On our way again

We decided to spend a couple of nights in Llangollen and paid to moor in the marina. This worked out very well since we could hook up to the electricity and had a water tap at the front of the boat. So, at the weekend we charged up everything we could, took showers and did loads of washing. The weather was also fair so drying of the washing went well. 

On Saturday afternoon we walked up to the source of the canal. Near the top we met up with one of the horse drawn trip boats. 

Now, here is the source of the canal. Water is drawn off the River Dee through a sluice and a meter to the tune of 12 million gallons a day. Valves open and close automatically depending on river and canal levels. 

When the canal was first constructed, Thomas Telford built a semi circular weir across the Dee. When looking at it you wonder how the work was undertaken. 

And then, on Sunday, we washed the roof, topped up with water and perfectly exited the marina. I say 'perfectly exited' because we had a lot of fun watching the hire boats roaring backwards and forwards as they tried to wind their boats. One or two also misjudged the fact that boats don't have brakes! 

Here we are having a light lunch near Trevor (the town, not the person!). Will now stop here for the night. 

A unique way of getting a TV signal - aerial sitting at an angle in a dustbin! If it works, don't knock it! Mind you, gets a few laughs from passers by. 

Phase 1 completed

Well, we've made it! We have arrived in Llangollen. 

On our way we encountered the usual events for any canal trip. At the junction with the Prees Branch, a boater misjudged the turn and nosedived the opposite bank - no one hurt, thank goodness. Hire boaters running aground on a shallow edge as they try to avoid other boaters and others losing control totally when they slam the boat into reverse. The problem with narrowboats is that they just don't steer in reverse. OK, you can guide them when going backwards but it takes time to acquire this skill. When you go hard in reverse, the first thing to happen is that the propeller acts like a sideways paddle and walks the back of the boat across the canal. Propellers are designed to push a boat forward and only some of the modern designs help with going in reverse. For a novice, the sideways walk can be quite unnerving. 

Anyway, at Hampton Bank Bridge we passed the home base of the Lyneal Trust, a holiday centre for those people with disabilities. They had several chalets and boats available for their guests. 

Further along the canal we passed several lakes or meres. These meres are where pockets of ice were left during the Ice Age and the water couldn't drain away during the thaw. 

We passed the turn off to Ellesmere, promising that we would stop here on the way back. We did, however, take on water at the junction. 

On Thursday night we stopped at Hindford and had supper at the Jack Mytton Inn, and a very good one at that. 

Friday, the great day! Off we set toward Chirk. 

The further we get along the canal, the more beautiful it gets. 

Here we are on the Chirk aqueduct with the railway running alongside. 

Next came the big one - the Pontcysyllte aqueduct. The aqueduct is 126ft above the River Dee and is 1007ft long. The towpath side of the bridge has a safety fence but the offside is unprotected from about 12in above the water level. 

Quite exhilarating. 

After the excitement, the canal gets narrower and quite shallow. 

Here we are just entering Llangollen. 

We popped into town for toasted tea cakes and a pot of tea and, although we hadn't planned on shopping, we saw this greengrocer and couldn't resist popping in. 

The strawberries were really fresh and tasty. 

A bit of a catchup

You may by now have guessed that we are now on the Llangollen Canal by the fact that we haven't posted anything for a couple of days because of no internet signal. Telephone is also on ‘emergency calls only.’ 

After setting off from Audlem we made our way to Nantwich. On the way  we passed a family of geese. 

And Hack Green secret bunker. 

We enjoy visiting Nantwich because of the number of Tudor houses, as a result of a rebuild of the town after a fire in 1583. 

There are also some wonderful almshouses built in 1638. 

Regrettably, another favourite butchers of ours was closed because it was a Monday. We did, however, visit St Mary's church which dates from the 14thC. 

On Tuesday we set off to Hurleston Junction to turn on to the Llangollen Canal. 

Immediately, there are 4 locks that lift you 34’, all overseen by volunteers. 

The last time we were on this stretch of the canal was just before we bought the boat when we tried it out overnight and took it to Swanley Bridge for a survey. 

There are some lovely houses by the canal side. 

