Gilwern

A leisurely start today as we didn’t have far to go so it was 10-20 when we set of following a cooked breakfast, needed to use the eggs and bacon up.
I have no idea why this group of young cattle decided to gather on this bridge.We met a couple of hire boats and a private on all in nice places as we made our way to LLanfoist where we stopped for a while for a look round. We passed

under the canal in the old tramway route to the far side of the canal, there are a couple of reproduction tub on a sort bit of rail but its quite overgrown. The old wharf is now holiday lets and the entrance to the tunnel from this side has been extended and built over, the old tram way running to the right of the picture cut unto what is now lawn and the driveway to the house 

The old tunnel entrance is several feet inside the square entrance you can see above. Its all rather dark and damp down there, not from the canal above  it leaking but streams coming down the mountain.

 

 

We then went for a walk round the village ending up down at the garden centre for ice creams, well the sun was well up by now and it was hot.
We pushed off again and I couldn’t resist a selfie in the windows of the wharf as we passed 

Just around the bend from the wharf was this floating garden. Even the fenders had flowers in them.

We then stopped at Govilon and walked through the chapel yard and di a circular walk of the village before coming back to the boat and doing the final bit back the the hire base. We are moored right outside a pub again so we had a very pleasant evening sharing pizzas with the American couple who also returned to the hire base the same time as us.

Today’s Journey 8¼ miles in 7¼ hours including stops. This is the end of our Welsh Canalboat holiday and we have had some cracking weather and met some very friendly people. We leave the boat in the morning, but have decided to spend another day  in Wales before driving home.

Today’s Journey8¼ miles with no locks in 7¼ hours including stops.

Some pictures of the boat as requested by Barbara

Llanover

My word we have been lucky with eating establishments this week. Two lovely meals last night in the Open Heath and just one minute back to the boat.
9am this morning and we were on our way right to the end of the present navigation. On the way we passed under Crown Bridge, this was the end of navigation until the early 90s. when the one with no headroom was replaced

This end of the canal is very slow going with quite a bit of weed, I doubt many boats come this far. There is a new housing development by the winding hole and the winding hole has been replaced with pontoon moorings .

There is also a short tunnel to negotiate before finally reaching the basin. This is all nice clean brickwork inside it, its bot often you see one this

nice.  unlike the last one we did on this canal, this one has good head room as well, saves my knees.

We winded at the basin entrance and then removed the blanket weed from the prop, this operation was repeated a couple of times before we reached clear water.

Whilst moored at this lovely but under used basin, it has water, pump-out and electricity we took a short

Walk down the first of the disused locks, its the first time I have seen concrete lock gates. I bet they don’t rot any time soon!            

The canal is severed here between the basin and the top lock by a road, not a major one but big enough to stop the restoration
One of the worrying things was there is very little water flowing over them, yet further up the canal there is a steady flow from Brecon which CRT are buying for a lot of money, I wonder where its all disappearing to.
The lock chambers look in very good condition but the canal is only a few inches deep in most places, full of water plants including this large bed of yellow waterlilies. Back on the boat we chugged slowly away, pausing to let the weed float off the prop every few minutes. Just to the north of the tunnel is a long length of steel piling with steel capping, Its marked “No Mooring” I would have thought with a few rings welded on  it would make an ideal mooring, but I doubt there is any call for it.It wasn’t long, but longer than it should have been before we were passing The Open Heath. Much quieter than yesterday evening. When we stop at a pub like this we go straight in and book a table, as when the weather is like this they soon fill up. We don’t book ahead in case we don’t get there that night.The journey back to Goytre Wharf was very quiet only meeting one boat, a Wilderness cruiser. One of the things we were on the lookout for was this folly,the guide book said it should be easily visible from near bridge 58 looking left and you can walk from 59. Yes you can spot it if you are lucky but its more visible further on and bridge 59 goes straight intosomeone's garden. The Folly is a bit like Wormleighton’s radio tower, later its on the right hand side  of the canal.
The other gay I posted a photo of a company boundary marker up by the locks, today I saw one in someone’s front lawn showing just how much the canal company own.

Just before Goytre Wharf we came up behind a moored wide beam, I did wonder if I would get by, but thankfully the offside is a bit deeper there.

