Peace and quiet on the Monty

 

After mooring outside the visitor centre we picked up this mooring a couple of hundred yards down the cut. It was a lot quieter and the dogs barked a lot less. One thing with having a pair of West Highland Terriers is that they bark at everything and every body that passes the boat. We have tried everything to stop them including machines that emit  high pitch noises, but they just seem to make them bark  longer and louder.

With the sun shinning we decided to walk to the end of the navigable canal. A new 440 metre section is due to open very soon and has just been put into water in the last week.

Although you will be able to cruise on for another three quarters of a mile this is the last place you can wind (turn).

This was the last section that was completed several years ago and as you can see it now looks very natural and you would never believe it has recently been restored.

Part of the new section. It has taken the canal society nearly 6 years to complete this section. It has a self repairing membrane to keep it water tight and that is held down in place by concrete blocks.

End of the line.

With stop planks in place at bridge 84 this is the end of the line and the next section is ready to be restored. The next section to be restored is 3 miles long and then that will join up with a section that is navigable and 13 miles long. But , the next 3 miles have 5 bridges that have been built since the canal closed and they are all too low for boats to pass under ,so this next few miles will be a massive challenge for the restoration.

On Thursday and Friday the weather was brilliant with temperatures in to the low twenties. But as usual it never lasts and on Saturday we woke up to Thunder lightning and heavy rain.Thankfully we have good TV and internet reception.

                                                                                                        Happy Days

On The Monty

 

We left the basin at Llangollen at 07.15 with the intention of getting over the Ponty aqueduct before it got busy. But when we arrived there were 4 boats waiting to go over and then another one behind us,and with only a small area before the Pontcysylite aqueduct it soon got a bit congested.

We eventually got out onto the aqueduct and yet again I was Billy no mates on the helm as Carolyn still couldn’t bring herself to come out of the cabin. So I had to take this selfie. Although I find it a great buzz going over the Ponty it still makes me feel very nervous. 

The view from the stern with the Devon flag flying proudly in Wales.

Guess what is below The Ponty aqueduct which just happens to be a World heritage site….Yes a Sewage Treatment Works… I am not sure what they do or how they work, but this one looked lovely !!!!!!!

Just me having a Titanic moment.

Going over the Chirk aqueduct and back into England….

With the arm at Ellesmere full we picked up this mooring on the junction and did a shop at the nearby Tesco. For some reason we got £12 off our shop…2 more bottles of the red stuff, thank you Mr Tesco.

Carolyn sat on the throne next to our mooring….. Why can’t they put doors on the toilets ?.

On Wednesday morning after booking our passage down onto the Montgomery canal we pulled pins at 07.15 and fill with water and got rid of rubbish at Ellesmere before making our way to Frankton Junction.

We arrived just after 09.00 and were second in line to drop down the 4 locks . The locks are only available for 2 hours a day between 12.00 and 14.00 when a lock keeper arrives and removes the padlocks on the gates.

As soon as we got to the bottom of the locks the heavens opened. We decided to push on and try and pick up a mooring out in the country ,but there is a lack of such moorings on this canal which is a bit of a shame. Soaked through we stopped at this mooring for the night. It is opposite The Queens head pub which is situated on the busy A5 road.

After a noisy night (A5) we pulled pins in glorious sunshine and headed towards the 3 Aston locks which drop you down 18 feet.

This is where the canal seems to become more wild with flag iris and overgrown banks.

This is how we imagined the Monty would look and so far we are glad we made the effort to come onto it.

We picked up a mooring after a couple of hours cruising outside of the canal visitor centre opposite Maesbury Marsh and after a cup of tea and a bite to eat we are going off for the afternoon with our backpacks and do some exploring.

                                                                                    Happy Days

Basin bound

We pulled pins on Sunday morning from our mooring just outside of Llangollen at 07.30. With the narrows and single boat working for most of the way Carolyn went ahead to check that the way was clear for Inca to proceed. As soon as I got the all clear from her ladyship I was on my way.With the flow of the canal and the canal being so shallow it was slow going. The maximum depth of the canal is 23 inches, and Incas draft is 22 inches so there was only and inch to spare. If I opened the throttle too much the stern of the boat would go lower in the water with the extra power and catch the bottom, so it was just a case of easing off on the throttle and being patient and going through slowly.

On a lovely sunny morning Inca comes through the narrows and on towards Llangollen.

The basin was about three quarters full so there was no problem getting a mooring. The first job was to get the electric connected and be on 230 volt power. Then it was on with the washing machine and tumble dryer. With no electric meter and all you pay is £12 all in for 48 hours we make the most of it.

On Sunday afternoon we walked the 2 miles from Llangollen to Horseshoe falls. These are manmade falls and it is where the water is diverted from the river Dee and into the canal.

It was a very hot day and Molly and Hamish were glad of a cool dip in the water.

Carolyn enjoyed a paddle , but it was far to cold for her to go in for a dip.

