Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 7

I opened the side hatch first thing this morning while I got the breakfast things ready, and could hear a sort of crunching noise.  It took me a long while to spot a squirrel in the hawthorn bush on the towpath, hanging upside down from a branch munching away.

I’d been feeling a bit migrainey last night and this morning, so we were a bit slow to get going.  We set off as the church clock struck 9, with Adrian walking up to the lift bridge.  He then signalled that there was a boat coming the other way.  It turned out to be Alex and Alan on the Braidbar boat, Hollingworth.  It meant Adrian didn’t have to use the key of power to raise the bridge.

Even with two boats going through, there was only one vehicle held up in each direction (albeit there are three directions).  As we approached the three Baddiley Locks, it became clear that a moored boat was loose at the bow.  Adrian jumped off to try to sort it out, while I continued in order to get out of the way of a boat coming the other way.  In the end, they helped push it back in, and Adrian was able to re-tie it.  Fortunately its chain was still in the piling, and there was more rope wrapped round the T-stud.

As the other boat had just come up, the top lock was in our favour.  Then we met boats at each of the other two locks.  Before the Swanley Locks, we passed the latest in a series of glamping offerings, a little holiday hut on the offside.

There’s an even nicer one on the other side of the bridge, with a shady terrace on the end where this week’s occupants were finishing up breakfast.  We met boats at Swanley Locks too, then carried on to moor before Bridge 1 and the Hurleston Locks, in exactly the same spot we had a week ago (but facing the other way).  We hadn’t been here long when a familiar boat appeared.  What A Lark moored behind us, and we have a drinks invite a little later this afternoon.  In the meantime, we walked up to get the car, and Adrian popped to Morrison’s for a prescription.

6 miles, 5 locks.  (57 miles, 30 locks)

Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 6

Another sunny start to the day, it’s it become really warm.  At around 8am we moved forward to the water point to top up the tank.  We could see a lock keeper doing things down at the locks, but it wasn’t really clear what.  When we were ready to go down I walked up to set the staircase, and the lockie said there was something stopping a gate from closing, which he was trying to flush off.  Eventually, whatever it was had gone and we could start going down.

When the boat was in the bottom of the staircase locks, I went down to set the first of the individual locks.  It just needed topping up, and before I could get back to the staircase the lockie had opened the gates and Adrian was coming round the corner.

A boat had come up the middle lock, so that just needed topping up, and I went and opened the bottom one so Adrian could go straight in.

As we were almost ready to leave, a boat arrived at the bottom.  I went to check there was nothing coming through the tunnel.

At the next few locks, boats had recently come up but not recently enough to have seen us and left the gate open.  None of the locks is particularly deep, but because of the open countryside you feel high up when you enter them.

At Marbury Lock, there’s a railing along the offside, in front of the cottage, presumably to demarcate their property.

Below Marbury we passed numerous boats going the other way.  On one hire boat, two little boys were sat on the edge of the cruiser stern deck with their feet dangling in the water.  I was gearing up to say something, when Adrian popped up on the well deck and told them it was really dangerous.  If they’d slipped in, they could easily have been dragged through the propeller.  A little further on there’s a field with a number of camping pods.  It seems you can rent out the whole lot for an off-grid adventure.

We went through the lift bridge by the nursery, and had already decided we’d moor this side of the electric lift bridge, just in case it was busy the other side.  We picked a nice open spot with a straight edge — and we’d finished for the day even earlier than yesterday.  When lunchtime came around, we walked back to the lift bridge and went to have a look at the nursery, before going into the cafe.

Toasted sandwiches again, which were a bit bigger than yesterday but not quite as nice.  After lunch we walked back past the boat and the electric lift bridge.  Wrenbury Mill is an ABC hire boat base, but today there were no hire boats in at all.

We walked up the canal to the next lift bridge, then took the path across the field and through the church yard.

Wrenbury village store is quite well stocked, but we only needed some milk — although a couple of ice creams somehow got added to the shopping.  For the rest of the afternoon, we’ve just been trying to keep cool.

6 miles, 10 locks.  (51 miles, 25 locks)

Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 5

A much nicer day today, with sunshine from the start and not so much of a breeze.  We got some washing under way, and set off at about 9 when the wash part of the cycle had finished.  I walked up to the lift bridge while Adrian brought the boat, and then walked up to the junction, where we turned right, under the junction bridge.

I walked on to the lift bridge on the main line.  A little later, I wondered whether an approaching boat was Debdale, in which we used to have a share.  It was — and as we passed each other, the owners on board said it was the  who’d bought our share.  That was back in 2011, so it’s nice to know it worked out and they still have the share after all this time.

