Saturday 30th April 2011

Got to Elton Moss at 12. WD was all ready for us. There was a Launch party going on for a new boat called Adagio. It's a reverse layout boat that I had a snoop around. Its all back to front and looked very new in its familiar dark blue and maroon. It has a wooden floor with no carpet. I'm not sure about that. There was a show day going on too and we chatted to a prospective sharer that Artie was showing around. When we said we were heading for Llangollen there was much tooth sucking from Artie, saying he wouldn't contemplate the Llangollen outside of April or October. 
We met up with Pip's brother and family who are with us for the weekend. Some went shopping at Waitrose in Sandbach and some went off by car to Wrenbury to drop off a car for picking up on Monday. We all met up again then headed off northbound. No need to wind thank you Howard. WD was spotless as ever.Great praise was given by the visitors. We made Middlewich without event and turned left without a queue. Then did an hour or so more and moored out in the countryside. A windy barbeque was the evening menu.

Sunday 1st May 2011

Full English for breakfast and got away at about 11.30 (we're not good at early starts!). There was a strong following wind which went on all day and was quite tiresome. However a strong following wind is better than a strong headwind and much better than a strong crosswind. Very sunny all day too. A queue of five at Church Minshull lock and another queue of 4 at Cholmondeston lock. Barbridge junction was extremely busy. There were two NBs following us, two from the north wanting to turn towards Middlewich and another three from the south also wanting to head Middlewich way. I just stuck my nose out and went for it. Then up the busy Hurleston flight with the wind strengthening but no queue. A fill up of water then through a couple more locks to moor at bridge 12. We then walked about a mile across fields to the Farmers Arms at Ravensmoor and drank extremely nice beer and had very yummy food all paid for by our guests. They can stay longer if they want.

Monday 2nd May 2011

We tried to get away early but Josh, our five year old visitor, decided to eat his breakfast VERY SLOWLY. So it was gone eleven before we cast off. We had a relatively clear run to Wrenbury. At all the locks we met another boat coming down and didn't have to wait long at each of them. Josh very much enjoyed helping to work the automated swing bridge at Wrenbury and enjoyed holding up eight cars and a motorbike. We then said goodbye to him and his mum & dad as they headed off back to London. So now we are two and all is quiet. The canal seemed to get quieter too and we only met a few further NBs not the one every 5 mins like yesterday. It has been VERY WINDY all day today and I'm getting fed up with it. We are now moored at the bottom of Grindly Brook flight and have just had very nice food and beer at The Horse and Jockey. 


Tuesday 3rd May 2011

Look, we try to get away early but never quite make it. We find that breakfast is quite a leisurely affair especially as I had been to the shop and got a newspaper. Lots to read about goings on in Pakistan. Anyway we got away at about 11 after about 6 NBs had come down the flight. We had a clear run up the first three locks but got confused by a boat that decided to moor up in the short pound between two locks. Then we went and looked at the staircase and found the bottom chamber empty, the middle chamber half full and the top one full. Then the lock keeper came along and sorted that out and helped us through. Very friendly he was even though he was going to the dentist later in the day. 
We topped up with water at the top. There was a choice of FOUR water points, this place must get busy in the summer. Anyway we chose the first one and Pip went and had a look round the shop while the tank filled. 
Later on at one of the lift bridges we met two boats coming the other way. The first (a hire boat) had already lifted the bridge and had been told by the following private owners to get back on the boat on the off side and leave the bridge open for us to close. I don't know how they thought Pip was going to get over there from the towpath side. We told the hirer to lower the bridge as there was a queue of cars waiting to cross. Pip then went over and lifted it again which all seemed very much simpler.
We moored up for the night overlooking Coles Mere in a nice secluded wooded section and ate in. 

Wednesday 4th May.

