not wishing to step on anything 🤢, we tiptoed all over the path using our torches. Quite frankly, I was relieved I’d borrowed a pair of Lee's shoes just in case I failed to dodge something 😳. Relieved to report that there were no casualties!

One frog was an interesting yellow color, and one toad was particularly stubborn, resisting our gentle efforts to nudge him off the path—even with evening bikes speeding by! Toads definitely have attitude 🤣

Andy Warhol once said: "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."
Well, frogs and toads get to have 15 seconds each! 😁

Can you tell a toad and a frog apart when you spot one? If not watch the reel 🤣- the toads first …🐸🤔

07/09/2026

"Looking after your bottom"

Time for one last push to get the boat over to Kings Bromley Wharf Narrowboats Ltd to get it's bottom blacked.

This is usually done every 2-3 years and involves the boat coming out of the water to be painted with bitumen.

Narrowboat Spooky will be being treated to various other bits whilst there including having it's stern gland repacked (🙀) and rudder bearings fixed.

She will be like a new boat when we get her back instead of shaking it's rudder whilst cruising down the canal....

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