Some of the bridges on this canal are tricky.  Lots of them are at funny angles, and there are often reeds or trees blocking the view.  All you can do is approach slowly and hope nothing is coming the other way.

We had a number of lift bridges, and a one before Whitchurch, an Anglo Welsh boat going the same way as us had just gone through — and kept it up for us.  It meant we overtook them, but said we’d do the next one.  That was the one by the Whitchurch Arm; Adrian jumped off and lifted the bridge, and I waited in a gap on the offside moorings while the hire boat and then a single hander came through.  We had only a little further to go before mooring up at the moorings above Grindley Brook.  There was loads of space, so we just picked a nice spot.  It wasn’t even 12 noon.

A bit later we walked down to the locks and had a toasted sandwich at the Lockside Cafe, while a number of boats went down.  Then we wandered down the rest of the locks, to find a load of boats coming up.  One of them was a Braidbar, No 95, with new owners on board.  They’ve renamed the boat from Autumn Years to Tilly 2, as their previous boat was called Matilda.

This afternoon, Adrian had a call, we’ve been down for the compulsory ice cream, and I’ve made a chicken and mushroom pie with the leftover roast chicken.  Later we’re planning to wash the towpath side of the boat, which is very dusty.

6 miles, 0 locks.  (45 miles, 15 locks)

Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 4

Today we have turned around three times!  We don’t have time to go all the way to Llangollen this trip, so we first needed to turn around at Frankton Junction.  I was up quite early this morning, and set off just after 7.30.  It was supposed to be raining, but in fact it was quite sunny.

It’s almost a mile to the junction.  The final bridge is No 69 — and at the one on the other side of the junction the numbers start again from 1, except with a W for west after them.  So at least by coming this far we’ve done all the bridges in this sequence.

I turned around in the junction, with no boats anywhere to be seen.  I thought there might be a few waiting to go down onto the Monty.

Now retracing our steps, the first boat was met at a bridge hole.  They said we were the first boat they’d encountered too.  By the time we were passing our overnight mooring again, about 40 minutes had passed.  The section down to Ellesmere was very busy with boats, even though it wasn’t even 9am yet.  We decided that if the water point was free, we’d stop and top up the tank; it was, so we did.  As we were finishing, the rain started.  We headed across the junction and up the arm (the junction bridge there is part of the numbering sequence, so it needed to be done!) because we needed a top up of shopping.  There was a vacant space immediately after the bridge, but we continued to the end in case there was a spot closer to Tesco.  There wasn’t, partly because of all the big gaps between boats — so we turned around again and went back to the space at the start.  We did our shopping and wheeled our trolley right down to the boat.  I was just about to wheel it back to shop, when the people on the boat behind said they were just about to go to Tesco, so they’d take it back for me!  We set off, out into the junction with its impressive junction house.

As we approached Ellesmere Tunnel, I could see a light on a boat coming through.  He said as far as he knew there was no-one behind him; you can see through well in advance going this way anyway.

It’s very noticeable now that we’re going with the flow that we’re not almost coming to a halt in every bridge hole, and it didn’t feel like a struggle to get through the tunnel.  Up by Cole Mere there’s a cabin looking out over the water, which had a little steam-powered boat outside.

The holiday cottages at the Lyneal Trust always look very well cared for.

Just along from here there was an Anglo Welsh boat across the canal.  They eventually got someone onto the towpath with a rope and pulled the boat over, so while they regrouped I slipped past.  The bridge at Hampton Bank is one of several that are lined with corrugated iron for some reason.

There’s also a lovely canal-side cottage there, with very pretty brick and wood decoration.

We continued to meet loads of boats, not all of them in difficult situations.  We had lunch on the move, then reached Prees Junction where we turned right down the arm.

The first two bridges are lift bridges.

We turned around for the third time at Whixall Marina, where the wind direction really didn’t help at all.  Among the marina’s land-based accommodations is a collection of shepherd’s huts.

We returned to the mooring rings between the two lift bridges.  The sun has come out, but the wind has also got up which is really annoying.  Last time we were here we went to look at the mosses on the other side of the canal, so this time we walked back up the arm to the marina cafe for, yes, an ice cream.  The route cuts across a field with a lovely wild flower section.

Then we walked across to the main line of the Llangollen, to the lift bridge — which surprised us by being at the top of a hill.  The houses alongside have their roofs at canal level.

Then we came back along the towpath and over the junction bridge.  The junction house and all its other assorted buildings are currently for sale — including the barn; whether all the road signs are included isn’t clear.