Another 11 o'clock start, sorry!  We set off following another boat. Why is it that when you are being followed you feel that you are going far too slowly but when you are doing the following, even when only at tick over, you are up the stern of the boat in front? This is a lovely wooded section with large meres first on one side then the other. We turned down the branch into Ellesmere and moored up outside Tesco. But we thought that local shops might need more support than Tesco so we went up into the town. We found a good butcher and a baker then went back to Tesco to get other stuff. 
I then winded with onlookers watching. The wind caught me and I had to resort to the bow thruster but got round without touching the sides and headed off in the direction of Llangollen. No more lift bridges were encountered. We passed the entrance to the Monty, choosing to do that on our return. At about 5.45 we came across the first lock of the day closely followed by another. There was a very picturesque cottage at the lockside. We then filled up with water (only a choice of two taps this time) and are now moored up a bit further on, not far from Chirk.
I fancied a bit of a bike ride so got the trusty Brompton out and set off up the tow path. About two miles out I turned round then got a puncture. Poo! I had to walk back.
We've just finished a yummy Barnsley Chop (what else is there in Shropshire?). 
Big day tomorrow. I've never done the Pontywhatsit by boat. AND we'll need a pumpout!

Thursday 5th May

We had postal voted last week and we await the results with interest.
Pip doesn't like heights so today was not a good day for her. We set out at about 10 and poodled uneventfully to Chirk. Then out across the aqueduct. I couldn't stop WD from pulling into the left for some reason, but I hadn't noticed anything amiss until that moment. We plodded on through the tunnel and the same thing happened, I couldn't get away from the tunnel wall. At the other end we stopped and I checked down the weed hatch but all seemed ok so we carried on. Out on the normal cut everything was fine. Peculiar. 
We pulled into Chirk Marina as the poo tank gauge was showing full. It shoots up quickly once it gets past medium doesn't it! A £15 pump out speedily carried out by the hire base staff. They've obviously done this before. Then some manoeuvring that involved lots of bow thruster, I think the battery will need the rest of the day to recover. On to Pontcysyllte involving another lift bridge for Pip then out across the valley at 126ft above the River Dee below. Those that have been across this marvel of the waterways will know the indescribable feeling of looking out to the left with no railings or anything else to stop you falling 126 ft to the bottom. I enjoyed it lots. Pip didn't. At the end we took a sharp left and headed up the VERY NARROW CUT to Llangollen. Having been in Wales for no more than an hour it started to rain, then it got heavier and heavier and ended up a proper downpour, the first rain we've seen for weeks.
Luckily we only met boats coming the other way at points where we could pass them. At one very narrow section Pip was walking ahead to make sure the way was clear. Then we caught up with another NB and followed them. We paid our six pounds overnight mooring fee then went on, past the horse boat and into the very well appointed marina. There were plenty of spaces available so we had a choice. It's a nice mooring spot and we are making use of the free electricity hook up by first of all doing a load of washing and now having the dishwasher on at 10 PM. Luxury. Well worth £6.
We are going to look round Llangollen tomorrow, then maybe Chirk Castle.


Friday May 6th.

We decided to spend a bit more time in Llangollen then visit Chirk Castle tomorrow. We had breakfast then headed off on foot to Llangollen railway station. This is a preserved railway that normally runs steam trains but on Fridays they run diesel ones instead. Today was Friday. The diesel train in question was an old 1957 DMU that had been really nicely restored to its original condition. So we bought two return tickets to Carog which is about half an hour up the line. It was really very pretty following the River Dee and the train brought back memories of how train travel used to be when I was a child. The best thing is that you can sit behind the driver and see out the front.
When we got to Carog we had a mooch around the restored station that has been rebuilt as it was in the 50s. Even the toilets were in keeping (although perfectly clean). A sign in the toilet advised me to "adjust your dress before leaving". Apparently there was a sign in the ladies advising them to depress the ballcock if they wanted to wash their hair!
After half an hour we got the same train back to Llangollen.
We then did some food shopping and headed back to the marina. We wanted water before leaving but our hose wouldn't reach from the tap at our pontoon to the filler (we were moored rear end in). So we moved to another pontoon this time front end in. We filled with water then set off at about 2.30.
Some bits of the canal to Trevor are very narrow and two boats cannot pass. So Pip went ahead on foot to check things out. The first narrow bit was ok once I'd waited for two boats. At the second bit Pip had rung me to tell me it was clear so I set off. Pip then tried to tell the driver of the Llangollen trip boat to wait as there was a boat coming the other way (me), This advice was completely ignored and the trip boat headed into the narrow section towards me. Luckily there is a passing place in the middle of this section but even though the trip boat got there first and the passing place was on their side it was just waiting there for me to do all the maneuvering into the passing place. I suppose that it might have been to long to fit in the passing place but in that case they should have waited at the beginning as requested by Pip.
At Trevor my navigator at the front of the boat (who, you may remember doesn't like heights) advised me to turn left into the basin. I did not take this advice and turned right and onto the aqueduct. I was in bad books for some time afterwards. The aqueduct was easier when going with the flow and we we soon across. It was still just as impressive the second time around.
We are now moored in a cutting just north of Chirk tunnel and have no internet access or TV signal. We've just watched Toy Story 3 on the DVD. 
Tomorrow we plan to visit Chirk Castle.