On Tuesday night we stopped at Wrenbury where we encountered our first lift bridge (operated using our windlass) followed by an electrical road bridge where we had to activate it using our BW key, close the road using a barrier and then raise the bridge using the appropriate button. All the while the control box is squawking away ‘stand clear of the hatched area whilst bridge is in operation.’ Brigid chose that particular moment to have an urgent desire to steer the boat while I did the bridge work. 

On Wednesday we moved on to Grindley Brook where we picked up a length of line and a fender around the prop. Brigid, who was still steering the boat while I operated the locks, noticed that the boat was ‘banging’ when she went astern. No wonder, with that going round and round. On the good side, this replaces a fender that we lost at Nantwich. 

On one of the locks there is an experimental hydraulic gear for the gate paddles. 

For the night, we moored near Platt Lane Bridge. 

So far, the canal has been very quiet and beautiful. Most of the boats we have seen have been coming down the canal and this may be because they are hire boats returning to their starting points after have visited Llangollen. We, ourselves, are trying to get to Llangollen and out again before the Bank Holiday weekend! Wish us luck! 

A lotta locks

We've only travelled about 6 miles today but during that 6 miles we negotiated 20 locks. 

But first things first when we took on water first thing. 

After that, it was wall to wall locks all day. 

The biggest problem was that most people were going the same way as us and we had to fill locks before we could use them. At other times, people coming the other way we're very precious about their boats and took half an hour to complete a 15 minute task. Still, we're in no rush! 

We believe that these buildings were one used as stables. 

We moored toward the end of the Audlem locks (15 in total) to visit the Shroppie Fly, a popular pub in this area. Mind you, our visit wasn't to the pub itself but the warehouse beside it. 

This houses a favourite craft shop that Brigid just has to visit and we never come away without picking something up. 

Also, on the cut, was a cheese boat selling Welsh cheeses. 

I say a cheese boat because this is not The Cheese Boat that we have met up with before. Perhaps they both have different territorial waters. 

The bye wash at these locks is still running fiercely. 

Not a great help when entering or leaving the lock. If you have a new boat and don't want to scratch it, don't come this way. 

After the last lock we moored for the night overlooking a lovely pond. 

Roast beef for supper followed by a storybook sunset. 

Gnosall Heath to Market Drayton

When we got to Gnosall Heath, we moored opposite The Boat Inn which is a lovely traditional pub. We had to look inside and found it to be a very busy place. However, they managed to find a table for us and we had a lovely meal. Roast duck in black cherry and brandy sauce and belly of pork with a cream sauce. No photos, we were too busy eating. 

The next day we carried on along the Shroppie through Norbury Junction. 

This is a very busy place with dry dock, chandlery and tea room. 

Next came High Bridge, one of the most photographed bridges on the cut. 

Nobody really knows why the telegraph pole is there in the middle of the bridge. 

Then through Grub Street Cutting, across Shebdon Embankment and through Woodseaves Cutting. 

The latter was very narrow, being cut through solid rock. 

We also passed the old Cadbury factory which today produces dried milk. 

In its day, cocoa powder was loaded here. 

Some of the bridges are very tall. 

And the bye wash on many of the locks quite fierce. 

Then on to Market Drayton where we spent a couple of nights to meet up with old friends from Pleshey. 

Great excitement as we tried out our new washing machine. The only trouble is that we can't get anything to dry! Luckily we are at a water point so we can topup when we've finished. 

It's all go on the canals! 

A different language

We are now on the Shroppie! 

The Shropshire Union Canal was one of the last to be built. Unlike earlier canals the Shroppie doesn't follow the contours of the land but follows a more direct route, cutting through hills and bridging valleys. By the time the Shroppie was being built, other methods of canal building were available. This canal was built purely for commerce where speed of transport was the object. 

The Shroppie is littered with high arched bridges where the ground has been cut away to accommodate the path of the canal. 

We have stopped overnight at Brewood which, surprisingly enough, is pronounced Brood. We have stopped here before and there is a wonderful butcher in the town. 

Also, some exotic houses in the town centre. 

Now flats but formerly a grand town house. 

