Andy Blundell Restoration & Antiques

Andy Blundell Restoration & Antiques BAFRA accredited furniture restorer and interiors conservator based in Cumbria. No job is too big or too small.

Along with my small team of highly trained and passionate antiques and interiors restorers, I carry out a variety of restoration work across the north of England and Scotland.

I have bumped into a couple of people and it may be time for an update...... I am officially back at work in the worksho...
10/06/2026

I have bumped into a couple of people and it may be time for an update...... I am officially back at work in the workshop taking on work while at the same time still moving the Black Knight.
Due to the Ribble link being nearly fully booked for this year, I luckily, in the first week in May, got one of the last 5 passages left this year.
The journey out of Manchester city centre to Burscough was beautiful, Orrell, Leigh, before and after Wigan...... actually one of the most beautiful moorings I've been on was in Wigan...... l know the words beautiful and Wigan seem to be a contradiction, but I'd could quite happily just move between Leigh and Rufford all year long.
I moored Blackie at Burscough as its a safe place and handy for the railway station so Dude and I could get back to the workshop for last week.
Today I had to move Blackie, due to the CRT 14 day mooring rule and cruised up the Rufford branch to Rufford, ..... it was stunning.
I will say the Rufford branch of the Leeds Liverpool canal is the best kept stretch I have been on. The water is clean and clear, the locks are well kept, if not new, the banks are solid, and the wild life and fauna and flora are wonderful...... I enjoyed following a Kingfisher up the locks and the looking at the variety of flowers.
I did six locks and three swing bridges today, the last bridge being one of those that is on the p**s, where you moor on the cut then open it on the opposite side from your boat......Dude looked way more confused than myself.
Now at Rufford, moving up to Tarleton on Friday for the Ribble Crossing on Sunday..... Blackie goes in to tidal and salt water..... sorry for the photo dump, things to note, Signets by a lock and I enjoyed seeing all the stone mason marks on the lock walls at Burscough.....if you don't recognise the dog, it's Dude, he's just had the first clip out in over four months.......I'll keep you posted on the Ribble Link, fingers crossed we get across first attempt and don't end up in Preston dock for the night.

Tonights view from the duck hatch...... prime real estate Manchester.......I did fancy getting a couple of more locks do...
19/05/2026

Tonights view from the duck hatch...... prime real estate Manchester.......I did fancy getting a couple of more locks done today but the heavens opened after doing 9 problematic locks and Dude was p**sed off with doing locks.......so now moored next to the massive Coop Live building and on the otherside of the the canal the Etihad Stadium....... looking forward to breakie in the Coop Canalside cafe........ also, the Coop lights are changing my solar panels at night and total cloud cover😄😄😄😄

Still like my business post, I need the algorithms......thingie
18/05/2026

Still like my business post, I need the algorithms......thingie

Today was cool, I went from green natural beauty to industrialisation, and tonight the Black Knight.....Blackie, is moor...
18/05/2026

Today was cool, I went from green natural beauty to industrialisation, and tonight the Black Knight.....Blackie, is moored insight of the urban core of Manchester. I'll have my barge pole ready if any incomers fancy a jousting match with a Knight.

It has been a hard day doing the Marple flight, I expect it to be shut by the end of the month due to the evil water com...
17/05/2026

It has been a hard day doing the Marple flight, I expect it to be shut by the end of the month due to the evil water companies who like to empty sewage in to our rivers and lakes, and also then stop water entering the canals from the reservoirs which they were made to provide water for the canals and mills.
13 locks assisted by Dude, I love the history and architecture, check out Dude walking down a tunnel made for horses to pass through and then the natural habitat the canals provide.........onwards tomorrow to central Manchester.

So we are nearing a big city and the bang bang pop pops of fireworks can be heard and this fluffy bu**er is freaked out.
16/05/2026

So we are nearing a big city and the bang bang pop pops of fireworks can be heard and this fluffy bu**er is freaked out.

08/05/2026

I've done a couple of tunnels which I would personally classify as only wide bridges with a low air height, but I have never done a proper tunnel.......so why not start with one of the UKs longest and lowest ones. Harecastle tunnel was a real worry for me, especially when only a hour earlier some bloke showed me the serious damage to his boats roof from Harecastle.
To be honest on entering the tunnel at first I did think this is huge, why did I reduce the height of my roof boxes, what was I worried about ect ect.....at the end of this video it goes black and thats because I had to put the phone down to concentrate on not hitting the tunnel roof at the section the CRT call, 'the settled part' or what others call 'collapsed' as it did get a bit close.......I reckon I could of got away without reducing the roofboxs, I may have been blessed with low water levels, but a lesson was learnt and my advice to others is turn up and if the CRT says there is to much crap on your roof then strip your roof or turn back.....it was cool though going through the tunnel..... it was fun and it seriously got the adrenalin running. #

Considering I will be starting work again soon, I should start showing what I actually do and some of the projects I wor...
04/05/2026

Considering I will be starting work again soon, I should start showing what I actually do and some of the projects I worked on last year to get some work in😃.
Here are some before and after shots of a late 17th century oak staircase that I think the builder wanted to take out, fortunately the owners decided to let me refurbish it.
It did take a bit of time stripping the hundreds of layers of paint off, but well worth it in the end as it's one of those things that shows the age, history and character of the house.
A couple of interesting things to take note of are the original grill window for the area under the staircase as it was possibly used as a pantry and also the bottom step which is a single massive piece of oak which is twice the size of an average house roof beam.

P.s. thanks for all the well wishes, I am a lot lot better now thanks, I really wasn't well during January, February and March, possibly 37 years of working in restoration workshops has caught up with me, I did laugh when the Dr at the hospital asked if I'd worn a mask.

Yes, I lived on the edge of the Lake district, which I rarely visited due to tourists and traffic jam's......this is a v...
03/05/2026

Yes, I lived on the edge of the Lake district, which I rarely visited due to tourists and traffic jam's......this is a view from my boat and a view from my last house...... Which one do you prefer?

I am getting a few messages from people asking, how is Dude?....... the fact I have been really sick means nothing, but ...
30/04/2026

I am getting a few messages from people asking, how is Dude?....... the fact I have been really sick means nothing, but I feel these photos explain how he is doing....... he hates cruising, the vibration, movement and noise, like many dogs makes him anxious, but he is getting use to it, we have a system in place when doing locks which is he's not on the boat when doing them...... he owns the cut as when moored he sits on it waiting to harrass passers-by for strokes and attention.

Address

The Workshop
Penrith
CA119AF

Telephone

+447730520264

Website

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