Audlem

  We set off at 9-30 again just after a hire boat had gone by so followed him down the locks, he didn’t hold us up at all but it was a bit worrying the way he was running around back and forth between locks. We also spotted a boat waiting to come up so were able to leave the middle two locks open for her. Again Hurleston reservoir is full and plenty of water

going down the by-washes into the Shropshire Union canal, so the pumps are still laying idle but probably cost an arm and a leg on hire.
Down on the Shroppie we were going to stop for water in Nantwich but with two boats on the service point and one waiting on the towpath we decided against it and carried on. At the large winding hole  just to the south of Nantwich a full length boat was having problems winding so I lent a hand and pulled them round with their stern line. 
Passing this gull I thought why stand when you can sit.

On the stretch after the Secret Bunker we passed a field that we estimated had 150 of these little beauties enjoying the morning sun shine .

A short way before Overwater Marina the canal has taken a slight detour into the adjoining field, I am not sure if the farmer is planning to fill it in or what, but he has large heaps of soil all the way round it.

The marina has three imitation goods wagons as glamping huts, the paths are laid like rail tracks and even semaphore signals.

We arrived at Audlem locks, the bottom lock was ¾ full due to the leaking top gate, as I said on our way out there is an allotment beside the lock on the none towpath side, they even have sign written boards.

The next lock was with us and a boat was coming down the third, so were straight in, stopping outside the Shroppie Fly we filled with water and disposed of the recycling before moving about a boats length to moor for the night opposite Audlem Mill.

Todays Journey

9½ miles, 9 locks in 4¾ hours.

The trip from Llangollen so far is on Google Maps Here

Hurleston bridge 4

A later start today which has been mainly fine with just a light shower. We ended up following the same hire boat all day, they told Diana they were winding and heading back at Wrenbury but we were still behind them at Swanley locks.
The first boat we heard go by this morning was Mountbatten but we didn’t feel it, gliding by like a slippery eel.
We were by ourselves at every lift bridge and the hire boat seemed to pull away, but we still saw them at every lock even though we kept meeting boats coming up so I think them must have caught up with another boat and had to turn each lock.
We moored for the night on the 48 hour visitor moorings by bridge 4 and set the TV aerial up only to hear the sad news about the Queen. Royalist or not she has spent the past 70 years doing what she said she would.

Todays Journey

8½ miles, 6 locks in 4¼ hours

Quoisley

I was expecting a lot more noise from the geese this morning that were roosting on the Meres at the junction. We were away a little before 9-30 am to get to Grindley Brook before boats leaving Ellesmere. I only took one photo, I spotted this owl sitting on top of a power cable pole near Roundthorn Bridge.

When I got closer we could see it was a plastic one, who and why I have no idea. The canal was reasonably quiet and when we reached all 5 lift bridges we didn’t get any help, in fact at Whitchurch Junction I ended up holding it for two boats coming the other way. We arrived at the top of Grindley Brook with no queue but we had to wait for two boats coming up, there were three Volockies working the flight so things moved quite well, once down the staircase all locks were with us meeting other boats. Down at Poveys Lock one top paddle was still all taped up, I understand that an underwater survey was planned to take place there today, whether it happened I don’t know. Down at Willeymoor there were hire boats moored on the lock moorings both above and below the locks, the one below would make it difficult for boats coming up due to the cross current. After the three locks we carried on to the 48 hr visitor moorings where we were moored up before the thunder and lightening  complete with rain.

Todays Journey

10 miles 9 Locks in 4¾ hours

You can see our journey from Llangollen, home on Google maps Here

Whixall Moss Junction

Boy did we have a storm last night, thunder and lightening all round and we had a 15foot TV aerial sticking up in the air. I decided it was prudent just to leave it now the storm was on us.
This morning it was all peace and calm and we set off at 9-30 to head for Ellesmere to do a bit of shopping. Polletts Bridge 6W is a nice example of a turnover bridge where the towpath changes side.

As we approached Frankton Junction the fuel boat Mountbatten was coming towards us and a cruiser

 

decided to overtake it. Luckily he had enough speed.

There is a large dairy farm on the banks of the Llangollen canal and they have dozens of calf crates.Only a few can be seen in this photograph.
Luckily some cows have a much better life of wandering the pastures on both side of the canal.

We went down the Ellesmere arm and unlike last week it was jam packed solid, luckily as we went to the end to wind a lady popped out of a boat and said they would be leaving as soon as she had packed the shopping away. So we carried on to the end, winded and slow made our way back to where the boat was making ready to leave. Diana visited both Tesco and Vermeulens Bakery and Delicatessen for some nice tasty items. While we were there we also had lunch. We then left the arm and went to the services to dump refuse and top up with water. When we passed earlier it was packed with boats waiting, now it was empty.
It was then on to Hampton Bank, on the way it not only started to rain but also the thunder and lightning joined in, fairly throwing it down. We moored on the 48hr mooring until it stopped raining before walking round to see our friends. After tea and biscuits and a bag of goodies from their garden we were off again to moor for the night at Whixall Junction, Need less to say on the way the skies opened again, thank goodness for the brolly.