Saturday May 7th.


Lots of rain overnight woke me up. Our mooring spikes were very loose in the morning so I repositioned them before setting off on foot to Chirk Castle. It started raining again soon after we set out and we hadn't brought a brolly. Oh well, we got wet. It's a good half hour walk to the castle and it was raining hard. Did I mention we got wet? But it was well worth the visit. Lots of interesting history to do with the Welsh and Roger Mortimer and the Myddleton family who bought the castle for £5000 in 1595 and whose descendants still live in part of it. The castle is now run by the National Trust and they do a good job preserving the history. Well worth a visit, so much so that it was 3PM before we got back to WD.
When we got back we found that the front mooring spike had come adrift completely and the bow was wandering around in mid canal. Luckily the rear spike had held so I was able to grab the boat hook and pull the bow in. I then banged in the spike again and also re did the stern spike too. Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil a hire boat went past at full speed and pulled out BOTH spikes! Lucky we were on board at the time. As the tea was brewed we set off following said hire boat through Chirk tunnel. They then moored up in the passing place between the tunnel and the aqueduct and confused everyone. I gave them filthy looks as we passed and vowed that if we saw them moored up we would go past them at full speed too.
We then had a pleasant run down to Frankton Locks and are moored just near the top of them awaiting our booked passage tomorrow. It being Saturday we met many new hirers having just left their base at Maestermyn Bridge (no 5). Pip helped them through the two locks that we met them at. We have no grudge against hirers, we were hirers ourselves once, just the ones that pulled our spikes out!
Lie in tomorrow, Frankton locks don't open till midday.


Sunday May 8th

We had a leisurely Sunday morning English breakfast whilst it peed down outside. Lots of hire craft went by, the Llangollen really is a busy canal. We were moored about half mile from the Montgomery junction. We had a passage booked for 12 so set of down there at about 11.30. only to find 5 other boats moored up waiting for the locks in front of us. So we joined the queue and went and helped with the operation of the staircase locks to speed things up. There were three boats coming up the flight too so all in all it was quite busy. It always amazes me that other people don't go and help at the locks in such situations until it is THEIR turn. We wound paddles and opened and shut gates for all the 5 waiting boats before it was our turn. There was one boat with four people on board, three of whom stayed on board whilst sending their old grandad to the locks to help. He didn't have a windlass with him! Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind this at all, in fact I enjoyed the hour and a half lots but I do find it strange that others just stand idly by looking bored.
So we eventually got down onto the Montgomery Canal. What a great canal. So quiet, helped by the limited number of boats allowed down the locks per day, and very rural. Lots of plant and wildlife keep you interested.  There were 3 or 4 HEAVY rain showers on the way. I got soaked each time. We went almost to the end of the navigable section then stopped by The Navigation at bridge 79 to fill up with water. I enquired at the pub if they did food on a Sunday evening, "No, sorry". Oh well, their loss. We have ample provisions for cooking on board. Filled with water we then went off to the very end of the navigation and winded there. The canal looked ok and navigable beyond if it wasn't for the stop planks at the bridge.