Setting off again carrying on northward we pass through several locks. 

Some needing more attention than others. 

Another feature on this canal is the crossover bridges, so designed that the tow rope need not be removed when the horse crossed from one side of the canal to the other. 

It was important to the horse's welfare that the tow be swapped from time to time so that sores did not develop. 

Next stop Gnosall Heath. 

Watch out for pirates

How times change. In the good old days we would set off early and put in a 7 or 8 hour day motoring along. Now, we wake up early, read in bed, have a leisurely breakfast, set off late and put in 4 or 5 hours only. Well, we've rushed past so much scenery in the past that it's nice to stop and stare at the beauty around us. There are many young ducks, moorhen and swan around and there are people on the cut to chat with. 

We've now come through Penkridge, run alongside the M6 for a while and come to Gailey Lock. At Gailey Lock is one of the most pictured houses on the canals. 

This was once a toll keeper's office but is now a craft shop. 

The entrance to the lock is through a narrow tunnel under the A5 Watling Street. 

After Gailey, as we approached Slade Heath Bridge we passed a school canoeing course with the canoes rafted together like a catamaran. As we went by they all stood up and shouted 'Aye, aye captain.' 

You should be able to see them following us through the bridge. 

We moored for the night at Cross Green ready for our trip tomorrow on the Shropshire Union Canal. 

All's well again

After the panic over the engine we soon came to Tixall Wide. The story goes that the landowner wasn't too happy with the idea of the canal going through his land, so the canal company widened this part such that it should look like a lake. Anyway, it was a chance to open the throttle and clear out any muck in the engine. (It's also great fun to be able to race along for a while.) 

A view across to Tixall stables. 

All too soon we had to slow down again as we came into Tixall Lock. 

This is a lovely canal that meanders along following the course of the Rivers Sow and Penk. It also brought back memories of our very first trip in Polgara when we brought her down from Barbridge to Pillings Lock Marina. Not such a frantic trip this time round! Well, with the exception of the engine dying on us. 

We passed through Acton Trussell where the M6 runs close to the canal and stopped overnight at Park Gate Lock, just outside of Penkridge. 

By the way, I should have reported back that the Stilton and Walnut biscuits were fabulous. All gone now but we have some beetroot to cook and these may be going into some beetroot tarts some time soon. 

The boat's just died!

Help! Anyone know how to do CPR on a boat? The engine has just died on us and we're not moving! 

But, how did we get into this position? 

Well, after Brian & Ann left us at Fradley, we set off along the Trent & Mersey Canal towards Rugeley. We nearly always stop at Rugeley to top up supplies at Morrisons, a very large store, close to the canal. And then on to Great Haywood. Here is the impressive Shugborough Hall which dates from 1693. 

In the 18thC the Anson family, who owned the hall, bought up and demolished the old village of Shugborough so that they should have more privacy and space in their park. 

After an overnight stop we then turned at the junction onto the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and topped up with fuel. A nice sunny morning and a gentle potter along the cut past a long line of moored boats. But then, disaster! No longer is the engine doing its usual thonk, thonk, thonk, thonk but more a thonk, thonk, tickety, tink! Slip into neutral, open the throttle but no change, no increase in speed, nothing. And then it just stops! What now? Have we just taken on bad fuel? Unlikely. Try the starter, a cough and splutter and a halfhearted thonk, thonk and just enough way to get us into the bank. We moor up, have a think, decide which parts of the engine to take apart first but instead, decide to try a bit of CPR and do what Jim, our engineer, once showed me. Stiffen the resolve and sit with your finger on the starter and see what happens! Whew, relief, joy and a touch of adrenalin rush as, slowly but surely, thonk, thonk, think, thonk and then back into normal rhythm. She's alive again. Tea all round. 

I think that what happened was that the new fuel going into the tank stirred up some dirt that got sucked into the fuel line. Perhaps, if we had been able to set off at normal cruising speed, it would have been forced through the system and spat out the other side but because we set off slowly, the arteries got blocked. 

So, luckily all is well and we are off again. But, for the moment, one ear on the engine until she fully settles down.