For some reason these paddlers were paddling upstream . Looked like bloody hard work to me. I thought the idea was to go with the flow like I always do.

You can go on the horse drawn narrow boat to the falls, but that cost money and we did it for nothing by walking….Mind you it did cost me a couple of ice creams when we got back to Llangollen. (we did say to this guy that he should start charging people a pound to take a photo)

Meanwhile back at the basin, This is the first time the rod has been out this year and after a few minutes I hooked this little big beauty, on a £5 fishing rod and a 40 year old reel……….Just the ticket.

Opposite the basin is the Eisteddfod ground. A giant permanent tent that houses all sorts of events and music festivals throughout the year,and even Pavarotti performed here back in the 50s.

On Monday afternoon we had a visit from Carolyn's brother Basil and his wife Jenny. It was so good to see them both. It was the first time they had seen Inca and they both seemed well impressed with her.They are staying at The Wild Pheasant Hotel in Llangollen . They stopped and had a cup of tea and a Welsh cake before returning to their hotel.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to pull pins early and head back down to Ellesmere and do a big shop at Tesco then try and book to get onto The Montgomery canal on Wednesday. They only allow 12 boats on the canal at any one time, and you have to ring and book your passage down the 4 locks onto The Monty.

 

                                                                                                                         Happy Days

Llangollen at last

 

On Saturday morning we started walking into Llangollen and just around the corner from our mooring we came across this fall out…. The signs on this stretch of canal tell you to send a crew member along the tow path to make sure that the way is clear as it is only a single track canal….And guess what neither of these boats bothered, so as you can see tempers got a bit flared as they met in the narrows…

When we got into Llangollen they were running a Thomas special on the railway and the kids were certainly enjoying themselves.

 

This is the River Dee which runs through the centre of Llangollen.

There is a lot of power in all that water and you can see why they hold a lot of canoeing events here.

The town is a real tourist hotspot and a lot busier than we thought it would be.

We walked up to the Gardens above the town and chilled in the beautiful sunshine and had an ice cream by the mighty River Dee.

Tomorrow we will get up early and move into the Basin at Llangollen and hopefully pick up a mooring for a couple of days. We also want to walk to Horseshoe falls where the water for the canal and the river Dee separate.

                                                                                      Happy Days

Pontcysylite Wow !!!!

We pulled pins on Friday at 09.10 with the intention of picking up a mooring somewhere before The Pontcysylite aqueduct.
After travelling along Chirk bank you come to the Chirk aqueduct where the canal along with the train bridge above it passes from England and into Wales. How brave was Carolyn steering Inca over the aqueduct as I took a few snaps.
Immediately after Chirk aqueduct you enter Chirk tunnel.It is a single way tunnel with a tow path going through it .Although it is only 459 yards it takes ages to get through it due to the flow of water and the width of the tunnel.
We looked for a mooring in Froncysyllte, but with no spare moorings we were then committed to going over the Pontcysylite aqueduct. After rounding a corner and before you realize it you are going onto the aqueduct and over the river Dee. It was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop and completed in 1805 and is often called The stream in the sky . It now has World Heritage status and you can see why.  It has 18 stone piers and is over 1000 feet long , and at its highest point it is a dizzy 127 feet tall. Its correct pronunciation is Pont-ker-sulth-tee.
The aqueduct has a walkway on one side and on the other side there is nothing.
The views are absolutely brilliant.
I did step out onto the side at one point even though I am not that good with heights.
The river Dee 127 feet below.
This has to be the best canal experience you can ever have, I absolutely loved it.  I also felt like a bit of a celebrity as I had my photo taken so many times by all of the Gongoozlers (canal watchers).
And where was Carolyn during our passage over the Pontcysylite  ?? … she doesn’t like heights so she went into Hiding down below. Hopefully on the way back she will join me on the back on Inca.
As soon as you get to the other side and into Trevor it is a sharp left turn and onto the final 4 and a half miles to Llangollen. We did try to get a mooring in Trevor but there is only room for 3 boats and they were all taken , so we had to wind at the end of the arm and come back to the junction. This has to be the most picturesque canal we have cruised so far , and with the welsh mountains all around the view is just mind blowing.
Before you get to Llangollen the canal goes so narrow that there is only room for single traffic. At this point I had to wait while Carolyn went ahead with one of the walkie talkies and then called me to let me know it was clear to proceed. At the end of the narrows Carolyn had stopped 3 boats from coming the other way and they had to wait until Inca had passed through.
We picked up this mooring about a mile before Llangollen .
This is the view from our front room window, it is Dinas Bran castle and this is the sight we had this morning when we woke up.
Tomorrow we will walk into Llangollen and have a look around the town and then on Sunday we will go through the last lot of narrows and then try and pick up a mooring in the basin. The moorings there are £12 for 48 hours with free electric and water.
                                                                                                     Happy Days