Back to Frankton tomorrow, we need to be there by twelve.


Monday 9th May

We had an early start for us, 9AM. The Monty was quite quiet but we usefully met a couple of boats coming the other way at locks. We had that nice experience of lock gates magically opening in front of us. After about three hours we arrived at the bottom of the Frankton flight to find four NBs in front of us in the queue and nowhere to get near to the side to moor. I had to make a leap for the edge with the centre rope. Pip then made the leap too and we waited for the locks to open at 12. Another NB turned up behind us and had similar problems.The queue gradually went up the flight with everyone  helping those in front and behind, all very friendly. The heavens opened about halfway up followed quickly by thunder and lightning. Pip didn't have time to get waterproof trousers on and resigned herself to getting wet. At the top of the flight we turned right onto the busy Llangollen canal immediately meeting boats coming the other way.  The rain continued so we decided to stop for lunch and once moored then of course the rain stopped. After a bite to eat we set off for Ellsemere and turned down the arm and moored once again directly outside Tescos.  We did another shop then winded and headed back to the mainline. We moored for the night next to Blakes Mere, a lovely tranquil spot popular with fishermen. There was a very poor internet connection and we could only get analogue BBC1 on the telly. 


Tuesday 10th May
I fixed a puncture on the rear tyre of the folding bike only to find that a front wheel nut was missing making the bike un-ridable. Then breakfast and a quick hoover through the boat. We then set off bound for Grindley Brook and quickly found ourselves behind an extremely slow Black Prince hire boat. The tick over speed of WD was too quick and I had to regularly knock out of gear and coast. He did a lot of zig zagging too and at one point must have emptied the cupboards onto the floor with a huge bang into the bank. Fairly soon there were a couple more NBs behind us but the Black Prince boat carried on regardless without pulling over. We came upon a water point and decided to stop and fill up. 25 mins on the water tap then we set off again and just round the next bend came across the Black Prince boat moored up having lunch. A cheer went up as we went past them.
One lift bridge near Whixall opened in front of us, opened by an oncoming NB so that was handy, another near Whitchurch was broken down in the up position so that was handy too. We decided to moor up for the day at the top of Grindley Brook staircase and are going to the Horse & Jockey for food. 


Wednesday 11th May

We set off about 10:30 and went straight into Grindley Brook staircase helped by the friendly lock keeper. The rest of the flight went smoothly normally meeting one coming up before us going down. We then got behind a NB which meant that the occasional locks were mostly against us but it didn't hold us up too much. Pip interspersed lock working with sanding and undercoating rusty bits of WD. The last two locks of the day  were gates open ready for us. We had passed a single hander going the other way just before so I suspect he couldn't be bothered to close the gates. Very handy for us though. 
We planned to moor just above the Hurleston flight but I misread the Nicholsons and we are a couple of miles away instead.