12 miles, 0 locks.  (39 miles, 15 locks)

Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 3

There was very heavy rain at 5.30 this morning, which woke us up with the noise on the roof.  It continued raining on and off, but by the time we’d had breakfast and were ready to set off at just before 9, the sun was actually out.  A couple of bridges ahead of us was a lift bridge, the one where the deck is almost in the water.  Then we reached Prees Junction, where we bore right to stay on the main line.

Shortly after this, which looking at the sky might not come as a surprise, it began to rain.  Then we crossed into Wales, marked by a tiny flag on a towpath post.

We were back into England after about a mile and a half.  After Hampton Bank there were pipes in the canal on both sides.  I wasn’t sure whether a farmer was extracting water from both, or whether there’s a pipe that crosses the canal bed.

A boat that had come up Grindley Brook in front of us yesterday was now ahead — I think they’d come off the Hampton Bank moorings.  It was quite useful, because their reactions gave me an indication of what was ahead.  So I was expecting that a boat might be coming the other way at one bridge, which meant I had to go backwards to get out of their way, but I was less prepared for another one close behind.  It was two hire boats of Norwegians.  At Cole Mere, you only get glimpses through the trees, although I could see that people were windsurfing.  There are much better views of Blake Mere.

Ellesmere Tunnel is only 87 yards long, but going this way you can’t see if anything is coming until you’re right up to it.  Fortunately I could let the boat ahead worry about that, while I just followed them through.

At Ellesmere Junction, they turned into the arm, but we turned left staying on the main line.  There’s a big CRT yard there.

We had lunch on the move, as we went through some pretty countryside.  A farm has some black sheep which have white fluffy ends to their tails.

We carried on to moor at Val Hill, a spot we liked last time we were up this way between Bridges 66 and 67.  This afternoon, we worked out a circular walk, starting by going along the towpath to Frankton Junction  where the Montgomery Canal goes off, and then heading up a narrow road and onto a footpath which was part of the Shropshire Way.  We had to go along a very narrow path in the corn, but there were nice views of the Welsh mountains in the distance.

The next field was maize, as we skirted round Val Hill itself.

We got back to the canal at Bridge 63, and walked back.  Numerous boats have been past, many of them hire boats.  This evening, we have a chicken to roast in the oven.

10 miles, 0 locks.  (27 miles, 15 locks)

Shropshire (wind)lass: Day 2

It rained quite a bit yesterday evening and was also very windy.  The trees at the Marbury moorings kept dropping pine cones onto the roof!  We woke up to a much better day than forecast, and set off about 8.15.  Through the first bridge was a long straight section with big skies.

The first three locks of the day were all spaced out.  The middle one, Willey More, has a pub right alongside, although closed this early in the day.

A bit further on, the canal crosses into Shropshire and goes through a large bridge, almost a tunnel really, which used to carry a railway line.  It’s on a blind bend, and leads straight to Grindley Brook Locks.

A boat was coming out the bottom lock, so I held well back because I knew the bywash would push the boat into us if I was too far forward.  The bywashes really make life tricky.

The second lock is round another corner and has another fierce bywash, so I was pleased Adrian had got it ready and there wasn’t a boat to try to pass.  Grindley Brook has three individual locks and then a staircase of three, and it’s busy so there are often queues.  We could see boats waiting to go up the staircase — and there’s only really room for two boats there, and the landing is on another right angle bend.  Adrian went to see what was going on, and found that in spite of it being a Saturday in July, there were no lock keepers on duty.  There was one boat coming down with another two to follow, so we decided it was best if we waited between locks two and three while the downhill boats came down.  Adrian helped reset the lock for them.  Meanwhile, a boat had come up behind us, and as the first downhill boats came down went down another one came up — meaning the pound was getting very full.  By the time the third boat came down, it was a bit chaotic, but at last I was able to go into the lock, and then eventually follow two other boats up the staircase.

The six locks had taken about an hour and 20 minutes, thanks to all the waiting.  By then there were three boats to come down (three in each direction seems to be normal), so the people behind us would have had another wait.  The boat immediately behind us was Tilda, which I did a boat test on years ago.  We stopped on the water point to fill the tank, and decided to get some washing going too.

We’d been aiming to stop at Whitchurch, but the moorings before the lift bridge were full so we went through the bridge.  But the arm also looked to be full of boats.  Then a boat moored on the mainline after the bridge set off (and Adrian kept the bridge up for them) so we slotted into their space.  However, it was on a bend so the stern was well out, and we thought we were quite vulnerable to boats using the bridge landing — we we decided to carry on for a bit, and have lunch on the move.  In the end we’ve come much further than intended, because lots of the next stretch is in the trees and all fees a bit enclosed.  We eventually stopped on the Welsh End visitor moorings.

9 miles, 9 locks.  (17 miles, 15 locks)