Todays Journey

13 miles, no locks in 5½ hours

Hindford

Last night about half seven we had visitors who came for a drink, just a quickie and they were off again.

It was a wise move going up and winding last night as 4 boats had come down before we set off at 9AM this morning.  We had quite a good run down, these paddle boarders pulled in hard to the side as I

passed them, the sun was low and in my eyes so the photo was taken looking back. Into the narrows, Diana walked round the first bend to make sure all was clear and off we went, no problem until the last 50 yards when a hire boat who must have seen us came through the bridge into the narrows, luckily at that point with him in the brambles there is just room to pass. Someone has put a small garden which looks well tended around this seat.

Luckily we didn’t meet anyone as we approached Trevor Basin  or in the narrow, shallow section just above it. Trevor basin was well packed with hire boats getting ready for the off.

We had a short wait at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct for one boat coming across which was lucky as once we had crossed with the photo of our shadow below

there were 2 boats waiting to cross and two more the other side of the lift bridge. At Whitehouse Tunnel there was already a boat waiting and one coming through, the boat waiting invited us to go first. At Chirk tunnel it was straight through catching up with a day boat just entering the Aqueduct so straight across there as well. At Chirk bank they now have community allotments on a piece of land owned by CRT which they no longer use, run by the Chirk Bank Community Group

I think CRT must employ some very fast walkers as this fingerboard is on the towpath by bridge 17W and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is about 5 miles away. Maybe they meant Chirk Aqueduct, well its on the same canal.

We got as far as bridge 13W and there were 2 boats moored just before the bridge, the chap on the back one waved me down and explained there were 3 hire boat at different angles all aground just through the bridge with different people with poles and ropes getting them back in the channel, it was soon sorted and we were all on our way but with 5 boats just ahead and New Martin locks not far away I decided to pull over and do an oil and filter change plus top up the batteries, its a job I do every 250 hrs. While we were stopped I walked back to the tree with the Ukraine colours painted on it and found this notice.

Once I had had finished in the engine hole we set off again, the canal is much busier today and there was a boat just coming up the lock as we arrived, down at New Martin bottom lock there was a queue of 5 to come up. We continued on with a view to mooring outside the now closed Jack Mitton pub but the only bit without overhanging trees was occupied so we carried on to the 48 hour moorings just below bridge 10W.

Todays Journey

12¾ miles, 2 locks in 5¼ hours.

The Chester to Llangollen Google map is now complete and can be found HERE

Llangollen, Llandyn Lift Bridge

We left at about ten to ten, half an hour too early, as we left it started to rain which continued over Chirk Aqueduct to the tunnel.

At the tunnel with the help of the two boats ahead we set a new world record for the tunnel transit time of 25 minutes with the front boat walking it through on ropes. Once the other side the rain had gone and soon the sun was out, so if we had just waited until the rain had stopped there would have been no holdup at the tunnel and I wouldn’t have needed the brolly. The canal was reasonably quiet and we didn’t have to wait to enter ether tunnel or aqueducts

Crossing the River Dee on the aqueduct it looks to still have plenty of water in it, unlike some rivers.

I thought this rustic seat was quite charming, kids with short legs one end and longer legged individuals at the other.

We met two Trip boats, both with lady skippers, the first was waiting to cross the Pontcysyllte aqueduct and is the new replacement for Jones the Boat and the other was near The Sun at Trevor and both boats were happy to give way to other users.
After Trevor much of the canal is concrete edged which causes problems for any animals that fall in, Years ago they use to build ramps on the towpath side to get horses out that might have slipped in, but here they have built steps on the offside, these lambs fond them very useful for drinking.

This end of the Llangollen canal is very much a contour canal and really hangs onto the hill side in places, this means the land one side is much lower that the other  so the bridges are not hump backed bridges but often sloping from one level to the other.

We decided not to go into town tonight as we spotted a vacant mooring spot with rings just past Llandyn Lift Bridge. You have to pay to moor in Llangollen its self and I refuse to pay for an unreserved towpath mooring and if we had gone to town to wind this mooring may have been taken when we returned.

ALL CHANGE
Half five and Diana and I are talking and decide we will run up the the basin in Llangollen and wind this evening while there is no traffic about. I think it may be cost effective to fell some of these trees before they fall into the cut. This is looking almost straight up.We had a clean run through the narrows and then through town to the basin which is quite full where we winded and came back down.
For several years now you have had to pay to mooron the towpath in Llangollen, something I refuse to do. Tonight there are just 2 boats there and I suspect one of those arrived after the canal centre closed. I wonder what sort of return CRT are getting on the towpath moorings as they still require maintaining even if not used.