Thursday 12th May

We are now in the clearing out the fridge stage of our fortnight on WD. There was a pack of sausages in the fridge so they got eaten for breakfast. along with the last of the mushrooms and tomatoes. So it was a late start at about 11. We got to Hurleston locks and had to disturb a fisherman who was fishing just near to the water point.  Being nice I apologised to him for disturbing him, he replied "Oh don't worry, it happens all the time". I thought to myself "Well why fish right by a water point at the top of a busy flight of locks?". But that was his choice and he wasn't going to move. When a Black Prince hire boat pulled up directly behind us the fisherman carried on fishing between the two boats. He didn't catch anything. The Black Prince boat had a party of four or five Dutch men on board and whilst they were waiting for the water to fill they got into a bottle of schnapps. Well I suppose it was a bit cold.
After filling with water we set off into the top lock. The locky asked us to hold off emptying the lock until a boat coming up started to fill the next lock. This has the effect of stopping water going down the overflow. We turned left at the bottom of the flight onto the Shroppie then right onto the Middlewich Branch. One day I'm going to stop at the chandlery at Barbridge but there is never a free mooring outside. They are filled with their own boats. If I were them I'd make sure there was always a mooring available. On approaching Cholmondeston lock there was a whole bunch of people around the lock waving at us. Pip thought they were telling us to stop so we did but it turned out the were waving us on into the lock. So down we went. These Middlewich locks are very deep compared with the Llangollen.
There were moorings free outside Venetian Marina so we stopped for diesel. It wasn't immediately obvious that they sold diesel now that they've got rid of the old pump. But there is a big new tank there and the nice woman there asked me to let you all know that they still do diesel there. 82 litres for exactly 82 hours of engine and a few hours of heating. I was honest and declared a 60% propulsion 40% domestic mix. We left there with a pocket £99.30 lighter.
We pootled along a bit and near to Aqueduct Marina we saw the new CC boat Adagio moored outside. The main thing of note is that the curtains are STRIPEY not spotty. Just how does Artie expect us to recognise another CC boat from a distance if he's going to muck around with the curtains? :-) Perhaps they don't make the spotty material any more. It is a reverse layout with similar colours to WD. The side hatch has windows in the doors which is an excellent idea.
Pip then got the sand paper out again and set to work on the rear lockers but the rain kept interfering so no paint got painted on.
We moored up in Middlewich and went to The Narrow Boat for food. Nice beer and nice food but we had to wait a bit for the food.

Last full day tomorrow. Pooh!


Friday 13th May.

It was sunny when we woke up so Pip got up and went painting the rear lockers. I went to into Middlewich for a paper. When Pip had finished we had breakfast and set off for Wardle lock just behind Adagio. It was busy around there as always, not helped by a BW work boat moored one boat length away fro the top of the lock. There was a boat coming up with another one waiting in the Wardle canal then another waiting round the corner towards Middlewich Boats and another on the water point. Adagio was waiting to go down and us following with nowhere to moor. So I hovered in the bridge hole then another turned up behind us as well. None of these boats were hire boats either.  Once Adagio went in I moored up leaving t'other chap behind me to hover further. One came up then we went down and then did a slow turn right not helped by the moored boats opposite at the chandlery and also not helped by our bow thrusters going sluggish. We then followed Adagio back to Elton Moss although they stopped short for the night. We decided to moor up there and do the washing. We washed the port side then went down to the railway bridges and winded and came back again and did the starboard. I hooked up the electricity but the posts were turned off. Ruth was about so I asked her if they could be turned on. She said that we couldn't use the hook up as they had no means of charging us. I wouldn't have minded giving them a pound for a hook up. Anyway later on the electric came on anyway so we got our batteries charged.
We did a clean up inside but we have a valet booked tomorrow so we didn't go balistic on the cleaning front. We then wandered up to The Fox for some more pub grub. It was ok but nothing special. I suspect my chicken kiev was out of the freezer. But the Marstons Pedigree was good so we had a couple of those. I spoke on the phone to Ian Gorrie who is taking over from us tomorrow. They were at the Dusty Miller at Wrenbury, we passed there on Wednesday. 


Saturday 14th May

The alarm clock woke us up and we got on with final morning stuff. Had showers, filled with water, packed the bedding packed the rest of the kitchen stuff and all that malarkey. Adagio turned up at 9 as did the Elton Moss staff. They filled us with diesel (cheaper than at Venetian where we had filled up on Thursday !). They couldn't pump us out as their hose wouldn't reach. They needed to swap us with Adagio to do that once they had finished pumping them out. So we left them to it and went and had a very nice breakfast at a little cafe called Peppers in Sandbach town centre.

We had not moored at base on the last night before. We found it altogether better giving us more time to do the chores and another advantage is that you can put packed stuff into the car and get it out of the way. 
Shame about the food at The Fox though.

Then home, on the way popping in to see Pip's dad in York. One day we'll get to visit York by boat.

We enjoyed our fortnight very much, Llangollen was great but must be a nightmare in peak season. The Monty was also great and I heartily recommend it to those that have not done it. Roll on more restoration.