Its so shallow against the bank unless its a designated mooring, you have to navigate down the centre all the time and in most cases meeting a boat one will go aground.
Once we passed Goytre Wharf all hell broke lose. first a day boat right across the cut so we stopped until he sorted himself out, then two sets of tandem canoes with 2 instructors on the tow path trying to get them to paddle the right way, at the same time a cruiser came the other way, once the canoes were against the off bank the cruiser came forward and I went round him when a hire boat appeared behind him. A blasted the horn and the cruiser said “take care its a hire boat” I reply so am I, to which he said “yes, but you know what you are doing” Nice complement. Anyway one of the instructors ran forward and stopped him, when I got there there was another tandem canoe hanging onto the bushes, round that one and yet another hire boat appears. We then carried on to the 2 day visitor moorings and just managed to get in on the end. Mooring was a good move as the hire boats have been returning to the wharf ready to go home.
Just by where we are moored is an animal drinker, a culvert from the canal, under the towpath and wall into a small pond.

Today.s Journey10¼ miles with no locks in 6¼ hours.

Llanover

My word we have been lucky with eating establishments this week. Two lovely meals last night in the Open Heath and just one minute back to the boat.
9am this morning and we were on our way right to the end of the present navigation. On the way we passed under Crown Bridge, this was the end of navigation until the early 90s. when the one with no headroom was replaced

This end of the canal is very slow going with quite a bit of weed, I doubt many boats come this far. There is a new housing development by the winding hole and the winding hole has been replaced with pontoon moorings .

There is also a short tunnel to negotiate before finally reaching the basin. This is all nice clean brickwork inside it, its bot often you see one this

nice.  unlike the last one we did on this canal, this one has good head room as well, saves my knees.

We winded at the basin entrance and then removed the blanket weed from the prop, this operation was repeated a couple of times before we reached clear water.

Whilst moored at this lovely but under used basin, it has water, pump-out and electricity we took a short

Walk down the first of the disused locks, its the first time I have seen concrete lock gates. I bet they don’t rot any time soon!            

The canal is severed here between the basin and the top lock by a road, not a major one but big enough to stop the restoration
One of the worrying things was there is very little water flowing over them, yet further up the canal there is a steady flow from Brecon which CRT are buying for a lot of money, I wonder where its all disappearing to.
The lock chambers look in very good condition but the canal is only a few inches deep in most places, full of water plants including this large bed of yellow waterlilies. Back on the boat we chugged slowly away, pausing to let the weed float off the prop every few minutes. Just to the north of the tunnel is a long length of steel piling with steel capping, Its marked “No Mooring” I would have thought with a few rings welded on  it would make an ideal mooring, but I doubt there is any call for it.It wasn’t long, but longer than it should have been before we were passing The Open Heath. Much quieter than yesterday evening. When we stop at a pub like this we go straight in and book a table, as when the weather is like this they soon fill up. We don’t book ahead in case we don’t get there that night.The journey back to Goytre Wharf was very quiet only meeting one boat, a Wilderness cruiser. One of the things we were on the lookout for was this folly,the guide book said it should be easily visible from near bridge 58 looking left and you can walk from 59. Yes you can spot it if you are lucky but its more visible further on and bridge 59 goes straight intosomeone's garden. The Folly is a bit like Wormleight’s radio tower, later its on the right hand side  of the canal.
The other gay I posted a photo of a company boundary marker up by the locks, today I saw one in someone’s front lawn showing just how much the canal company own.

Just before Goytre Wharf we came up behind a moored wide beam, I did wonder if I would get by, but thankfully the offside is a bit deeper there.

Its so shallow against the bank unless its a designated mooring, you have to navigate down the centre all the time and in most cases meeting a boat one will go aground.
Once we passed Gotyre Wharf all hell broak lose. first a day boat right across the cut so we stopped until he sorted himself out, then two sets of tandum canoes with 2 instructors on the tow path trying to get them to paddle the right way, at the same time a cruiser came the other way, once the canoes were against the off bank the cruiser came forward and I went round him when a hire boat appeared behind him. A blasted the horn and the cruiser said “take care its a hire boat” I reply so am I, to which he said “yes, but you know what you are doing” Nice complement. Anyway one of the instructors ran forward and stopped him, when I got there there was another tandem canoe hanging onto the bushes, round that one and yet another hire boat appears. We then carried on to the 2 day visitor moorings and just managed to get in on the end. Mooring was a good move as the hire boats have been returning to the wharf ready to go home.
Just by where we are moored is an animal drinker, a culvert from the canal, under the towpath and wall into a small pond.

Today.s Journey10¼ miles with no locks in 6¼ hours.