As you approach the head of navigation I think this house looks splendid on the hill side. As you can see its raining again for about 3 minutes

We ran downstream past where we had been moored this afternoon and moored the other side of the bridge, this puts us further away from the road. By the back of the boat is this fallen tree and going by the date carved into it, it was made into a seat just this year, but I liked the little house in the end.

Its all carved in 3D. I will try and get a better photo in the morning

 

Todays Journey

10 miles, no locks in 5 hours

Chirk Bank

As you may have guessed last nights mooring was very quiet. The Weston Branch use to go all the way to Weston Wharf as can be seen on this Waterway Routes map, now only a short length is in water and is navigabile as far as the service block.

We left at about 9-30 to make our way back to Frankton locks on the way passing this speed limit sign or 3 MPH Further down passed Queens Head it drops to 2MPH.

The day before yesterday I mentioned the model railway viaduct, looking more closely on our way up there is also a station and the sunken garden is

 

actually an old disused drydock with a bit of history to it. The plaque on the wall of lock No. 3 gives a bit more information about it.

There is only one boat booked to come down the locks today so we were the first boat to traverse the flight, this meant all the locks were ready for us with gates open, We did from the moorings to the top in 35 minutes. This is the view approaching lock No.2

 

the bottom of the staircase. Again there flight was maned by 2 people, one at the bottom and one on the staircase. On the lock hut at the top there is another plaque commemorating the restoration of the first section of the canal.

Back on the Llangollen Canal we turned left to carry on upstream, we called in at Whittington Wharf for a first class pumpout with very friendly service. While there we had a very short, sharp shower of rain, it had looked threatening for some time. Later we passed this tree on the back edge of the towpath, the fencing is not because of the way its decorated but because the towpath has subsided all around it.

We got in a queue at New Marton Bottom Lock with a couple of boats ahead of us as well as some waiting to come down, at Top Lock the last boat was in the lock when we arrived so not long to wait. The Jack Mitton Pub is no more and it doesn’t look as if anyone has taken it over being all overgrown. I wonder if they did actually have the mooring rights on the towpath in front of the pub? We carried on passing this fine young lady doing her dobie canal side for all to see. I hope she doesn’t get her mitt in the mangle. Our target for tonight was Chirk Bank 48hr moorings, until now all the 48hr moorings had been empty but thankfully there was still one space on the Chirk bank ones.

Todays Journey

7½ miles 6 locks in 4½ hours.

The Google map has again been updated HERE

Montgomery Canal Western Branch

Last night we ate in The Navigation Inn a warm and friendly, rather quirky pub with a good sized restaurant. Very friendly personal service making you feel you were somewhere much posher and to cap it all the food was good. If you do plan to visit they only open Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday, the times are HERE

This morning the boat we had moored behind, stern to stern departed at about 6AM, he had spent all yesterday afternoon trying to get his cat back so a lay in was not really on the cards so we shoved off at our normal 10AM. heading for the end of navigation at Gronwyn Bridge.

  The last winding hole is just passed Crofts Mill Lift Bridge, just prior to the bridge the canal is quite wide but the channel limited like so many places on this canal. Just past the bridge is an arm leading to  the home of Oswestry Boat Builders. After winding we made our way back to Maesbury where we stopped to top up with water before carrying on upstream. Beside the 3 Aston locks there is a nature reserve with a large hide complete with turf roof.

Again the off side is protected from boats to protect the rear fauna and flora, all I saw were brambles and Floating Pennywort.

We stopped for lunch opposite The Queens Head and then I gave the pigeon Box top a coat of Sadlin before we set off again. We were to pass even larger patches of Pennywort as we made our way to

Graham Palmer lock. The lead in to the lock is curved and set well over from the lock moorings, Along the edge is a wide, thick metal band to protect the brickwork, you would have thought by now someone would have realised its to high to do any good, It may have been OK for high bowed working boats, but not leisure craft. I wonder how much brick work will be destroyed before something is done.

In the field between the lock and the junction this stand in the field, its not a post box, anyone have any ideas what it might be?

We moored for the night down the Western Arm, yesterday when we came down from the Llangollen it was packed, today its just us and a boat that arrived a short time ago.

Diana found some plum trees with loads of high fruit, a good shake on the branches with the boat hook soon had it falling to the ground, there are also loads of damsons but they are not quite ripe yet. Of course you can’t visit the Montgomery Canal without seeing these chaps buzzing about, 3 was the most we saw at one time but mainly singles.

Todays Journey

7½ miles, 4 Locks in 4¼ hours

 

Now the internet has improved the Google map has been updated HERE