Friday 24 June 2016

It started off nice and sunny but we soon had the promised showers – and they were just that, as fast as we got our waterproofs on it was time to take them off again!  We had 13 locks, three lift bridges and 12 miles to do today to get off the Llangollen.  We chugged for 7 hours and decided to stop just past the entrance to the Middlewich Branch. 

We did the Middlewich Branch before we went onto the Llangollen because I thought we wouldn’t have the opportunity to do it again but having now done the research we will be coming back down and making our way across to the Trent and Mersey to get up to Liverpool.  I had thought that we may do the Manchester Ship Canal to get to Liverpool but, as there are so many requirements/restrictions including needing an annual Certificate of Seaworthiness, sharing the waterway with hazardous, petro-chemical traffic and there are charges for using the locks and payments to be made to the Port and local council totalling over £200 and our insurers would probably require us to take a pilot which would be another £200, I think we will give it a miss!

The first thing that struck us about being back on the Shropshire Union Canal was how much wider it is than the Llangollen.  There are also many more canal side properties giving us something to have a nose at!

Making our way back through Povey's Lock.

Negotiating the low bridges and blind bends.

Most boats have bicycles and wood on the roof - this boat has.......cuddly toys.

Waiting for the water tank to fill at the top of the flight leading down to the end of the Llangollen.

In the top lock.

Taking in the views.

In the bottom lock.

And off to Chester we go!

Leaving the Llangollen.

Swans - just realised that we didn't see any at all on the Llangollen.

Past the Middlewich Branch - I wonder how long it will be before we are going back along there! 

Thursday 23 June 2016

Hot sunny day and we spent most of it in Whitchurch.  We walked the mile into town and then realised that I had left my purse behind and Steve had left his wallet so we walked the mile back to the boat and another mile back into town! 

As it was such a nice evening we decided to chug for a couple of hours.  We left Whitchurch at 5pm and made our way back down the staircase locks at Grindley Brook which got six locks out of the way and we had the canal to ourselves – we didn’t meet a single boat going in either direction.  We stopped at just gone 7pm in a nice quiet spot, not another boat in sight!  With just the creek of the mooring pins, the sheep in the field next to us and the birds in the trees to break the silence - until Steve put the telly on!   

We are ready to get off the Llangollen now, I’m sure the fact that it is in the middle of very remote and beautiful countryside is what makes it so popular.  It will be interesting to see if it is as busy once we get back on the Shropshire Union Canal and make our way up to Chester.

Making our way into Whitchurch the long way round via the nature reserve (we didn't come back this way either time, or the second time going in!)

We ventured out the other side of the main town this time and discovered some more interesting buildings - here are the old Public Baths. 

And the old Fire Station that is now a dental practice!

Untying ready to leave the Whitchurch Arm.

Opening the lift bridge (good for the bingo wings!)

Under the low bridge half way down the Grindley Brook Locks

Peaceful locks - a good time to travel!

There is a little shop in the brown building selling greeting cards and home made jam etc - nobody serving just an honesty box to leave your money in - I wonder how long that would stay in business in Barnet!

A nice quiet spot.

Reflections...

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Played around with the new laptop this morning and managed to download my photos but couldn’t find them – hence the delay in getting the blog up to date!

There were a few more boats entering and leaving the Montgomery today – we were one of four waiting to go up the flight and there were at least eight entering – looks like we picked the right couple of days to do it.

A little overcast today but still warm.  We did catch the odd shower too but the sun came out in the afternoon.  

Back out onto the Llangollen – and back into hire boat city – they do provide the entertainment though.  One old chap refused our offer of help to pull him off where he had gone aground – he just whacked the throttle on full blast and said I will be off here in a minute – not a care for the boat or the bank of the canal…  he was still there when we went out of view!  We also went under a lift bridge that the wife of a couple had opened and she really wasn’t happy that a couple of boats went in either direction whilst she had opened it.  The problem is that you can only get to the side of the bridge where you have to wind it up when it is closed so once you have opened nobody else can offer to close it for you as they can’t get over the canal!

We decided to head on for Whitchurch as we liked it when we stopped on the way to Llangollen.  We arrived here at about 6.30pm.  We will walk into town tomorrow morning.

Thanks Mary for clarifying the longest day - all the leap years I've lived through and have never noticed that before!

Leaving the mooring to get in line for the Frankton Flight.

Photos from a different view today - Steve decided that I should have a go at taking the helm going up a flight - thanks Steve in front of all these people!  I'm pleased to report that I managed to enter each of the four locks without hitting the sides! 

Waiting to leave the first lock - not sure why but the lock keeper decided that he wanted two boats to go down then two boats to go up rather than one up and one down.

The boat in front has grounded out in the pound so has to wait for the boat coming down to empty the lock so he can get moving again.

In the third lock which is a staircase lock - the one above is immediately behind the lock gates - looks like there is a bit of a leak going on!

Entering Ellesmere Tunnel.

Back past the lake at Blake Mere - we would have stopped here but there were lots of other boats and we want to get to Whitchurch.

Nice shed!

Sharing the water with our furry friends!

There's Willow - nice to see she has her name sign written this year.  No sign of Tim and Annie though.

In the Whitchurch Arm - hard to believe this photo was taken at 10pm, it's still so light. 

Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 June 2016

Nice to be back on board.  Steve has had five days in Scotland playing golf and I have caught up with family and friends.  We came back to a note from Tim and Annie from Willow, a couple we met in several different places at the start of our journey last year, who had gone past where we were moored.  I expect we will bump into them again sometime!

We booked our passage through the Frankton Locks at the beginning of the Montgomery Canal – you can only enter or exit the Montgomery between 12noon and 2pm each day.  We left the boatyard at 11.45am and no sooner had we set sail than it began to rain but very quickly stopped again.

We met the lock keeper who told us that we were one of only two boats entering the Montgomery today.  You have to book by 10am on the day of passage otherwise you have to wait until the next day.  They do not let anyone in unless you have booked.  The reason the lock keeper needs to be there is because the Frankton Lock flight can easily flood if the gates or paddles are left open flooding the gardens and houses of the few properties that are there.

We had a nice easy chug enjoying this very beautiful and peaceful stretch of canal and decided to moor at a place called Maesbury Marsh.  Not a hire boat in sight!  We only passed two boats going in the opposite direction and only one went past us then came back the other way once we were moored.  I went for a walk to explore the area – not a lot around except fields, sheep and the odd cottage, boat and dog walker!

When we got up on Tuesday intending to chug on towards Welshpool we spoke to a couple walking along the towpath who informed us that we could only go another half mile where we would have to turn round and come back as the canal is still under restoration and the bridges are so low where they have been built over the canal whilst it has not been used that it is going to take sometime to alter all of these – 30 years is the general consensus of opinion!  I didn’t do my research properly!  Oh well at least we stopped before we got to the end – there is only a small handwritten notice at the bridge that says “no entry horse drawn only” which we could have easily missed!

So we went under the lift bridge, turned around and chugged back up the Montgomery to the bottom of the Frankton Locks which we have booked passage for Wednesday.

I always thought that the longest day was 21 June but on the news they were talking about 20 June being the longest day – I checked the diary and that confirms it is 20 June.  I spoke to Carolyn Monday evening and she also thought that 21 June was the longest day so we are not sure when it changed!  Either way we have now had the longest day!

Leaving Maestermyn Boatyard

And the rain came tumbling down!

Leaving the grounded hire boat that refused our help - I wonder how long they were there! 

Maybe it was the fact that the amount of miles had been rubbed out that throw me (more likely that I didn't do enough research!) 

At the top of the Frankton Flight - that's one of the cottages that gets flooded if the locks are not managed!

Nothing but countryside then a glimpse of life!

They have spent a lot of money preserving many features along the canal.

Our resting place for Monday night - at this point we had no idea we would be passing it again so soon. 

Rolling hills and countryside.

And the sun goes down.

Tuesday morning - I have gone ahead to open the lift bridge so Steve can turn around.

It was pretty hard to open so I am going to wait here in the hope that I don't have to put it down again before he gets back!

It's no wonder it is quite hard to raise these bridges - it is a road after all!  they do of course have an hydraulic mechanism to help otherwise it would be going nowhere!

And back under the bridge.

What have we here - a CRT man hard at work - you have never seen anyone move so fast when he heard us coming!

It's a very pretty canal and my flowers did quite well being left for a week.

Tuesday night's garden!

Thursday 9 and Friday 10 June 2016

It started off cloudy but the sun soon burnt through.  We have been watching what other people are doing and it seems the most popular thing to do is get up early and head back to do the aqueduct the other way.  Things definitely quieten down around lunchtime so that's when we have decided to leave.  We had another walk into Llangollen to stock up on supplies and left our mooring in the basin at about 12.30pm.  We did the right thing as we didn't meet another boat coming the other way until we had got back through the narrow stretches.

It is much quicker travelling back this way along the canal as the source of water is fed from the River Dee so we are going with the flow rather than on the way up when we were travelling against it.  It took us two and three quarter hours to get from the aqueduct to Llangollen Basin on the way and only two hours to get from the basin to the aqueduct on the way back.

We were the only boat going back over and there was one boat waiting to come the other way but there were quite a lot of people walking it.  

Back through Whitehouse Tunnel where we saw that a chap had fallen over and hurt his hip - there were plenty of people helping. And the paramedics arrived on the scene as we were approaching - they were trying to work out how, once they had got him out of the tunnel, they were going to get him up the bank to the ambulance.

Back through the Chirk Tunnel and over the Chirk aqueduct then we decided to moor up.  The countryside is as enjoyable this way as it was the other.

Friday we chugged a bit further.  We are going to stand still for a week or so as there are things we need to attend to.

Walking back into Llangollen

I think this is where the steam train goes from - we haven't seen it but have heard it a couple of times!

In the ticket office

and out onto the platform.

The horse drawn boat.

Surrounded by rolling hills.

Walking ahead to make sure there is not a boat coming in the other direction through this narrow bit.

Back over the Pontcysyllte looking down.

Approaching Whitehouse Tunnel

and through Chirk Tunnel - glad we are not going the other way!

And back over Chirk aqueduct.

Home again - I didn't notice a sign welcoming us to Wales!

Hi Honey!

"The Sweet nb" - I didn't get the name then saw that they are selling sweets and ice creams!

That big black cloud has been chasing us for a couple of hours.  whilst we were mooring the it started to rain, thankfully we timed it just right as as we got inside the heavens opened!

It's...

I wonder who lives there!

The rain is coming - think we will stop here!